The paper bag has turned from white to transparent from the oily snack inside. I suspect that time is as unkind to jalebi as it is to everything else deep-fried, but I just didn’t have time to eat it yesterday.
Today, on the other hand…
Pulling it out of the bag. It’s a swirl of bright orange small tubes that look hollow but are heavier to lift than I expected. Deep-fried batter, soaked in sugar syrup said the owner of the Indian sweet store. Smells oily, sweet.
The colour comes from saffron or turmeric, I suppose. Or food colouring!
Bite. The tubes are indeed, hollow… but no, a small flow of syrup erupts from somewhere. Sticky, chewy, stays-in-my-teeth… but tasty. Sweet, of course, perhaps a little like honey in flavour… The strange eccentric aunt in the donut family.
Yes, they are dry until bitten, then the moisture springs from its hiding places among the coils. Crunchy, cool, addictive! Must be amazing fresh and warm.
Terribly, terribly bad for you.
I think it is saffron… saffron has always smelled like honey to me.
I really want to visit India, a vegetarian’s paradise… I will have to content myself with jalebi instead. Not a hardship!
Rating:
Specifics: Jalebi, bought from an Indian sweet store in Liverpool
Jalebi
The paper bag has turned from white to transparent from the oily snack inside. I suspect that time is as unkind to jalebi as it is to everything else deep-fried, but I just didn’t have time to eat it yesterday.
Today, on the other hand…
Pulling it out of the bag. It’s a swirl of bright orange small tubes that look hollow but are heavier to lift than I expected. Deep-fried batter, soaked in sugar syrup said the owner of the Indian sweet store. Smells oily, sweet.
The colour comes from saffron or turmeric, I suppose. Or food colouring!
Bite. The tubes are indeed, hollow… but no, a small flow of syrup erupts from somewhere. Sticky, chewy, stays-in-my-teeth… but tasty. Sweet, of course, perhaps a little like honey in flavour… The strange eccentric aunt in the donut family.
Yes, they are dry until bitten, then the moisture springs from its hiding places among the coils. Crunchy, cool, addictive! Must be amazing fresh and warm.
Terribly, terribly bad for you.
I think it is saffron… saffron has always smelled like honey to me.
I really want to visit India, a vegetarian’s paradise… I will have to content myself with jalebi instead. Not a hardship!
Rating:
Specifics: Jalebi, bought from an Indian sweet store in Liverpool