The center of all sweetness in Lucknow is Moti Mahal. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've gone there by tripling on a motorbike, suicide riding on a rickshaw, and even begging my van driver to detour, just so I can have my dose of sugar. When it wasn't sugar, it was craving salt (paani puri and the insanely yummy aloo tikki with dahi). Funny how I still remember all these names.
Here's a video of when I braved the streets of Hazratganj on a rickshaw, for the love of ...
Warm halwas and gulab jamuns were in-season during the winter. This is a picture of Carrot Halwa, rich with many kinds of nuts - cashew, pistachio and almonds. Apart from carrot cake, this has been the only other carrot-related dessert I've ever had. I actually find this dessert to be very healthy!
I've been eating gulab jamuns long before I went to India. They're made from milk solids, shaped into balls, deep fried and then soaked in sugar syrup. Best served warm. Once at a wedding, a friend suggested I eat the warm gulab jamun with a scoop of ice cream - although I loved the texture (it was like a warm cake with ice cream) but the combination was just too sweet! At one point I tried pressing the ball with my spoon to squeeze out the sugar syrup so that the ice cream would over-power, but no, it didn't work. Gulab Jamun's are just insanely sweet - one piece is always enough. You should know that Indian sweets, just like their savoury dishes are rich in flavors. You'll almost always taste cardamon, cinnamon and saffron on everything, which to be honest I really like in the desserts because they end up smelling really good, almost like a flower! And that's really appealing! Oh, speaking of flowers, gulab in Indian means rose, and gol-ab in farsi means rose water! No wonder!
Jalebi. It was actually in the middle of summer when I first saw jalebi in Lucknow. In Iran we have something similar, called Zulubiya, except that they're more golden and crispy whereas the ones I found in Lucknow seemed more soft and they were often red-dish. So it's basically fried flour mixture, then soaked in sugar syrup or honey (like gulab jamuns). I always love to get my pieces fresh and warm, just so that I can watch them make those beautiful shapes in the oil.
Here's a video of how it's done!
But I must admit, I prefer the Iranian version. They're so crispy/crunchy on the outside and when you bite into it, the syrup is so runny.
 |
| Zulubiya, from Kerman, Iran. THE BEST! |
I've also tried warm jalebi with ice cream (also in a wedding, but a different wedding from the one I mentioned earlier hehe) and it was actually nice. Here's another dessert enjoyed with icecream - it's called Falooda - I do not have a photo, but it's basically boiled vermicelli served with icecream.
Here's a video of how it's prepared in Hazratganj. I didn't care that the tin of ice cream was dipped into a pot of water, or that the men use their bare hands. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and eat, because it's just so yummy!
Here's another version - a more expensive and fancy style of falooda, from Barbeque Nation. This is a kulfi buffet - you pick your flavor of kulfi sticks (a frozen dairy dessert I absolutely love!) then they add some vermicelli, then you choose your toppings (unlimited nuts, jelly, sprinkles, candies, chocolate, syrups)
 |
| I had four sticks on one visit! |
We have the same thing in Iran - it's called Faloodeh. Specifically Faloodeh Shirazi. The difference is with the ice cream; in Iran it's usually served with soft swirl ice cream rather than a hard block. The vermicelli is served frozen, and you have the option of pouring in some lemon juice or cherry sauce. I don't mean to have a competition each time I post the Iranian version hehe. I just want to show how exciting it is that these two countries have a lot of sweets in common, but with unique twists ;)
 |
| Faloodeh: Persian style :P |
Now to the less traditional sweets - there's cake. Lots of cake in Lucknow (even Vegatarian cake also known as eggless cake). I'm not really a fan of cake, so I didn't go crazy over the fact that there were bakeries on every main road! My favorites were A-One (in Aashiyana - amazing chocolate cake) and Mr Brown (I love their loaf cakes, because I generally prefer cakes without icing. This was often the kind of cake that my office mates would order and share round when celebrating something).
But the fanciest of them all was this one time I ate at Buttercup Bungalow - I finally saw the rainbow cake I've always dreamt of having...but to my disappointment, it didn't taste like rainbows. It was basically just food coloring for each layer. I expected each layer to have a different taste, according to its color. Wouldn't you? For example, strawberry flavor for the red layer, mango flavor for the yellow color. But the whole thing tasted the same. Anyways, still pretty!
These popsicles should have been first on the list. It all started when I was in Delhi for a month - it was the hottest I have ever experienced. EVER! Whenever my friends and I would go out the gates of the Lotus Temple after service, I'd rush over to the ice cream stand. Or shall I say stands...plural! there are always lots of them side by side. My favorite was the orange flavor. No particular brand, just the one that was 10 rupees (there was another brand that cost 20 rupees but they tasted just like the 10 rupees, so I only had to make sure they were giving me the 10 rupees one). I never had one at once, I always had at least two. That's because it was SO hot, one popsicle melted really fast, and I enjoyed it because orange juice is my favorite juice/flavor. The most I had in one standing was 6! They're so satisfying especially on a hot day!
 |
| I carried my obsession with orange popsicles to Lucknow |
 |
| The policemen behind me are wondering why I'm holding two packets |
This probably shouldn't be on the list because that's the chocolate I brought with me on my way to Lucknow, and the strawberries were from a grocery shop nearby. This was my guilty pleasure during my early months there.
Kheer! Whenever kheer was on the menu for an occasion at CISV, the lady in charge of the kitchen would tell me in the morning "Farzana, we have kheer tonight" and I'd break into a huge smile. The kitchen staff knew how much I loved it! Rice kheer most especially. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the gigantic pot of rice kheer I had so often at CISV, but I have pictures of when I attempted to make vermicelli kheer by myself at home.
Ingredients: milk, sugar, cardamom, vermicelli. Boil all together. Raisins and cashew nuts optional (added at the end). Served hot or cold - I like both ways. When it's done cooking, I have it right away. The left over, I put in the fridge and have it cold later on. This is so easy to make. Although it takes longer when you have the rice version - you have to cook the rice first and it should be really really soft (so it's almost like a pudding!)
I hope your laptop screen doesn't become infested with ants after reading through this :)