There cannot be a more democratic sweet. The twisted jalebi is loved across communities and ages. The first test of a good one, unilaterally, is the crispy short bite. That's what everyone said — foodies and mithaiwalas alike. Then came the nuances of colour and temperature. Some like it hot, some like it cold with rabri, milk, malai or dahi. Some even prescribe it for headaches. Mother promise.
We stomped around Mumbai with the enviable task of tasting all the various types.
Bright red & XL: Lookmanji Mithaiwala, Mohammed Ali Road
This is where the Bohra and Parsis community get their fix. It's one mammoth jalebi (in varying weights of 250 gm onwards), red in colour, garnished with varakh and dry fruits. Proprietor Umaima Chitalwala says, "The red colour is very attractive. We make an orange one too, but when we put them side-by-side, people prefer the red ones. It's the juiciness that is appealing. Jalebis have a two-day shelf life and can be eaten in one sitting."
The basic ingredients of a jalebi are maida and water, left to ferment overnight for the slight tang. Lookmanji adds saffron to its sugar syrup for fragrance and suggests eating them for breakfast with malai or slightly sweetened dahi.
The Bohra community orders a colourless version for sombre occasions such as prayer meets for the departed and death anniversaries. "It's considered crude to gift brightly coloured things on such occasions, so the jalebi is white," says Chitalwala. "We garnish it with rose petals, since the flower is considered pure."
The Parsis like the red ones for birthdays and Navroze.
Laced doilee in maida: Tharu's Mukhi Bhandar, Khar
Sindhi legend has it that on Holi, the line from Tharu's stretches to Linking Road. Everyone needs their fix of gheear and pragari. The Sindhi gheear, also known as a Karachi jalebi, is a latticed net, about five to six inches in diameter. Tharu makes it only on Holi or by order. The gheear-pragari pair is sent to the daughter's home for the festival. "The trick is in making the network with a smallnozzle pipe," says Saajan Mandyni, a great grandson of the original founder. "There is nothing you can do to speed up the fermentation process, other than leave the batter near a heat source," he says. "Then we garnish it with pista."
Floral & mouth-sized: Punjabi Chandu Halwai, Dadar TT Circle
Chandu Halwai serves gheear all year round, but most importantly, he also serves emartis (in pic). These kada-like jalebis are made of urad daal and the batter is nozzled into a mould which sits in simmering ghee. Proprietor Bhartendu Singh says, "This makes it crisper and healthier than the normal jalebi. It's originally from Karachi." Emartis are traditionally eaten cold and offered during pittra paksh to dead ancestors. Tastewise, the emarti is grittier and juicier, since the veins are larger. After the crispy crust, the rest of it is spongy. It's very believable that you'd crave this in the spiritual world.
Tight coils of brown: Burhanpur Mawa Jalebu, Mohammed Ali Road
Nooruddin Narpali's Burhanpur mawa jalebi stall is now sandwiched between impostors who have a take on his name. He's hung laminated signs that scream, "Old" and "Original". The stall stands behind the Jama (Hara) Masjid in Bhendi Bazaar and churns out 40 kg of what is known as the 'widow-maker'. It opens at 3.30 or 4 pm.
"These are a speciality of Madhya Pradesh," says Narpali. "Take one in the morning, dip it in a glass of milk for five minutes and eat it. You'll have energy through the day."
The jalebis are made of mawa, arrowroot, milk and water; fried in oil and soaked in sugar syrup. Narpali suggests eating it with dahi, rabdi, milk or malai. "It tastes different with each accompaniment."
The challenge is knowing when to stop.
Maze of juice: Punjab Sweet House, Pali Naka
For the simple, thin-veined, hot jalebi, most people head to Punjab Sweet House. They are fried on the spot in a mixture of vanaspati and ghee, soaked in two-string sugar syrup and delivered into waiting hands. Proprietor H S Gulati says the trick is to fry it in oil for the correct amount of time. He also says jalebi with milk in the morning is a sure-fire cure for headaches. Consider this a medical sanction.
"The secret to our crispness is the ratio of three pulses we add to the mix of maida and water," he says, not giving away the names of the grains. "There is no added colour; the yellow comes from the pulses." Dussehra is marked in north Indian homes with rabdijalebis, which Gulati calls the king of sweets because, "children and adults love them equally."
The Gujarati and Marwari versions, found in home-stores such as Chedda and Chandan, colour the batter with saffron, fry the jalebi in ghee and garnish with slivered nuts.
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