|
All Indian sweets have two ingredients in common—sugar and butter.
Another unique point in sweet-making is that Indian sweet makers have
developed their art into a near wizardry. The ingredients that are
used for making even the most elaborate of them is available in the
humblest househod larder, but the permutations and combinations of taste,
size, colour and shape that are simulated from them, would put Houdini
in the shade.
The most malleable sweet making ingredient is milk. This is thickened
into creamy richness known as khowa and forms the bedock for an entire
series of milk-based sweets. Again, the same milk is curdled and made
into whey to propel another pipeline of goodies. In yet another subdivision,
milk is made into sweets and puddings, or even taken in yoghurt form,
with caramalised sugar blended into it, at the setting stage, to make payadhi.
A broad based ingredient for the mithai maker is pulses, ground into a fine
powder. Gram flour known as besan is the basis of several toffees known as
burfee. If besan is out of stock in the kitchen, housewives can turn out yet
another set of sweets from refined wheat flour or maida. So, an Indian
sweet maker, when given a spread of ingredients, like milk, floura,
gram flour and oil, is hard put to decide which sweet is in preparation.
| 
Restaurants
Exceptional
Very Good
Good
Acceptable
Poor