Varieties of Sweets

Some sweets are eaten everywhere in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; others are specialties of a region, city, even a single village. Some are variants of those found over an area extending from Turkey through the Middle East, and Central Asia to India, such as falooda, halvah, and jalebi. An entire encyclopedia could be devoted to Indian sweets; here, we have room only to list the main ones. Universally popular sweets include barfi, laddus, jalebi, halvah, and a rice pudding known variously as payesh, payasam, or kheer. See barfi; laddu; halvah; payasam; and zalabiya.