VJG Niche Notes

Imaratee and Jalebi is a Persian sweet popular in countries of the Indian Subcontinent such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is made by deep-frying batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in syrup.

The sweets are served warm or cold. They have a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary exterior coating. Citric acid or lime juice is sometimes added to the syrup, as well as rosewater or other flavors such as kewra water.

A similar sweet is imarti, which is red-orange in color and sweeter in taste, made in North Indian states including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. A variant Chhena Jalebi, made with chhena, is popular in parts of Rajasthan, Bengal, and Orissa, though the form can differ significantly from place to place.

In India Jalebi is served as the Celebration Sweet of India, popular during national holidays like Independence Day and Republic Day, on which it is supplied in government offices, defense facilities, and other organizations. Similarly, Jalebi is one of the most popular sweets in Pakistan. It is used as a remedy for headaches in some parts of Pakistan, where it is placed in boiling milk and left to stand before eating.

The earliest written references to the sweet are found in a 13th century cookbook by Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi. In Iran, where it is known as Zlebia, the sweet was traditionally given to the poor during Ramadan. It likely arrived in the Indian subcontinent during the period of Muslim rule, through cultural diffusion and trade, and its local name is Jalebi as Z is replaced by J in most Indian languages.

One of the earliest known Indian references for the sweet exists in a Jain work — Priyamkarnrpakatha — by Jinasura, apparently composed in AD 1450. This work was subsequently cited in cookery books published in later centuries including the 17th-century classic Bhojan-kutuhala by Raghunatha. So one can say with some measure of certainty that the jalebi has existed in the Indian subcontinent for at least 500 years.