Jalebi

Jalebi is fermented batter piped into spirals, deep-fried until crisp, then soaked in warm sugar syrup. It is a bright orange sweet meant to be eaten hot, syrup still dripping from the crisp coils, sold from roadside stalls as often as it's served after a meal.

What it really is

A thin batter — flour loosened with a little yogurt or a fermentation starter — rests long enough to turn faintly sour and slightly bubbly, which is what gives jalebi its characteristic tang under all that sweetness. The batter is piped in tight spirals straight into hot oil, fried until the coils turn crisp and deep orange, then dropped immediately into warm sugar syrup, where the still-hot, porous fried dough soaks up syrup through its whole structure rather than just coating the surface.

The syrup has to be warm, not cold. Cold syrup barely penetrates the fried spiral, leaving a sweet shell over a plain interior; warm syrup is pulled all the way through the porous coil while it's still hot from the fryer.

How it is served

• Hot, straight from the syrup, sometimes still dripping onto the plate.
• Alongside a bowl of poha for a classic breakfast pairing in some regions.
• As a standalone sweet, sold by weight from a stall rather than plated in a restaurant.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the wheat in the batter.
• Say if it's served warm, since jalebi loses its crisp-then-syrupy contrast once it cools and sits.
• Note if a savoury pairing like poha is offered alongside, since that combination surprises guests unfamiliar with it.