ACK 10: Sweets

The recipes in this section represent only a sample of the literally thousands of sweets that originate in India, especially in West Bengal, the "sweets capital of the world." Some transcendentalists avoid sweets at any cost, for fear of agitating their senses and falling down from the spiritual path, but Krsnas' devotees relish whatever has been offered to Lord Krsna, including sweets, and experience the inconceivable mercy of God by doing so. Srila Prabhupada, however, always stressed moderation in whatever one does. Even though devotees have a healthy diet, and Indian sweets are usually made with wholesome ingredients, he advised that for the devotees to keep safe on the "razor's edge" of spiritual life, they should eat very few sweets during the week (better to save them for the temple guests) and wholeheartedly partake of the "love feast" on Sundays.

Indian sweets are generally made from milk products, fresh fruits, whole grains, chick-pea flour, and nuts. If you don't want to use granulated sugar, you can substitute unrefined sugar or mildflavored honey. It's interesting to note that refined sugar was introduced in India during the Mogul period-it didn't exist in Vedic cooking before then. Unrefined sugars, such as gur (cane sugar) or jaggery (palm sugar), were used instead. Both are excellent sweeteners, and it's worthwhile to buy some to experience their special flavors. The Ayur-veda mentions honey as one of the best sweeteners, but says that cooking makes it toxic. So avoid using honey for baking, and don't boil it (instead you can stir it into a liquid that's very hot, but not boiling). Other sweeteners such as rice, sugar, barley malt, and even maple syrup can also be used. You have to experiment when using substitutes because sugars, like flours, are not always interchangeable measure for measure-their sweetening powers vary. Generally, one part of granulated sugar equals one part of firmly packed brown sugar or 1/2-3/4 parts honey.

Of all Indian sweets, milk sweets are the most delectable. And with traditional cooking methods you can make them in great variety. Boil down milk over high heat to make khir or burfi. Cook fresh cheese with sugar to make sandesh or rasgulla. Flavor thickened yogurt to get a delicious creamy dessert, called shrikhand. Or deep-fry powdered-milk balls and soak them in thick syrup to make one of the world's most exquisite sweets, gulab jamuns.

Another group of sweets, including dvaraka burfi, luglu, and laddu, are made from toasted chick-pea flour and dried fruits. You can make them in large numbers and keep them for days. There are also various kinds of halava. No resemblance to the Turkish variety -these are made from combinations of fresh fruits, hazelnuts, carrots, and semolina.