Gujarati cuisine is known as much for its dishes as its sweets. The sweets are famous for their rich taste and varied flavors, derived from the different ingredients used.
For example, you can find Gujarati sweets made from milk, besan, jaggery, flour and other products. Moreover, people today are also creating chocolate-based variations of some of these popular sweets. You can find out more below.
12 Must-try Gujarati Sweets You Can Try At Home
1. Shakarpara
Shakarpara is a traditional sweet that is prepared during Diwali celebrations. You can make this with simple ingredients like sugar, ghee, and flour. Roll these ingredients into a dough, cut it into pieces and deep-fry them.
Once the pieces are crispy, you can dunk them into a sugar syrup or chocolate sauce for a rich taste.
2. Mohanthal
Mohanthal is a delicacy that is prepared during many festivals and also offered in temples as prasad. This sweet is made from ingredients like besan, milk, ghee, sugar, rose water, almonds and pistachio nuts. You can garnish it with saffron too if you like.
3. Meetha Saata
Meetha Saata is an authentic Gujarati sweet that is traditionally prepared during Diwali and other major celebrations.
People offer it to their deities on such festive occasions as well. It is prepared by deep frying a pastry in oil and ghee and then soaking it in a sugar syrup, which gives it its distinctive taste.
4. Sukhdi
Sukhdi is a sweet which is popularly prepared in homes for gatherings and during special occasions. It is made with ghee, jaggery and wheat flour, and does not require much time to cook.
Each bite has a soft, melt-in-mouth texture. You can dip it in chocolate sauce if you like before having it.
5. Adadiya Pak
Adadiya Pak is a Gujarati sweet which people traditionally have during winter. This delicacy is prepared with urad dal, sugar or jaggery, ghee, while ginger and cardamom are added for spice. You can add chocolate chips to it if you want to infuse a mild chocolatey taste as well.
6. Khajur Chikki
Khajur chikkis are a power-packed sweet with the goodness of dates and the sweetness of pistachios, honey, almonds and cashews. You can make them by blending the dates with roasted almonds, pistachios and cashews.
Once the mixture cools, lay it out, flatten it out and cut it by hand. You can also coat these with melted chocolate.
7. Shrikhand
Shrikhand is a yogurt-based Gujarati sweet which is made by straining the curd to separate whey. This process creates a thickened yogurt base, to which you can add different flavors like mango, chocolate or orange zest. Garnish with your favourite fruits or nuts for an added sweet touch when serving.
8. Kuler Ladoo
Kuler ladoo is a delicacy that is traditionally prepared during festivals like Nag Panchami. It is prepared with ghee, grated or powdered jaggery, and millet, which are mixed into round laddoos. If the mixture is dry, you can add ghee for proper binding and a glossy finish.
9. Basundi
Basundi is a milk-based Gujarati sweet. It is prepared by boiling milk until half is left in the pan, to which saffron, almonds and pistachios are added. You can have it either hot or cold.
10. Penda/Peda
Penda or Peda is another milk-based Gujarati sweet, prepared from khoya to which you can add jaggery or sugar. You can offer it in temples after making it too. Garnish with chocolate chips if you want to.
11. Besan Barfi
Besan Barfi is another popular Gujarati delicacy. It is prepared by heating ghee, adding rava and besan, cooking the mixture, adding cardamom and sugar after 2 minutes and cooking again for 5 minutes. After it cools, you can cut it into equal pieces and serve it.
12. Ghari
Ghari is a Gujarati sweet traditionally prepared during the Chandai Padva festival. It is made with mawa, sugar and ghee and garnished with saffron, almonds, pistachio and cardamom, giving it a crunchy texture and rich taste.
Conclusion
Each bite of these Gujarati sweets will take you on a culinary journey through Gujarat. Moreover, you will also get to experience the different flavors of their rich traditions when you prepare and enjoy them at home. If you like experimenting, you can opt for a chocolate variation of these sweets as well.
