12 deep-fried desserts from India that are pure joy

Indian desserts are not just flavorful but also narrate stories of their existence. They are steamed, baked, or deep-fried and are made with a range of ingredients that celebrate local produce, spices, and nuts. This piece of information explores 12 deep-fried desserts from India that are pure joy, and every foodie should give them a try.

This deep-fried delight is made with soft khoya or milk powder shaped into balls, fried until golden and soaked in fragrant sugar syrup. (Image: istock)

This jalebi-like dessert is made from urad dal batter piped into hot oil in intricate flower shapes and dipped in sugar syrup. It is crunchy on the outside, juicy inside. (Image: istock)

This is a flaky, doughnut-like dessert made with maida, deep-fried and soaked in thick sugar syrup. (Image: istock)

This is one of the iconic Indian sweets and is made from fermented maida batter, fried and soaked in saffron-infused sugar syrup. It is best served with rabri on top or with hot milk. (Image: istock)

Lavang latika refers to deep-fried pastry pockets made from refined flour dough stuffed with a mixture of grated coconut, khoya, sugar, cardamom and are knotted with cloves. They are then deep-fried until perfection and soaked in sugar syrup. (Image: Instagram/oruz_kitchen)

It refers to sweet pancake made with flour, milk, and sugar, deep-fried and sometimes dipped in syrup or topped with rabri. (Image: istock)

This sweet dish is popular in Odisha and Bihar and is made with refined flour dough, rolled thin and layered, fried until golden, and then soaked in sugar syrup.

This is one of the most famous Indian sweets and is made with gram flour batter sieved and deep-fried to make tiny pearls bound into laddoos with ghee and sugar syrup. (Image: istock)

This deep-fried sweet is celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh and is made with wheat flour, sugar/jaggery, coconut, and cardamom. First a stiff dough is kneaded and then small balls of the dough are embossed using a wooden mould and then these cookie-like discs are deep fried in ghee. (Image: istock)

This sweet dish is celebrated in Maharashtrian and Bihari and is made from rice flour and jaggery, coated in sesame seeds and deep-fried to perfection. (Image: istock)

This is a lesser-known Odia delight made of deep-fried chhena (cottage cheese) balls soaked in light sugar syrup. (Image: Instagram/foodiegoutam)

It is a traditional dessert from Odisha, which is made with deep-fried cottage cheese patties, soaked in thick, sweetened milk (rabdi). (Image: Instagram/sushreeswain)