Five popular snacks and desserts from India you need to try as soon as possible

India is home to many different groups of people, each with their own unique cuisines. This also means the country has a plethora of delicious snacks to offer, both savoury and sweet. Growing up in an Indian household, I was constantly trying out the various snacks the country had to offer. Below are five popular snacks from India that you need to try as soon as possible:

Samosa

Samosas are fried pastries that contain a savoury filling. While some use spiced potatoes for the filling, others use minced chicken or lamb. The one thing you never want to add, however, is pumpkin. When having samosas, be sure to dip them in a cilantro or tamarind chutney. Many Indian restaurants and cafes serve samosas, so be sure to try them the next time you have Indian food.

5 popular snacks from India we recommend

Gulab Jamun

This dessert is a personal favourite of mine. Milk and cheese solids are kneaded into a dough with a lot of flour. Then, they are shaped into small balls and deep-fried until they become golden brown. The balls are then soaked in a light sugar syrup that is flavoured with cardamom and rose water or saffron. In my experience, gulab jamun is best eaten when warm. A sure presence at sweet stores, gulab jamuns can also be found as a dessert in many Indian restaurants.

Bombay Mix

Known simply as “mixture” in some parts of India, this is a popular snack mix consisting of fried lentils, peanuts, corn, puffed rice, curry leaves, fried onion, vegetable oil, and chickpeas. This may sound like a lot of ingredients for one snack, but I can assure you will not stop eating it once you have tried it. You can easily find a bag of these at any South Asian grocery store among many other popular snacks.

Laddu

Laddus are spherical sweets that are generally made using flour, sugar, and ghee (clarified butter). They are a popular sweet to serve during celebrations and religious festivals. Although they are usually roughly the same size as gulab jamuns, some laddus can be as large as your fist. Any South Asian sweets store is bound to have them.

Murukku

This one is from my family’s home state in India. The name is derived from the Tamil word for “twisted.” To prepare it, a dough is made using rice flour and black gram. Several spices are also added prior to kneading the mix into a dough. Once prepared, the dough is shaped into several spirals. These spirals are then deep fried in vegetable oil to create a very crunchy snack. Murukku can be found at Indian grocery stores, especially if they are South Indian.

This list of popular snacks and desserts from India are just some of what the country has to offer. Be sure to try them the next time you are on the look for Indian food. You will not regret it!