Sweets & Mithai

Deep-fried milk solid balls soaked in sugar syrup. Very high GI due to refined flour, sugar syrup, and deep frying.

Deep-fried fermented batter spirals soaked in sugar syrup. One of the highest GI Indian sweets.

Natural dried fruit used as a sweetener and snack. Medium GI but nutrient-dense with potassium, iron, and fiber.

Spongy cottage cheese balls in sugar syrup. Bengali classic. High GI from the sugar syrup, but slightly better than gulab jamun as it's not fried.

Gram flour, ghee, and sugar sweets. The besan base provides some protein, but the sugar and ghee make it calorie-dense.

Slow-cooked rice simmered in sweetened milk with cardamom and nuts. High GI from white rice and sugar in milk.

Grated carrots slow-cooked in milk, ghee and sugar, garnished with nuts. High GI from added sugar despite carrot fiber.

Roasted semolina cooked with ghee, sugar and water or milk. High GI from refined semolina and sugar.

Thin diamond-shaped fudge of ground cashews and sugar syrup. High GI from sugar, though cashew fat slows it slightly.

Rich gram-flour sweet cooked in generous ghee and sugar, a Karnataka classic. High GI from sugar and refined flour.

Dense fudge made from reduced milk solids (khoya) and sugar. High GI from sugar, slightly lower due to milk protein and fat.

Flaky, crisp cube of gram and refined flour spun with sugar syrup and ghee. High GI from sugar and refined flour.

South Indian pudding of vermicelli or moong dal simmered in sweetened milk with cardamom and cashews. High GI from refined vermicelli and sugar.

A Gujarati and Maharashtrian dessert of strained, sweetened hung curd flavoured with cardamom and saffron. The dairy base tempers the sugar, but it is still a sweet to enjoy in moderation.

A festive sweet flatbread from Maharashtra and Gujarat, stuffed with a cooked chana dal and jaggery filling. The dal adds protein and fiber, but the jaggery keeps it a medium-GI treat.

The steamed rice-flour dumpling filled with coconut and jaggery offered to Ganesha in Maharashtra. Steamed rather than fried, but the rice flour and jaggery keep it a medium-GI sweet.

A Hyderabadi bread pudding of fried bread soaked in sugar syrup and sweetened milk, garnished with nuts. The fried refined bread and sugar make it a high-GI dessert.

Bengal's iconic dessert of yogurt set with caramelised jaggery or sugar in earthen pots. The fermented dairy base softens the sugar's impact, but it remains a sweet.

A delicate Bengali sweet made from fresh chhena (paneer) lightly sweetened and flavoured with cardamom. High in protein for a dessert, with a moderate sugar content.

Odisha's signature dessert of fresh chhena (cottage cheese) and sugar slow-baked until caramelised. High in protein for a sweet, with a moderate sugar load.