23 Easy Indian Desserts To Make At Home

India is known for having some of the most widely loved spices in the world. They use these spices in savoury and sweet dishes, making everything from delicious curries, through to sweet, aromatic desserts.

Indians usually refer to their desserts as mithai, with each one having a different flavour profile and range of spices and syrup.

In this article, we are going to be talking about some of the easiest Indian desserts recipes that you can make at home today. All of these desserts are pretty simple, and we will give you handy instructions so that they are perfect. We hope you enjoy the read.

1.Indian Carrot Pudding

This is one of the most popular desserts in India, and its origin comes from a religious festival, where desserts and sweets were made to celebrate the day. This recipe requires a small handful of ingredients, so it’s pretty easy to make at home.

Let’s look at how to make this easy and delicious recipe.

Firstly, start by grating the carrot finely.
Next, grab a saucepan, and add your ghee until it has started to melt. Once the ghee has melted, add some cashews, and let them roast until they turn slightly brown.
Set them aside after you have finished.
Next, add some grated carrots to the pot. Let this cook down for around three minutes and add the milk and condensed milk.
Once you have added these, stir, and let come to a boil.
Pop a lid on top of your mix, and let pressure-cook for around three minutes.
Let the liquid evaporate until you are left with a thick mix. Add some cardamom powder, along with your cashew nuts. Enjoy!

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2. Basundi

Basundi is a Maharashtrian dish that is popular in Gujarat, and it is made with milk, nuts, and Lanzan seeds. We really couldn’t compile a list of easy Indian desserts recipes and not include it.

Firstly, bring some milk to the boil. Let it simmer for an hour, until it the quantity is halved.
Next, add some saffron, sugar, cardamom powder, and rose water if you like.
Once you have added these, add some nuts and charoli (Lanzan seeds).
Let this cook for five to ten minutes, and let it cool.
Once it has cooled, pour it into pots, and let it chill for an hour.
Serve with more nuts and green cardamom powder on top for a beautiful appearance.

3. Kheer (Rice Pudding)

We couldn’t have a list of easy Indian desserts recipes and not include kheer.

Kheer refers to an Indian rice pudding, and it is super easy to make at home. It is a classical dessert, and it makes a wonderful sweet treat after any kind of meal. Here’s how you make it.

Firstly, soak your saffron.
Next, pour some milk into a heavy bottomed pot, and add cardamom seeds. Add in some rice.
Let this boil, and then put it on a low simmering heat for around forty minutes. Once the timer is up, check that it has not burned on the bottom.
Stir in some sugar, and let it dissolve. Remove the cardamom seeds, because they will have flavored the milk very well.
Next, mix in some heavy cream, along with rosewater and the soaked saffron. Let the saffron soak in and color the liquid. Stir in some almonds and raisins, and let it cool.

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4. Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is probably the most popular dessert in India, and it simply means milk ball dessert. It is almost always made using flour, sugar, spices, and khoya (evaporated milk solids). And honestly, it’s one of my favourite all-time sweet treats.

Why not make them this evening?

Firstly, add some sugar and crushed cardamom pods to a large pot. Pour in the same amount of water, and let this boil until it starts to become sticky, but still translucent.
Time to make the dough! Get some milk powder, flour, and a large spoonful of baking soda.
Mix this well, and add a small tsp of ghee.
Add some yogurt, lemon juice, and milk.
Roll the balls until they are smooth, and be really gentle when handling this. Make sure the syrup that you made earlier is still warm.
Add some ghee or oil to a pan, and place the balls inside. Cook for around two minutes.
Keep frying them until they turn golden brown. Once golden brown, remove them from the oil.
Add them into the rose syrup, and serve in a bowl with the syrup, like dumplings and soup.

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5. Shrikhand

This desert is made using thick yoghurt, and you can use Greek yoghurt from the store for ease of use. It is essentially a sweetened, delicious yoghurt dish.

Our easy Indian desserts recipes really don’t get much simpler than this.

Start by grabbing a strainer or a sieve, and resting a cheesecloth or muslin towel on top. Put this on top of a large bowl, to allow the mixture to drip comfortably into the bowl beneath.
Next, pour the curd into the strainer, squeezing out the whey into the bottom bowl.
Weigh this bowl down, and let the rest of the whey drain for a few hours.
Next, add some warm milk, and steep saffron.
Grind up some cardamom pods, or use powder.
Place the hung curd (or yogurt) in a bowl, adding sugar gradually.
Add some saffron steeped milk, as well as your ground up cardamon.
Beat with a mixer or a whisk. Make sure everything is dissolved, and that the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Serve in bowls, and you’re ready to enjoy! You can even garnish this dish with pistachios and dried fruit.

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6. Mango Halwa

This mango halwa dish is a magnificent dessert if you like the taste of fresh fruit. This dessert is unique, and it differs from other Indian desserts that typically contain very similar ingredients. Let’s find out more about this fruity dessert.

Blend up some mango with saffron, sugar, and cardamon. Blend it until it is smooth, and set this aside.
Add some semolina to a pan, and dry roast until it smells nutty and sweet. Set aside
Heat up some ghee, and add some cashews, along with dried fruit. Set these aside again.
To that same pot, add 1.5 cups of water, and bring it to a boil.
Add some rava, and stir. Add your ghee, along with the puréed mango and sugar mix. Keep this on a medium heat for around ten minutes, making sure to stir sporadically.
Serve in a bowl, and garnish with pistachios and dried fruit.

7. Coconut Ladoo

This coconut ladoo is a delicious after dinner dessert, with a sweet and creamy coconut flavor. It does not take long to make, and there is a unique and delicious texture to them. Let’s look at how to make coconut ladoo.

Firstly, toast some coconut in a pan over medium heat. Make sure it is well toasted, and add some coconut milk and crushed cardamom pods.
Cook this off for a few minutes.
Next, add sugar and salt, and cook down for another twenty minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated.
Whilst this is happening, toast some almond flakes over medium heat, and set them aside, too. Add these to the coconut mixture, and let them cool down completely.
Once they are cold, shape them into small balls, rolling them gently in the coconut.
Pop these in the fridge and serve later.

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8. Indian Peanut Brittle

Everyone loves peanut brittle, and Indian cuisine has its own version. Let’s find out how to make this delicious peanut brittle.

Dry roast your unsalted peanuts on a medium heat, stirring and agitating them.
When the skin starts to come off, keep roasting. They should be golden when they are done. Let them cool, and remove the skin.
Next, add jaggery, along with water. Once the water has dissolved, add some ghee and let it bubble and simmer.
When it has reached the hard ball stage, add it to the peanuts, and pour onto a greased surface.
Shape it, and let it cool until it is brittle. Enjoy!

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9. Kulfi

As lovers or ice cream, we had to include kulfi amongst our best Indian desserts recipes.

Kulfi is a popular frozen milk dessert, with a range of toppings added. It’s super simple to make, and you only need five or six ingredients. Let’s look at how to make this sweet and cool treat.

Firstly, blend pistachios into a powder. Set aside.
In a pan, heat up milk, and add cardamom powder, and saffron. Let it thicken.
Once thick, add khoya, sugar, and pistachio powder.
Let it simmer more until it is thick, creamy, and well combined. Let this cool until it is room temperature, and pour them into molds.
Freeze until solid, and serve.

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10. Shahi Tukra

Shahi Tukra is a delicious dessert made from deep-fried bread dipped in a sugar syrup. The bread is fried in ghee, and placed in a spiced milk mixture. Let’s find out how to make it.

Firstly, remove the crusts from white bread, and slice diagonally in two.
Heat up some ghee, and fry the bread until it has become golden and crisp.
Head up milk with condensed milk.
Add in some saffron and cardamom, and let this simmer for 10 minutes.
Pour the hot milk mix on top of the deep-fried bread.
Add more ghee to a pan, and cry some mawa, cardamom powder, and a small amount of sugar. Put this mix on the bread, too.
Sprinkle on nuts, chill, and enjoy.

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11. Boondi Ladoo

Boondi Ladoo refers to a street food that is made from cashew. It’s so quick, simple, and delicious, we had to include it amongst our easy Indian desserts recipes.

Mix gram flour, rice flour, and baking soda.
Next, add some water to the flour mix, and whisk into a batter.
Scoop this batter, and fry in hot oil.
Make a sugar syrup, and soak the boondis in this syrup.
Fry up some cashews and raisins until they are golden, with the addition of cardamom, cloves, and melon seeds.
Serve and enjoy.

12. Kalakand

Kalakand is a cardamom filled milk cake, and it’s creamy and delicious. Here’s how to make it.

Add some ricotta, sugar, and water to a pan, and mix well. Let it cook for ten minutes on high pressure.
Add some ghee, milk powder, and cardamon, and make sure it is combined.
Pour this batter like mix into a tin, and let it cool down.
Next, put it in the fridge for 3 hours to set.
Cut it into squares, and enjoy.

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13. Urad Dal Laddu

This recipe is healthier than most other Indian desserts, and you have to try it. These are one of the quickest desserts on our list. Let’s find out how to make it.

Roast your black lentils until they are golden. Add sugar, and a pinch of salt to the blender.
Grind these lentils into a powder, and set aside.
Next, add some melted ghee to the mix, and roll it into little balls.
They are now ready to be eaten. (We told you it was easy)

14. Sooji Halwa

Sooji Halwa refers to a saffron infused fudge, and it is delicious. It helps that it is quick to make, too! Let’s look at how to make it.

Heat up some ghee, and add condensed milk and milk powder. Add saffron, and cardamon, and let it infuse.
Remove saffron after eight minutes.
Keep mixing, until the mixture becomes sticky.
Grease your palms, and take a small ball from the mixture, rolling into whatever shape you desire. Indent the middle, and set aside. Top with almonds, pistachio, and saffron, and chill. It’s now ready to eat.

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15. Jalebi

Jalebi is similar to a funnel cake, but they are mixed with a syrup sweet sauce. Let’s find out how to make this easy Indian dessert.

First, mix some flour with gram flour, turmeric, and baking soda.
Add some water, and break any lumps.
Once mixed, pour the batter into a squeeze bottle, and deep-fry in oil or ghee.
Make the syrup from sugar, saffron, and rose. Douse the Jalebi in syrup, and enjoy.

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16. Phirni

Phirni is a sweet rice pudding dessert, and it’s super quick to make. Let’s run through how to make this speediest of easy Indian desserts recipes

Firstly, soak some basmati rice in water.
Blend this into a paste.
Boil some milk, and simmer until it has thickened.
Add the rice paste, and stir continuously.
Add in sugar, and saffron infused milk.
Mix until it has thickened, and serve in a bowl, with some nuts and pistachios.

17. Rasgulla

Rasgulla is another milk based dessert, with small cheese balls in sugar syrup. It’s an obvious inclusion for our easy Indian desserts recipes and delicious too. Let’s look at how to make it.

First, boil some milk, and let it simmer. Add some lemon juice, and keep stirring until it curdles completely.
Add some ice to a bowl, and pour in the mix. This will help separate the curdles.
Put a cheesecloth in a colander, and strain the curds. Remove as much water as you can.
Form small balls out of it, and divide into 18.
Pour water and cardamom into a pressure cooker, along with sugar and rosewater. Let this turn into a syrup, and add the rasgulla.
Cook for ten minutes, and serve.

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18. Seviyan

Seviyan is a vermicelli pudding, with aromatic spices. Let’s find out more about this.

Boil some milk, as well as heavy cream.
Toast some vermicelli with cardamom pods and set aside.
Add this to the thickened milk mixture, and add sugar and additional toppings.
Boil these more and let it reduce until it is a pudding consistency. Enjoy.

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19. Badam Kulfi

Badam Kulfi is an easy North Indian sweet treat. Here’s the recipe.

Mix almonds, cream, and condensed milk together, and heat until thickened. Add saffron strands and remove when cool.
Pour into molds, and add almonds and pistachios to the top. Freeze for a few hours, and serve with some chilled falooda.

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20. Paneer Burfi

Paneer Burfi is a sweet and easy dessert. Why not try it today?

Prepare some paneer, and dry it.
Add paneer to a bowl, along with milk powder, and sugar.
Mix until it forms a dough.
Transfer into a tin, and let it cool. Add toppings of your choice, and enjoy.

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21. Karupatti Halwa

This recipe is not as popular as some others, but it is just as delicious. Let’s find out how to make it.

Get some jaggery, and boil with water.
Mix rice flour with coconut milk, and add together. Boil more until the coconut oil has evaporated.
Heat some ghee, and fry some cashews and kishmish until golden. Add this to the mix, and pour into a tin.
Let it cool, and serve and enjoy.

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22. Doodh Peda

Doodh Peda is a mix of condensed milk and dried milk. It’s one of our super easy Indian dessert recipes that you can make at home.

Firstly, grate some khoya, and add to a pan.
Add sugar, and ground cardamom. Heat up, and add some milk. The mix should start to become a liquid, and let it thicken for a while.
Cool the mixture, and roll into balls, topped with pistachios.

23. Rasmalai

This is the last on our list of easy Indian desserts recipes, but it is not forgotten. In fact, it’s one of my favourites.

Let’s look at how to make it.

Boil some milk until it has bubbled, and add some lemon to let it curdle.
Line a colander with cheesecloth, and strain the curds. Wash it with water.
Knead the paneer, like a dough, for ten minutes.
Flatten, and serve in a delicious and sticky rose syrup.

Final Thoughts

Indian food is super rich in flavour and aromatics, and these quick desserts are too. We hope you liked these recipes, and happy cooking!

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Dylan Cole

When it comes to great places to eat in Australia, the list really is endless. There are so many different restaurants, cafés, and chains to try that you really are spoiled for choice. From Italian food, to Japanese food, to a good ‘ole rump steak, the food options are endless.

This is why I decided to set up my blog, Eatability, to share the best food and drink spots in Australia with as many people as possible. Hi, my name is Dylan Cole, and I moved to Australia five years ago from England, UK.

Through this blog, I will be sharing and recommending some of my favorite places you need to visit, such as where to find the best pizza in Adelaide, and the best bakery in Brisbane. Whatever food you are fancying, I have got you covered!