Indian Sweets Beyond Cardamom: 8

Unique Flavouring Agents

For Indian Mithai Recipes

Quick Summary

Indian sweets overdose on cardamom, and for good reason, given their flavour is impossible to match, and thus is the norm across many mithai recipes. This flavour pod adds its distinct scent to kaju katli, peda, laddoo and kheer from Navratri through Diwali and into the wedding season, and it rightfully deserves its place too. But to make things a little extra special, especially during the festive period, experiment with floral flavours from rose petals to sharper ones like black pepper in your sweets.

Deep Dive

Elaichi can take a break, as from the spice box comes innovation with old favourites like rose and kewra, and this list pushes things further by introducing Western favourites like orange zest and lavender. The latter bit calls for fusion mithai, and those who are fans of experimental desserts (looking at chocolate mithai lovers) will like the use of spices and more that are mostly reserved for everything else but mithai-making. In fact, many sweetmeat shops that like experimenting with new flavours feature sweets like lavender and mango barfi to orange rasmalai already. So if you are looking to experiment with some flavouring agents that are not cardamom, you should learn more about each of them before adding them to any sweet.

1. Rose Petals

Rose is the most familiar name on this list, yet it rarely goes beyond garnish. Gulkand, the preserve of rose petals and sugar, carries a concentrated, cooling floral flavour; the name combines the Persian words for flower and sweet. Mithai makers also use petals for aroma and colour, and many almond sweets are finished with rose petals for exactly that reason, and Indian sweets built on khoya or nuts take well to the same treatment.

• It adds a sweet, softly floral and cooling note, with a perfumed finish to sweets.

• How to use it: Fold a teaspoon or two of gulkand into peda or khoya fillings, layer it between barfi sheets, or scatter dried petals over cooled sweets. Gulkand has a lot of sugar, so reduce the sugar in the mithai recipe to account for gulkand’s sweetness. Use only petals sold as edible, never florist roses.

2. Kewra Water

Kewra water carries the essence of the fragrant screwpine flower, the source of the kewra essence, used as a flavouring in parts of India and Sri Lanka. It is a quiet regular behind barfi and rasmalai, and for soaking freshly made gulab jamun in warm kewra syrup before serving. Its sweet, perfumed aroma behaves much like rose, so many Indian sweets can use it as an alternative to rose.

• It perfumes any sweet dish with a distinct smell and is close in character to rose.

• How to use it: Add a few drops off the heat to syrups, rasmalai milk or barfi mixtures so the aroma is not cooked away. Because kewra and rose are so alike, pick one as the lead flavour. Store the bottle in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

3. Mace (Javitri)

Mace is the lacy red-orange aril that wraps the nutmeg seed, so both spices come from the same fruit. Its flavour is close to nutmeg but finer, with a faint peppery edge. Javitri is crucial for many Mughlai gravies like mutton or chicken rezala, korma and also nihari. Adding a pinch to kheer, shrikhand, or halwa is where it starts to change Indian sweets.

• It infuses sweets with a warm, sweet and woody scent with a light pepper note.

• How to use it: Warm one blade in the milk for rabri or kheer and lift it out before serving, or stir a small pinch of powder into halwa. A single blade can flavour four to six portions, so go easy. Buy whole blades where possible, as ground mace loses flavour quickly.

4. Fennel Seeds

Saunf is usually a mouth freshener, but its warm, aniseed-like flavour is already used in chai and some Bengali pithe. Ground fennel can be paired with orange zest, cardamom, and saffron in a peda layer, and shows how well it sits in milk-based fudge. Fennel is common in Indian kitchens and still rare in Indian sweets, and using this festive season as an excuse to experiment with saunf is worth it.

• Saunf is sweet, with a liquorice- or anise-like flavour and a cooling finish. It will turn bitter if toasted too long or on high heat.

• How to use it: Grind fresh and add a pinch to peda, kheer or barfi mixtures, or finish sweets with a sprinkle of sugar-coated saunf. Toast lightly, if at all.

5. Orange Zest

Citrus flavour sits in the coloured zest, where the oils are, not in the juice. The white pith underneath is bitter. That makes zest a way to lift any mithai, in terms of flavour, without adding moisture, which is important in delicate khoya and chenna sweets. You could try making something like an orange rasmalai or an orange-black pepper bhapa doi, as a fusion mithai. Zest is still a lesser-used move in Indian sweets, so it reads as new.

• Rich in citrus oils, in concentrated form, it is the perfect addition for desserts that taste light and carry no sourness of juice.

• How to use it: Wash the fruit and zest only the coloured layer with a fine grater. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips before cooking, which releases the oils into the crystals. Start with the zest of one orange per batch for peda, rasmalai milk or coconut barfi.

6. Black Pepper

Black pepper is the least expected entry here, but it has a clear job. Tiny amounts of black pepper or fresh ginger add heat that cuts through richness in Indian desserts. Some modern mithai makers go further, binding makhana and peanuts with jaggery, seeds, pepper and Himalayan salt for sweet-savoury bites. Used this way, kali mirch changes how Indian sweets finish on the palate.

• Black pepper adds a kick to sweets with its sharp, pungent and warming flavour.

• How to use it: Grind fresh and add a pinch to jaggery laddoo, chikki or ghee-roasted halwa. Start small and taste before adding more.

7. Star Anise

Star anise, or chakra phool, is a staple of Ayurvedic cooking and is also present in many sweet and savoury dishes in Indian cooking, with mithai remaining a rare area for its occurrence. Its taste is subtly sweet with a faint liquorice note, and it pairs naturally with warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Among Indian sweets, it suits syrups and reduced milk best, playing the role cardamom usually plays with a liquorice-sweet note.

• It is sweet, warm and liquorice-like, with faint citrus undertones.

• How to use it: Drop one pod into the sugar syrup for gulab jamun, or into milk reducing for rabri or phirni, and remove it before serving. Buy whole pods of true star anise from a reliable seller, because Japanese star anise can be toxic.

8. Culinary Lavender

Lavender is the newest guest on the mithai tray, and its trickle-down effect in Indian mithai is slow but gradual. There are some places that sell a fusion sweet pairing lavender with something familiar like mango and patting it into barfis and laddoos. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the culinary variety, with a sweet floral flavour, while non-culinary types carry more camphor and can taste soapy or bitter. Dried flowers are far more potent than fresh, so restraint matters. Lavender works best in Indian sweets as an infusion.

• The standout on this list, lavender is delicate, sweet-floral and herbal.

• How to use it: Steep about a teaspoon of dried culinary lavender in warm milk or cream for 30 minutes, then strain. Use that milk for rabri, peda or phirni. Alternatively, mix dried lavender into sugar for rolling laddoo. Lavender pairs well with lemon, honey and white chocolate. Buy only lavender labelled for culinary use.

Fusion Mithai Flavour Pairing Cheat Sheet

Use this reference to match each flavouring agent to the Indian sweets it suits best. Starting measures are cautious, so build up only after tasting.

Layer The Flavours Without Overpowering The Sweet

Overloading a dessert with intense flavours is a common pitfall in fusion desserts, so keep to two agents at most. Study these flavouring agents, as spices used in savoury or sweet dishes tend to be used in the same stages. For instance, whole spices such as mace and star anise are added to milk or syrup early and then removed, while delicate floral waters are added off the heat. Try any change to mithai recipes on a small batch, and taste after the sweet has rested. Pick one agent, one sweet and one festive weekend, and when done in small steps, festive mithai recipes become a personal signature without losing the flavours of Indian mithai that everyone expects on the table.