19 Traditional Indian Desserts For Every Occasion

Indian Desserts recipes

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It does not matter if you are a native Indian or living in a Western country; your search for exotic sweet desserts will never end without trying Indian desserts. They differ from Western desserts because of their rich flavors, unique ingredients, and mouthwatering taste.

Contents

Traditional Asian desserts in General, and Indian desserts in particular, have ingredients like pistachios, cardamom, and exotic flavors that add the most delightful flavors to any sweet dessert. To impress your friends, family, and guests, serve them these desserts. They have all the qualities that you want from any sweet dessert.

So, here are the 15 most tempting and savory Indian desserts. It is time to prove yourself and make your table more impressive with fabulous by serving these unique desserts.

Milky Desserts

Rasmalai

Rasmalai

Rasmalai is a dessert that is tricky to make but always serves amazingly. It is a super spongy, soft, and juicy recipe with many mouthwatering ingredients: nuts, curdling agents, milk, saffron, sugar, and cardamom.

These super juicy ingredients add delightful and savory flavors that make everyone addicted to it with every bite. It is super easy to make at home; it melts in the mouth. You can try this tasty and soft Rasmalai recipe at home with just a few simple steps. It is a divine dessert that becomes the star of every party.

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Kheer

Kheer

Kheer is everyone’s favorite dessert, known as Indian Rice Pudding in the west. It is a simple, rich, comforting, and creamy dessert. Kheer would be perfect whenever you crave something delicious yet easy to make. It has whole-fat milk, sugar, cardamom, and rice, the perfect combination to make any dessert creamy and savory.

You can add any additional ingredient for flavor; you can top it with almonds or nuts that give a perfect look. It is a perfect dessert for all happy occasions because of its deliciousness. It is one of the most famous Indian desserts everyone loves to make and eat.

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Shrikhand recipe

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a refreshing and cooling dessert that awakes your mind and gives you heavenly pleasure. It is a simple, delicious dessert made with thick yogurt, saffron, sugar, and cardamom. The dish is super creamy, dense, and thick because its flavorful ingredients serve amazingly for your sweet craving.

You can use shrikhand to make delicious icebox pie. It has exquisite flavors of saffron and cardamom because of the tangy yogurt. Its flavor combinations are endless. It is one of the most famous Indian desserts of all time.

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Kalakand

Kalakand

Kalakand is a simple yet one of the most delicious and stunning desserts of all time. It is everyone’s favorite because Kalakand is mini barfi but has a lot of flavors. It is a popular dessert in Indian streets, made from sugar and reduced milk. These soft and juicy little barfis sell from stalls in just a blink of an eye, but it is not famous for making in households.

They are not challenging to make; you need little effort, and in the end, you will get a tasty and delicate kalakand recipe that will be everyone’s favorite in your family. They look perfect with cardamom powder or chopped nuts topping.

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Sweets & Fried Desserts

Gulab Jamun recipe

Gulab Jamun

Gulab jamun is the classic sweetest dessert in India, also known as Indian Milk Balls. They have a mixture of khoya and milk powder. This recipe’s main ingredient is milk, making it very soft and tender. Khoya is not compulsory; if you cannot find khoya, you can make them with milk powder or rich, creamy milk.

They look like small balls coated with sweet melting sugar that looks luscious and delightful. The coated sugar syrup is scented with rose water. They are irresistible to eat, and you won’t stop when you start eating them. The Indian Gulab jamuns are famous for special events like birthdays, weddings, festivals, celebration meals, and parties.

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Jalebi recipe

Jalebi

Jalebi is one of the most famous sweet desserts in Indian families. They are crunchy and crispy, pleasing to the mouth with every bite. They are coated with melting sugar, giving an immense heavenly taste. If you have no cooking experience, don’t worry; they are perfect for you to cook in just a few simple steps. You can make them quickly and easily for any function or party.

They look like irregular structures but taste heavenly amazing because of their crispy outside and chewy inside texture. It is a famous street food everyone loves to make and distribute to their loved ones.

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Rasgulla recipe

Rasgulla

Rasgulla is one of the favorite Indian desserts people serve at family gatherings, events, and parties. It is famous for its mouthwatering and fluffy texture with a dip full of sugary syrup. Hints of cardamon and rose water increase the delicacy, making it a perfect serving for giving a heavenly treat to your taste buds.

It takes a single or two tries to cook perfectly, and you can make them just like purchased from a local bakery or sweet shop. Rasgulla is a favorite Indian dessert of people of all ages and is served at any time with a cup of tea.

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Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli has unique Indian flavors that are very appealing to everyone. Its sweet and melting flavors are the main thing that makes it famous in every mithai store. You can also say Kaju barfi, which is fudgy, thin, chewy, soft, and melting in the mouth. The hint of rose water with other flavors makes it delightfully unique for your tooth.

It is not very easy to make, but also difficult to leave behind. You can try it with a little effort; in the end, you will be amazed by its tempting texture and flavors. It will be a great gift to your family, friends, and yourself.

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Laddu

Boondi Ladoo

Boondi Ladoo is a popular Indian treat that people love to distribute at every unique or celebratory festival. They look round and ball-shaped, which is cute. You can make them with all types of sweet ingredients. The ingredients of chickpea flour, besan, and Boondi snack have a delightfully sweet taste for your taste buds.

You miss a delightful dessert if you have never tried these Boondi Ladoo. Their sugary coating will fill your mouth with sweetness and happiness. Try it at home and treat your family and kids.

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Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo

The thing with easy recipes is that you can never go wrong with them. Just the 3 ingredients in the right quantities and your perfect, mini besan laddus are ready, in India, be it a wedding festivity or Holi, or Diwali, these besan laddu’s are everywhere to sweeten up the tastebuds.

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Puran Poli

Puran Poli

Puran Poli is speedy and easy to make without any special skills. It is a floured bread with a filling of the sweet lentil mixture made of chana-dal and jaggery. It is a super healthy recipe that you can make healthier by adding wheat flour to make it more delightful and nutritious.

Puran Poli is a total mouthwatering Indian dessert that can make anyone happier anytime. You only need fennel powder, cardamom powder, spices and chana-dal, nutmeg powder, and turmeric. It is a famous Indian recipe they love making at family get-togethers and friend parties.

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Frozen Desserts

Kulfi

Kulfi

Kulfi is a perfect Indian dessert for summer that is as delicious as any ice cream. The bursting with milk, khoya, and nutty topping flavors is tasteful and tempting. Indians love kulfi because it is the memory of everyone’s childhood.

At the start of summer, everyone starts making delicious and milky Kulfis at home or buying from the street to satisfy their craving. It is a frozen dessert made of fatty milk, sugar, saffron, and cardamom. It is thick, dense, and fatty because it takes time to make from milk on continuous heat. It is a perfect dessert to make and eat in the summer.

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Bars & Fudges

Gajar Ka Halwa recipe

Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar ka halwa is known as Gajrela or Indian Carrot Pudding, a traditional dish in India. It contains fresh carrots, sugar, khoya, fat milk, and ghee. This yummy dessert has a hint of cardamom powder, and the topping is up to you; you can garnish it with chopped nuts or almonds. There are many ways to make Gajar ka halwa; you can shuffle ingredients accordingly.

It is a perfect dessert to serve guests at any function or party at home. The tastier flavors of carrots and khoya make it so heavenly to eat. It is so wholesome that you can serve it alone, or if you want any side dessert, then vanilla ice cream serves best with it.

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Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is a tempting dessert with a soft and tender texture that melts in the mouth in a second. Mysore is a traditional sweet dessert that is super famous because of its soft flavors that are perfect for dessert lovers. It is made of ghee, gram flour, and sugar that is amazing on your table in the slight shape of cookies.

Cooking Mysore Pak may look challenging, but not at all. You can make it in just a few simple steps and enjoy its heavenly and sweet flavors. This aromatic dessert is a perfect treat for your tooth and your family members; try this delicious to amaze your friends.

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Custards & Puddings

Basundi

Basundi

Basundi is an Indian dessert with a variety of flavors. It is thick and sweet because of sweetened milk. The spices and chopped nuts make it look unique and delightful. Basundi is an aromatic and creamy dessert that no one can resist at any time of the day. Its rich and divine flavors can make anyone crave it.

It is a healthy dessert, but if you want to make it healthier, you can add dry fruits and raisins. Adding the roasted almonds and saffron strands will make it tastier for your guests. Seve it with other poori; it will serve greatly on your tables on every occasion and festival.

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Falooda (Sweet Creamy Noodles)

Falooda (Sweet Creamy Noodles)

If you have ever been to India, and never had Falooda, trust me you missed something sensational. It is a kind of all-in-one dessert that you can eat and drink too. Top it up with several combinations you like such as fruits, nuts, seeds, jellies, etc.

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Sooji Halwa

Sooji Halwa

Sooji halwa is an everyday dessert that is super easy to cook in your kitchen. It is a classic dessert made with cream of wheat, semolina, nuts, ghee, sugar, and cardamom powder. It is a melting-in-mouth recipe that is very pleasing to eat in your breakfast with wheat bread.

Sooji ka halwa is a super pleasant dessert that you can make just before guests arrive and serve with other desserts. It is a popular Indian dessert that people love to make in almost every festival of the season because it is swift to cook. You can also try it this season and enjoy its milky flavors.

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Cookies & Bars

Nan Khatai

Nan Khatai

Cookies are versatile snacks. You serve coffee and cookies pop-up. Tea time is incomplete without cookies. Random snacking, cookies are to the rescue. This is why every cuisine has some unique recipes, and Indian Nan khatai is so sweet, buttery, and melts in the mouth. Pistachio topping makes it worth trying.

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Peanut Chikki

Peanut Chikki

As a kid, I have often traveled to small towns in Pakistan and India, and children their snacks on this Peanut chikki. Ladies make large batches at home, and it’s so beautiful to watch them making it. To try, you require only 3 ingredients.

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Other Dessert Ideas:

Indian Desserts recipes
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19 Traditional Indian Desserts (Recipes For Every Occasion)

No matter if you are a native Indian or not; your search for exotic sweet desserts will never end without trying Indian desserts. Here are the 15 most tempting and savory Indian desserts
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Author Adalynn Ward
Servings 2 servings
Calories 250kcal

Ingredients

  • Gulab Jamun
  • Rasmalai
  • Jalebi
  • Kulfi
  • Kheer
  • Puran Poli
  • Rasgulla
  • Kaju Katli
  • Gajar Ka Halwa
  • Mysore Pak
  • Shrikhand
  • Kalakand
  • Sooji Halwa
  • Basundi
  • Boondi Ladoo
  • Peanut Chikki
  • Nan Khatai
  • Besan Laddoo
  • Falooda (Sweet Creamy Noodles)

Instructions

  • Select one dessert from these delicious Indian desserts and open a new tab.
  • Make sure to note all the ingredients that you need for the dessert.
  • All the ingredients must be fresh.
  • Follow the instructions to make the dessert.
  • I hope you have made a dessert that you want to make. Don't forget to give us your feedback.

Nutrition

Serving: 1dish | Calories: 250kcal
Hello!! My name is Adalynn I love to eat, travel, and eat some more! I am married to the man of my dreams and have a beautiful little girl whose smiles can brighten anyone’s day!