Baigan Choka- Made from a roasted Boulanger (eggplant). Peel is removed and generally onion, herbs, spices and seasonings are added and mixed to a semi paste. Served best with paratha roti.
Bara- a small, generally yellow, oval shaped paratha fried in oil. The dough contains ground split peas, spices, seasonings and colouring. Best served with chutney (from hot sauce)
Barfi- plain barfi is made from condensed milk, cooked with sugar until it solidifies. Barfi is often flavoured with cashew, mango, pistachio and spices, and is sometimes served coated with a thin layer of edible silver leaf (varak). Visually, barfi sometimes resembles cheese and may have a hint of cheese scent to it. For this reason, barfi is sometimes called “Indian Cheese Cake.”
Gulab Jamun- a desert made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids in a sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron. Gulab Jamun is most often eaten at festival or major celebrations, such as marriages, Diwali (the Indian festival of lights) and the Muslim celebration of Eid UL Fitir
Gulgulla – a desert made of dough consisting mainly of flour, milk, banana, raisin, sugar and cinnamon. This is then made into an oval shaped ball and fried in oil. This is common during the celebration of major festivals e.g. Phagwah and Diwali.
Parsad- an offering that is made by Hindus to God after which it is then shared to devotees present. It is made with flour, sugar, raisins, milk, cinnamon and cloves. Sometimes ground rice is used instead of flour.
Ras Malai- ras malai consists of sugary, cream to yellow-coloured balls of paneer soaked in malai (clotted cream). The milk is flavoured with pistachious, saffron and rosewater.
Rasagolla- prepared by kneading chhena (fresh curd cheese) often lightened with a small amount of semolina (hard grains left after milling of flour), and rolling them into small balls. These are then boiled in a light sugar syrup until the syrup permeates the balls. Rasagollas are usually served at room temperature or colder. However, modern Indian households also tend to serve them chilled.
Roti – traditional bread which is normally eaten with curries or cooked vegetables. It is made most often from wheat flour, cooked on a flat or slightly concave iron griddle called a tawa. It is similar to a tortilla in appearance. Like breads around the world, roti is a staple accompaniment to other foods.
Samosa- a stuffed pastry and a popular snack. It generally consists of a fried triangular or tetrahedron- shaped pastry shell with a savory filling of special potatoes, onion, peas, coriander, minced meat or sometimes fresh paneer. The popular Indian vegetarian version contains flour (maida), potato, onion spices, green chilli. It is often served with chutney, such as mint, coriander or tamarind.