20 Famous Sweets in Delhi You Must Try: Best Traditional Mithai

There are various famous sweets in Delhi that anyone can taste, including jalebi, gulab jamun, daulat ki chaat, ghevar, gajar ka halwa, and more. As a major part of Indian culture and tradition, you can find them anywhere you go in Delhi.

Delhi is mostly known for its history, spicy street food, traditional bazaars, and whatnot. However, the real magic lies in its traditional sweets that one can find anywhere they travel in the capital city. These sweets are so flavorful, with such a huge variety, that while taking a single bite, people end up eating 3 to 4 pieces in a row. If you have also heard so much about getting a taste of India’s most famous sweets in Delhi, you can start with a list and taste them one by one.

Here are the top 20 traditional Indian sweets that you can try in Delhi:

1. Jalebi

As one of the best sweets in Delhi, Jalebi indeed deserves the first place. It is a crispy, deep-fried, spiral-shaped sweet that is made from maida flour and soaked in warm sugar syrup before serving. You can find Jalebi at various vendor stalls in Delhi, but you may prefer a restaurant or Old Delhi to taste the best flavors.

2. Ghevar

Ghevar is a disc-shaped delight that is made from flour, ghee, and milk. This honeycomb-textured sweet is deeply connected with royal Rajasthani history. It is mainly found in Delhi during monsoon or festivities, such as Teej, Raksha Bandhan, and Gangaur, making it the best mithai in Delhi.

3. Daulat Ki Chaat

The name implies it is a spicy delight, but actually Daulat Ki Chaat is a sweet dish and dessert, made from churned milk, cream, saffron, and sugar. Prepared with ingredients such as saffron and chopped pistachios or almonds, you can find this sweet dish during the chilly winter streets of Old Delhi.

4. Rabri

Rabri (rabdi or rabidi) is one of the oldest traditional Indian sweets with a history going back to the early 14th to 12th century. When made from authentic full-fat milk, it offers a deep, cooked-milk sweetness, which goes far beyond adding regular sugar.

You may also see many famous sweet shops in Delhi offering it with almonds, pistachios, and sometimes cashews, which adds an earthy and nutty flavor to it.

5. Kulfi

Kulfi comes from a Persian word, qulfi, which means “covered cup,” as it originated during the Mughal times in India. As the name suggests, the Kulfi you may find at famous places in Delhi will be covered with pistachios, saffron, cardamom, and sometimes rose water. This legendary sweet is best tasted in Chawri Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh, and other places.

6. Motichoor Ladoo

Motichoor Ladoo is a classic, famous mithai in Delhi. With a sweet, subtle taste of cardamom and melon seeds, you sometimes get a hint of saffron in it as well. These laddoos are made of fine gram flour that just melt in your mouth and let you experience their sweetness when prepared in pure desi ghee (clarified butter).

7. Chikki

Chikki is another traditional sweet that you should try in Delhi. Made by mixing melted jaggery with roasted nuts, chikki can be found anytime in Delhi, and especially during Makar Sankranti. It is available in many versions, such as the signature peanut chikki, but others include dry fruit chikki and til (seasame) chikki.

8. Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli or Kaju Barfi is a rich sweet, used during festivals as gifts and in temples as offerings. This famous sweet comes in various flavors, including the classic one with edible silver leaf, kesar, rose, and others with balanced sugar levels. Kaju Katli is considered one of the most loved and famous mithai in Delhi.

9. Rasmalai

Rasmalai is a legendary spongy and soft sweet, which is not only famous in Delhi, but across India. With a rich fragrance of saffron and cardamom, rasmalai gives a nostalgic, Old Delhi feeling. It is available in many neighbourhoods in Delhi, especially in the Chawri Bazaar area.

10. Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamuns are a favorite sweet of almost every Indian, which is why you can see them at most weddings. These delicious dough balls are made from khoya (reduced milk) and dipped in rose-cardamom sugar syrup. Served hot, these spongy, textured gulab jamuns can be found at many heritage places and on the menu of Old Delhi famous sweets shops.

11. Rasgulla

Rasgulla is another legendary dessert and sweet you can try in Delhi. With so many varieties to explore, such as sponge, baked, Gur Khajoor, and makhani rasgulla, these ball-shaped dumplings are considered a must-have at different celebrations, temple offerings, and festivals.

12. Peda

As a traditional Indian sweet, Peda offers a delicious taste of Indian culture, as it originated in Mathura as prasad (sacred offering) and is used for festivals. You can experience its rich flavours of cardamom, saffron, or pistachios, with different varieties including Mathura peda, doodh peda, and kesar peda.

13. Imarti

Imarti (Amirti or Emarti) is considered the best mithai in Delhi that you can taste as a traveler. It is a classic Indian sweet, traditionally made from ground black gram and deep-fried in desi ghee. This soft and spongy sweet looks like Jalebi, which confuses many foreign travelers when they first see it.

14. Balushahi

Another famous mithai in Delhi is Balushahi, whose taste is appreciated not only in North India, but also across South and Central India, as Makhan Bada. Balushahi carries a deep scent of cardamom or rose water with its round shape, similar to the Western doughnut. But what makes it different from a doughnut is its crispy, sweet, and dense flavor, due to authentic desi ghee.

15. Soan Papdi

Often gifted on festivals such as Deepawali, Soan Papdi is among the famous mithai in Delhi to try after Balushahi. This light and flaky sweet is made from gram flour, wheat flour, sugar, and ghee. Its candy-like texture melts in the mouth, leaving a sweet, earthy taste when mixed with almonds and pistachios.

16. Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar Ka Halwa, or Gajrela, is a famous mithai in Delhi and a carrot pudding that people often eat as breakfast or after lunch or dinner. As one of the most loved desserts in India, Gajar Ka Halwa tastes delicious only in the juicy carrot season of winter. It is slowly cooked with ingredients such as khoya, nuts, carrots, ghee, and others that make its fragrance so appetite-enhancing.

17. Kheer

Kheer is a slowly cooked traditional Indian rice pudding. The creamy and rich flavor of Kheer is achieved through patient cooking of milk, rice, and sugar until the dish gets a thick, gentle texture. At many famous places in Delhi, you may taste this culturally rich dessert, flavoured with cardamom, nuts, saffron, and raisins.

18. Gujiya

Gujiya is a half-moon-shaped sweet, which you will see being cooked at various shops during the festival of Holi and Diwali. As one of Delhi famous sweets, Gujiya comes with a crispy outer shell with stuffing of roasted khoya, dry fruits, coconut, and green cardamom. It is known by various names, such as karanji in Maharashtra, ghughra in Gujarat, nevri in Goa, and purukiya in Bihar.

19. Malpua

Malpua might be the oldest among the best sweets in Delhi. Its origins go back to ancient India during the Vedic period around 1500 BCE. Malpua is not an Indian pancake simply because it matches the shape. It is different in cooking, flavor, and ingredients. Some of the delicious Malpuas are found in Old and Central Delhi.

20. Milk Cake

Also known as the traditional Indian sweet, Milk Cake should be on your “sweets to taste in Delhi” list. Along with the deeply rich, sweet, and nutty flavor, Milk Cake also offers many unique creamy undertones. Every bite you take of this sweet connects you more culturally with Delhi and its cultural value in India.

Conclusion

It is so fascinating to think that even after being a small part of India, Delhi has so much to offer. From its history to culture and distinct cuisine to famous sweets, it never disappoints those who want to connect more deeply. Thus, whether you are roaming in the streets of Old Delhi or visiting famous places, some of these famous mithai in Delhi can let you experience the sweetness you only get to explore in Delhi.

If you are also a foodie and want to know more about Indian food, sweets, and desserts, visit the DDelhi platform. With some of the most unique places to visit and experiences to have in Delhi, our platform also features many foods and culinary delights you can taste as well. Whether your tongue loves spicy, tangy flavors or is fond of sweet, creamy kulfi, at our platform, you can find whatever suits you best. Therefore, visit our platform and explore Delhi from a closer perspective.

Also Read: Top 20+ Old Delhi Street Food Places Every Food Lover Must Visit