NOT a food blog
I love Indian sweets. In my university days, my father would drive all the way to Jai Hind in Masjid India to buy my favourite Indian sweetmeat, pal kova (no relation to pavlova), to make up for chucking me in a hostel run by a tyrant Master for four years. I’d nibble on the precious confection slowly, relishing its milky goodness.
Indian sweetmeats are a great way to end a meal, as the sweetness of the dessert acts as a foil for a spicy Indian meal. Then again, the confections aren’t exactly desserts as they can be eaten at any time and anywhere.
Every year, Brickfields comes alive during the weeks prior to Deepavali. Huge makeshift tents are put up in the carpark outside KL Sentral which house gaily decorated stalls selling sarees, colourful jewellery and home decoration items brought in from India.
Pretty Pui and I love visiting the stalls, drinking in the atmosphere while looking for a bargain. Over the years, I have accumulated several pretty sarees for which I have yet to find an occasion to wear. The temptation to buy is just too great as the array of products is amazing!
This year, we noticed an increase in the number of stalls selling Indian confection, each one proudly proclaiming that they were the specialists in Punjabi sweets. The selection is more varied as compared to the daily fare found in Indian restaurants.
I am usually invariably drawn to the gulab jamun. Even though it resembles the chinese “tong yuen”, the similarity ends there. The gulab jamun is made with milk, cream and ghee, and then rolled into balls and fried. The fried balls are then transferred to a bowl of syrup. Sounds sinful? It is! But that makes it all the more pleasurable, doesn’t it?
Other confections available include laddu, halva and athirasam. I am told that in India, the selection is even greater. So if anyone’s going to India, do grab me a boxful of these babies, will ya?
Stalls selling muruku, omapudi and a variety of nuts also abound.
I do love the festive season, don’t you?
The glorious people of Abu Dhabi may click HERE to view the pics.
Food, for me, is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
Food, for me, represents the love of family, the fellowship of friends, and the community and communality it brings.
sra
October 31st, 2007 at 10:05 am
Very nice, am yet to see a more beautiful post on Indian sweets than this!
Happy cook
October 31st, 2007 at 10:36 am
Wow i am drooling.
I have a feeling that i stepped into a sweet shop in India after seeing all the pic
bee
October 31st, 2007 at 10:58 am
you take gorgeous pics.
Mansi Desai
October 31st, 2007 at 11:09 am
omg!! now i absolutely have to eat some of these!!! this was a the most mouth-watering post ever!!! oh, god, I need sweets so bad!!:)
Big Boys Oven
October 31st, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Oh I am drowning now! hopelessly with your palate of desserts! sweet tnederness over this coming festive!
wmw
October 31st, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I’m looking forward to the celebration too…can eat all these goodies! Yay!
babe_kl
October 31st, 2007 at 6:51 pm
last week i bought some goodies from jesal… i was on 7th heaven haha… hmmm yumyum
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 31st, 2007 at 7:21 pm
sra: what a sweet comment!
happy cook: Oh, I bet the sweet shops in India are glorious! I’d love to visit one.
bee: Thanks!!
mansi desai: I hope you get your fix! ๐ Thanks.
BBO: The sweets are just a train-ride away. hehe!
wmw: can eat now oso. heehee. no need to wait until Deeps next week!
babe_kl: Yeah, Jesal’s sweets are really good quality stuff. Yummy!!
Redchillies
October 31st, 2007 at 7:42 pm
oooh la la ! Look at those beautiful pictures. Just yummy and drooling
k.t.x
October 31st, 2007 at 8:44 pm
emmm, the mosaic sight of sweets are just simply fascinating. it’s more exagerated with flourescent colours of those in india..simply untouchable..hehe. talking about that i hv never actually participated in a ‘deep deeep punye valii’ festival, as in walking their streets and savor in the atmoshpere. i should and i must this year uh?
em, a good excuse for me to drop by buddhist maha vihara!
"Joe" who is constantly craving
October 31st, 2007 at 10:14 pm
beautiful pictures!..didnt knw got so many goodies near by my place..but i find it tooo sweeeet…
Precious Pea
October 31st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Great post sista. First time reading a post dedicated to Deepavali goodies, reminds me on coverage of ramadan bazaar. Have not tried Indian sweets apart from Gulab Jamun, but the one i had sadly was not nice.
Kenny Mah
October 31st, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Got Indian chocolates or not har?
*hee-hee, knowing she’ll kill me for this*
kat
November 1st, 2007 at 12:22 am
Why are sweetmeats sweetmeats when they have no meat? And sweetbreads sweetbreads when they have no bread?? And they aren’t even sweet..
Somehow sweets from Masjid India and Lebuh Ampang are superior to those from elsewhere. I had some at a neighbour’s house and it was soooo good. Found out, her dad specially bought it from Lebuh Ampang.
I must try those here – there are loads of them. Just looking at them makes for my sugar ration for the day. Unfortunately no one else in the house shares my love for them. Why don’t I just wait for your visit and we try togeder-togeder.. ๐
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 1st, 2007 at 1:59 am
redchillies: gotta love them sweets!
k.t.x: ya lor. in addition to doing a deepavali food crawl around Brickfields, you can add all the other festivals to your list as well, since Brickfields is the hub for all types of culture and sin.
Nipples: Ya lor…just take a short walk down from your office and you’re there!
Precious Sista: Oh, there’s so much more out there other than gulab. Come come…I’ll take you on an indian sweets crawl. ๐
Kenny: Actually, there is. More importantly, will you be able to find your way to Brickfields to look for them indian chocs? ๐
Kat: I’d give up trying to understand the english language. I love indian sweets, but in moderation, of course. The middle eastern stuff must be pretty good too. Loads of sugar, but what the heck – u only live once. May as well die smiling.
Puspha
November 1st, 2007 at 6:19 am
OMG!!!!! Iยดm drooling all over here. I can imagine how colouful Masjid India is at the moment. I all these a lot lot. Still wondering wen can I go back home to KL to celebrate Deepavali.
Swaroopa
November 1st, 2007 at 8:07 am
awesome pics!! im droolin over each pic!!
Bernsy
November 1st, 2007 at 8:10 am
very good description of the various sweets, which I find too sweet for me. I describe them as sweeter than sugar stuff (got such thing meh ?, lol)…
oh ya Great pics…
Cynthia
November 1st, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Yes, I do love the festive season too!
Tunku Halim
November 1st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Wow! Looks so nice. Any recipes?
tankiasu
November 1st, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Oh beautiful food!
Paprika
November 1st, 2007 at 9:23 pm
so preeeetttyyyyy, I love coconut ice, keyseri and gulab jamun. But only in small doses as it so tooth-achingly sweet!
MeiyeN
November 1st, 2007 at 10:38 pm
wow…. to be honest, i have never tried all these before.. must be yummy!
MeiyeN
November 1st, 2007 at 10:40 pm
wow… to be honest, i have never tried all these before! i bet it must be sinfully good…. thanks for sharing! ๐
toniXe
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:12 pm
happy deepavali to you ( and Indian readers too ) !
You missed out on 1 tiny gorgeous pix ( LL in saree , the exra short one )
bet there will more drools
Nic (KHKL)
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Great pics! Your pics have always been inspiring (the write-ups also lar) ๐
Firehorse
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:43 am
I simply love gulab jamun, can eat at least 10 at one sitting 0_~
The other treats look sooooo good too, haven’t had those in like dunno how long oredi.
mama bok
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:41 am
Wow..!! all the sweet stuff.. ๐ i never used to like them.. for i donch have a sweet tooth.. but if i can turn the clock back.. i’ll try everything. ๐
Chubbypanda
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:35 am
I wanna try everything! =) Sadly, I only know where to get gulab jamun in this part of California.
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 4th, 2007 at 6:25 am
pushpa: have you been away from malaysia for long? I hope you get to visit home soon. ๐
swaroopa: hehe…thank ye!!
bernsy: I do agree with you. The sweets do seem sweeter than sugar! I guess the key is consumption in moderation. ๐
cynthia: you’d love Malaysia…so many festive seasons here!
tunku halim: I hope to be able to post some recipes soon. Keep an eye on my blog….coming soon! ๐
tankiasu: yeah, they’re pretty, aren’t they?
paprika: oooh my type of friend! LOL. It’s especially good after eating a spicy meal!
meiyen: with deepavali approaching, you should go try some!:-) If you visit these stalls, they give u free samplers. ๐
tonixe: I doubt if a picture of LL in a saree would make anyone drool. ROFL. Maybe spit!
nic(khkl): thanks….I think! LOL. You have a nice blog too. ๐
firehorse: you could try making some at home. I don’t think it’s that difficult. All you need is lotsa milk!
mamabok: i know what you mean about turning back the clock. God knows what else I’d do too. haha.
chubbypanda: you could try making some of these sweets at home. They’d be so festive. You could serve them at christmas!
Argus Lou
November 4th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Ooo… Zitrongrass, I love Indian sweets and desserts! The burfis especially, and kulfi. And you’re such a sweetie, too. ^_^
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 4th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Argus: Awwww….u so sweet lar. ๐
Anonymous
November 5th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
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