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Rich, colourful delicacies from Alauddin |
Sweet tastes from the subcontinent
Don Ryan samples the delights of East Indian desserts
LONDON is home to several producers of lavishly made East Indian desserts and sweets.
These authentic, special occasion foods are enjoyed by people on the Indian subcontinent – regardless of faith – and are usually served at parties and during religious festivals.
Packed with dairy produce and some sugar, the deserts are deliciously sweet – but abuse them, and obesity or even diabetes is likely to beckon.
Eaten in moderation, however, they offer pure, unadulterated pleasure and a taste sensation that haunts the uninitiated western palate, long after consumption.
Ambala Sweet Centre, which has several outlets, first began making sweets at its original premises, near Euston, in 1965. The outside of their beautiful shop would not look out of place in the Rue Royale in Paris. The inside is equally impressive. A few doors away is Gupta. A more down-to-earth-business, it began selling Indian sweets in 1979. Cromer Street, behind Camden Town Hall, is home to a small café that sells the produce of Alauddin sweets, another highly regarded London-based producer. The proprietor, Ola, a Bangladeshi, is friendly and welcoming and more than willing to discuss ingredients and relate the tales behind each variety of his large stock of Alauddin’s authentic East Indian confections: gulab jamun are soft dough balls, while cham-cham is a succulent sponge. Both are dipped in syrup.
Pera is the children’s favourite, packed with lavish quantities of mawa, an Indian dairy delicacy and sprinkled with pistachio nuts.
Flour, cheese, chickpeas, nuts and butter are among the many natural ingredients packed into a wide range of sponge, and fudge like deserts.
Some, like the luscious jalebi – my favourite – are deep fried, sweet and sticky. Others are crumbly or flaky. Kaju – a finger shaped roll – is cake like. Kalakund, tastes similar to cheese cake.
The range is extensive and prices are reasonable, a 500g box of jalebi for £2.50, a mixed sampler box will cost around a fiver and many varieties can be brought individually for a few pence.
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