Indian Desserts in Varanasi (and a Cow Stampede)

Indian desserts are very famous in Varanasi. Take a look at this article about Indian sweets – http://migrationology.com/?p=15559

Now I’m not the biggest sweets fan, in fact, most of the time I’d prefer to fill up on extra rice and curry then save room for dessert. But since Varanasi is a city that’s gained a reputation for its high quality of rich Indian desserts, I decided I better have a sample before leaving.

After sampling the Varanasi Indian desserts I definitely wanted to head straight to the Kash Chaat Bhandar (http://migrationology.com/2013/08/indian-chaat-at-the-kashi-chaat-bhandar-in-varanasi/) to get something salty in my mouth!

There are many Indian desserts vendors throughout Varanasi, but right around the Main Ghat within the narrow lanes, you’ll find plenty of suitable options. The sweets are very recognizable as they are always housed in clean and bright cabinets that nearly look like shrines themselves. Having no clue what to order, I simply stopped by and asked the vendor to choose me a mixed box. He pulled out a box and after a moment of thinking he filled it with six of his favorites. My box of Indian desserts included laddu, kalakand, lal peda, sandesh, and peda, all of these being quite famous North Indian sweets. They were all similar in color and texture, and appearance from the outside.

So I first began by sampling the laddu. The laddu was very nutty and a little sweet, and it really almost tasted like dry peanut butter. It was about the size of a ping pong ball and brownish in color. Next up was the lal peda, an Indian dessert that looked like a little bit of cookie dough in both appearance and texture. It was very creamy and not quite as sweet as the previous. Next was the kalakand (क़लाक़न्द), another fudge looking Indian sweet. The vendor said that it was very light, though I thought it was still a little rich. It was topped with cashew nuts to give it a nice fragrance and flavor. The sandesh was very similar to the other desserts. The peda was the final sweet, a very famous and popular Indian dessert to specifically eat in Varanasi. As I was eating the peda, a couple of cow came out of nowhere to nearly stampede us. It was definitely a rush as the cows came rushing through and nearly hit myself and my wife, but luckily we were spared and continued on sampling out box of sweets.

As I had suspected, the Indian desserts weren’t my favorite as they were so incredibly rich and sweet. However, they were good and I do think one should sample them when in Varanasi!

Varanasi Travel Guide: http://migrationology.com/2013/06/varanasi-city-travel-guide-tips/
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