Western India

In parts of western India, sweets are eaten during the meal itself, and often a pinch of sugar is added to vegetarian dishes. Laddus, especially churma laddu—deep-fried balls made from wheat flour and nuts—are popular. The Surat region of Gujarat is well known for the expertise of its sweet makers. A famous Surati sweet is ghari, a puri (circular wheat bread) with a sweet filling of khoa and nuts. It even has its own festival—Chandani Padva. Another famous Surati sweet is halwason—hard squares made from broken wheat, khoa, nutmeg, and nuts. Mohanthal is a kind of barfi made from chickpea flour, ghee, sugar, almonds, saffron, and pistachios. One of the most elaborate sweets is sukhan feni—very fine strands of sweet, flaky dough garnished with pistachios.