10 South Indian desserts that you should savour this diwali

If you are scouring for the best of Indian cuisine, there is no looking over the desserts of India, especially with Diwali just a few days away. Previously, we gave you a very fair idea of the thalis of India, those lavish spreads of all things that can be tagged as good food. Continuing on the same note, we now have a line up of the most amazing desserts from South India. Read on and you will know that there is some really good competition from desserts down South.

1. Mysore Pak With my tendency to judge all things hyped, and figure out if they are worth it, I took my first ever bite of Mysore Pak. What delighted me was the fact that this dessert is worth all the hype that it attracts. A very generous dose of cardamom, gram flour, ghee and sugar or jaggery, Mysore Pak is heaven on your plate. Do not miss.

2. Gadbad ice cream
Another dessert with a Mysore connect (that is where I had it for the first time), Gadbad Icecream is nothing like its name. It comes from a restaurant in Udupi, where the owner threw in a mix of flavours when his customers asked for ice creams. It is believed that experimented with his regular ice cream flavours to meet the customers demand swiftly, and came up with this layered ice cream. It has one layer each of saffron ice cream, fresh fruits, a thin layer of jelly, dry fruits and vanilla ice cream. It is served in transparent glass containers and is as much a delight to look at as it is to taste.
3. Kesari Bhaat

This is one dish that is so good to look at that you will have a dessert-like emotion sweeping over your taste buds even before you are served. Apart from rice, it can have bananas, pineapples, coconuts and even mangoes for its base. Also, a very generous sprinkle of saffron strands and dry fruits make it quite heavenly, and one of the regular breakfast options, especially in Karnataka.

4. Mandige

A crepe-like dessert, Mandige has its origin in Belgaum, Karnataka. Anyone, who has grown in Belgaum, would remember having loads of it for an everyday dessert. A well-battered mixture of wheat flour, sugar powder, ghee, cardamom and poppy seeds, goes into the making of this really fluff dessert choice.

5. Bellary’s Cycle Khova

Okay, so only a true dessert lover will know about this one. Once you are in this town, there will be plenty of sellers (and buyers), roaming around on cycles, selling Cycle Khova (thickened milk) on sal leaves out of brass or copper containers. Most of the sellers serve it quite fresh, straight out of those huge containers strapped to their cycles.

6. Malpuri
Also known as malpua, this dessert from South India is quite popular in other regions of the country as well. A pancake-like delicacy, this is quite sweet, as the dessert is dipped in sugar syrup during preparation! Also expect a heavy dash of dry fruits, cardamom powder and grated coconut on top of it. Sinful is the word to go with it.

7. Karadantu

This delicacy from rural Karnataka is more of an energy bar for the uninitiated. It also comes in a laddu avatar, and is a meal in itself! Yes, you read that right, for this dessert is a blend of pistachios, almonds, nut seeds, cashews, dates, figs, jaggery and edible gum. You might as well pop one in with a glass of water before a gym session and go raring!

8. Bonda Payasa
The coconut lover in me almost did a somersault at discovering the joy that is bonda payasa. Not overly sweet, this kheer is made of coconut milk, grated coconut, jaggery or sugar and a whole lot of dry fruits. You can also expect a dash of saffron here. Not as thick as rice kheer, bonda payasa is sinful yet will not lead to an alarming sugar count.

9. Maladu
Maladu or ma laddoo is, well, a sort of laddoo that has its origin in the Southern Indian states. You can have this prepared in ample quantities, for they do not go bad for around a week. It is made of roasted gram flour, jaggery/sugar, cashews, ground cardamom. While this comes in quite some flavours these days, stick to the simple, original ones and you will feel like falling in love… with all things dessert.

10. Badusha
Chances are that you might have tasted it already, albeit with a different name, balushahi. While it may look like doughnuts if you are new to the Indian dessert scene, it tastes way more delectable than any doughnuts you can ever have. The most common version of badusha is made of refined wheat flour, deep fried and then dipped in sugar syrup. A dessert that will make you crave for multiple servings.