The Sweet Indulgence

A corrigendum: After pointing it out by my North Indian blogger friends about the sweet being called Imarti. I researched and found that one made with refined flour batter is jalebi and and that with urad dal and rice flour batter is called Imarti. I am enclosing anothet featured photo of jalebi, (today ordered by my son, from Haldiram, outlet). They are also very attractive, you can see for yourself and tell the difference.

Imarti

Hello friends, in today’s lifestyle, maintaining good health has come to take centre stage. Everybody is mindful of what they are eating. There are so many diet charts prescribed by dieticians, like keto, vegan, low carb, paleo, gluten-free diet etc. But once in a while we just have to listen to the cravings of our heart and indulge in some foods which are in other words can be termed no less than a ‘sin’. This evening my hubby brought a similar sinful delight called Jalebis. They looked so fetching that I immediately asked my daughter to take photos and here I am describing the sweet to you.

My Indian friends do not require any introduction. But who are uninitiated to the delicious sweet indulgence, the Jalebis are made with a fermented batter of refined flour or grounded black lentils (urad dal) and rice flour.The batter is poured into the specially prepared funnel and by an expert hand, an intricate design pattern is created on the hot oil. The artwork is then deep-fried and dunked into the sugar syrup. The end product is the divine Jalebis.

One has to eat jalebis to understand its taste, the crunchiness and juiciness both rolled into one. The rounded network of patterns lends uniqueness to the sweet. The photographs are the proof of that. When I served it I couldn’t resist myself from gorging on the fare along with my family.

My daughter, who has taken up medicine as her profession, was looking sternly at me while I was committing the crime of eating them. As my sugar level has reached a pre-diabetic level, having them is no less illegal than sin. Yet sometimes we have to suppress the dictates of the mind and listen to our hearts. Mine was telling me to have them. If you eat anything with a happy heart, it’s not supposed to harm your body as far as my beliefs are concerned.

I reasoned to her that once in a while, breaking rules to give such delight to your tastebuds is ok. But I must tell you that I always try to keep away from deep-fried and sweets despite Bengal boasting of such a variety of sweets and deep fried ‘telebhajas’ a kind of fritters. I shall tell you about them some other time. This post is dedicated to the attractive Jalebis only.

Friends, if you happen to find Jalebis in any sweet shop, taste and relish them. As a rejoinder, they taste best while served hot. So happy eating to you all.

Wish you all health and happiness. Adieu for now.

P. S. – There is a Bollywood song called Afghan Jalebi. I don’t know whether they like it too, in Afghanistan. If you have any idea then please do share it.

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