X: Xtras #AtoZChallenge

Let' face it. There are no desserts with X. Unless I go Chinese (they have a lot of food beginning with X, yes, almonds, watermelon and what-not) and copy paste from the internet. But that is not not this blog is about and I am not giving up on the challenge at this stage.
So... X is for the (e)xtras. The ladoos, the gulab-jamuns, the rabri, the jalebis, sohan halwa and all those other yummylicious Indian desserts that I have missed on this journey of desserts from A to Z.

I love laddos, Specially the Motichur ones. I can pop one after the other and not think twice about the fact that I am not a sweet person. Same goes for fresh, hot jalebis. Okay gulab-jamuns are never my dessert of choice but I will occasionally indulge. And anyone reading this and living in Delhi, know that the next time you visit, get me some sohan halwa. Yes, I will be your slave forever: never mind the diet or the ghee or whatever!

For anyone thinking I'm talking in Greek or Latin, try to google up some of these delicious Indian sweets. Or better still, visit India, if only to sample its desserts! India is huge and made up of people whose cultures and cuisines are at once different and diverse. Each region has it's own specialty, from the rava kesari of the south to the til patti of the East to the Chakhao kheer of the North East to the rewri of the North to the Balushahi of the West... we have something for every sweet tooth, whether its dairy or vegan or whatever! And you will find shops selling cupcakes and Black Forest Gateau alongside shops selling simai and phirni next to shops selling  sandesh and rasgolla and pedas. THIS is what I love about my country, the richness, the diversity, the co-existence of several cultures and creeds.

Unfortunately, recent political and social trends have tried to break this thread. Increasingly, as in the rest of the world, there is a tendency to try to make our worlds smaller. To incite people in the names of caste, of race, of religion. It makes me sad and I know this may not be the place to say it but that is not the India I grew up in. That is not the India I love or call my own.

Let us hope that good sense prevails... Till then, keep calm and feast on!