35+ Must-Try Indian Dessert Recipes

Kalakand is a delectable, melt-in-the-mouth dessert whipped up in Indian homes for festivals and celebrations. A moist and flavorful milk cake, Kalakand has a nutty floral aroma and delicate grainy texture. Laced with cardamom and saffron, and dressed up in bright green pistachios, this exotic mithai always stands out amongst the finest of Indian dessert spreads.

Badam Burfi – an aromatic Indian dessert with a delightful balance of a mild sweet taste and a light fudgy texture. Unbelievably easy to make, this almond fudge leaves your kitchen smelling like a million bucks, as the fragrances of cardamom and saffron weave a perfect harmony with the earthy and flavorful almond flour.

Mom’s best mango coconut burfi recipe. It needs only 5 ingredients to make a heavenly dessert that you will instantly fall in love with.

Mango Shrikhand is a creamy & luxurious Indian sweet dish made with yogurt, mango pulp, and sugar. I like to garnish it with aromatic saffron for a pop of color and flavor. Check out this easy, no-cook recipe with all of my tips and tricks to make this delicious dessert.

Crispy, sticky, sweet, irresistible–that is the one and only Jalebi! If you’ve always wanted to try making your own at home this is your sign to do it! My mom’s recipe for the best Jalebi needs no fermentation, is ready in under an hour, and stays perfectly crunchy for days! These Instant Jalebis have it all—light crisp dough to soak up sweet cardamom-saffron syrup and that essential lemony tang. 

Heavenly Mango Cheesecake! The smooth textures and flavors of this divine creamy tangy mango cheesecake are elevated with a perfectly crumbly crust for a decadent treat. Best of all, this radiant golden cheesecake is easy to make using the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.

Looking for a showstopper dessert? These flavor-packed donuts are made from scratch and cooked right in the Air Fryer! Fragrant cardamom-spiced dough with a saffron-lemon glaze and little jewels of pistachios and dried rose petals for garnish. Much healthier than the standard fried donut and no greasy mess from deep frying. Treat yourself!

White chocolate bark is the quickest (and easiest) way to make an eye-catching dessert that instantly dresses up any occasion. It’s basically a customized candy bar loaded with your favorite toppings that tastes every bit as good as it looks. White chocolate is also the perfect canvas for playing with color making each batch look like a unique work of art!

Lighter than the traditional cheesecake, this perfectly sweetened ricotta cheesecake is laced with delicate notes of rose, cardamom, and pistachios that come together effortlessly in the Instant Pot. The cake has a rich luxurious texture from ricotta cheese and the buttery pistachio crust will remind you of the nutty baklava. A must-try recipe that will win everyone’s heart over.

Rhubarb Orange and Cardamom Cake – I couldn’t wait to share this brand new recipe on the blog!! A golden almond cake bursting with tart juicy rhubarb, sweet orange, and earthy citrusy cardamom. It’s as vibrant and alluring as a summer sunset.

My take on the traditional English Trifle has delightfully airy cake, fresh berries, cardamom & saffron pudding layered with pistachios and cream. Best of all this elegant dessert is easy to make, fun to look at, and feeds a crowd! Plus, I am sharing all the different variations so you can customize it to your taste.

Balushahi is a heavenly Indian dessert that dresses up any celebration! These pretty little yogurt cakes are shaped into donut-like rounds which are fried, then bathed in a luxurious rose and cardamom syrup. The result is a sweet flaky surface, a tender cakey interior, and the pure pleasure of beautiful Indian flavors – ghee, rose, cardamom, and saffron.

You might be surprised by how few ingredients you need to make this beloved Indian dessert. The magic behind the fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth texture of Besan Ki Barfi is in how each element is treated and combined. The simple base of besan flour, ghee, sugar syrup, and spices is transformed into a rich and fragrant delicacy!

Rose Falooda is a dessert drink with rose syrup, crunchy plump sweet basil seeds, silky noodles, and milk topped with vanilla ice cream. Optionally garnished with nuts or rose petals this cooling drink can be assembled within minutes making it the easiest yet stunning dessert ever!

Besan Ladoo are creamy, golden-hued, melt-in-your-mouth dessert balls often made during festivals and special occasions. One of the easiest Diwali recipes, besan laddoo or laddu is made with besan/gram flour, ghee, and sugar-laced with aromatic cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron. 

Rava Ladoo is soft melt-in-the-mouth dessert balls made with freshly grated coconut, roasted semolina that is infused with aromatic cardamom and saffron. Here is my detailed, step-by-step recipe for making this perfect sweet treat that everyone will enjoy!

Til laddu is a delightfully rich dessert with earthy sesame seeds and buttery rich jaggery. This quick recipe uses grated jaggery and easy steps to achieve the authentic flavors of Maharashtrian “Tila che ladoo”.

Crispy and crunchy Til Chikki or sesame crisps are made with roasted sesame seeds, sugar, laced with floral cardamom, and a hint of salt. In India, these irresistible crisps are specially made during the Sankrant Festival celebrated in January.

Creamy perfectly sweetened ‘Kheer’ is an Indian rice pudding infused with fragrant saffron and cardamom. In India, Rice pudding, kheer, or payasam is a quintessential dessert that is made often to celebrate big and small happy moments in life.

Dudhi Basundi – A healthier take on the dreamy Indian dessert made with thickened milk, laced with cardamom and saffron. Traditionally served warm or cold, with fluffy poori to dunk in the basundi, this dish is sure to make your taste buds dance.

Sheer Khurma is a special sweet dish made with dates, nuts, raisins, and vermicelli noodles, roasted in nutty ghee and cooked in saffron-laced milk. Check out all the details on how to make this ambrosial dessert with a step-by-step recipe.

A classic Indian dessert, ‘kheer’, with a twist! Gulkand seviyan kheer: A pudding made with thin vermicelli, milk, and sugar that is topped with saffron, golden fried cashews, and raisins with an added hint of rose flavor from rose petal preserves.  A refreshingly new take on the oh so divine vermicelli pudding!

Carrot Makhana Kheer is a delicious pudding made with healthy, gluten-free fox nuts. The creamy kheer is cooked with milk, and carrots and laced with the floral essences of cardamom and saffron.

Pakatali Puri is a luscious Indian dessert made with rolled dough discs that are fried and dipped in aromatic sugar syrup infused with lemon and saffron. Traditionally made in Western India, this dish will remind you of the country fair fried dough.

Rose Coconut Karanji is a crispy pastry filled with sweet and delicate rose-flavored coconut filling that simply melts in your mouth.

Sweet Coconut Rice is an aromatic dessert made with basmati rice, grated coconut, and a hint of aromatic cloves, cardamom, and saffron. The lightly sweetened rice has a tropical coconut flavor and aromas of cloves sauteed in ghee.

Tilachi Poli is one of the most addictive, satisfying, and wholesome sweet parathas. The stuffing is made with a unique combination of earthy flavors from roasted sesame and the raw sweetness of Indian jaggery. Simply divine. 

Puran Poli is an Indian delicacy made by stuffing soft whole wheat dough with soft-cooked yellow lentils, jaggery/brown sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron. It is then rolled thin and cooked on a pan with lots of ghee to make it into a crisp golden brown, flavorful, and aromatic flatbread.

Anjeer Halwa or Dry Fruit Halwa is a popular Indian Dessert. This 5 ingredient Fig Walnut halwa laced with cardamom, is my modern take on the traditional fig dessert. I have included both Instant Pot and stovetop recipes for this refined sugar-free, must-try dessert.

Carrot Halwa or Gajar Halwa is a popular Indian dessert with grated carrots cooked in ghee, milk, aromatic cardamom, and saffron. Enjoyed warm during the cold wintery nights or chilled with a scoop of ice cream on summer evenings, this dessert makes a perfect treat for the entire family. The best part is that it only takes 30 minutes for this make-ahead recipe using the Instant Pot pressure cooker.

Dudhi Halwa is a popular Indian dessert made with grated bottle gourd also known as Lauki. This perfectly sweetened, creamy pudding is traditionally flavored with ground cardamom. In my EASY Instant Pot version, I use vanilla for a refreshing twist to this classic recipe.

Pineapple Sheera or Pineapple Kesari is a luscious dessert made with sweet and tangy fresh pineapple cooked in ghee roasted semolina garnished with aromatic saffron and nuts.

Carrot Sheera is a blissful and EASY Indian dessert with fine semolina and carrots that makes any occasion a celebration.

Delicately flavored and lightly sweetened sweet potato halwa is a perfect dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast or dinner. With melt-in-mouth creamy sweet potatoes and aromatic cardamom and saffron, this halwa is easy to make in the Instant Pot.

Fried Modak is a festive Indian sweet made with a delectable filling of coconut with aromatic saffron & cardamom wrapped in a thin layer of dough. These bite-sized dumplings are then deep-fried to a crisp golden brown perfection.

Ukadiche Modak is a Maharashtrian delicacy made with steamed rice flour and a sweet coconut filling laced with nutmeg, cardamom, and saffron. I am excited to share my detailed recipe with all the tips and tricks to help you make Modak like a pro!