Dessert and sweet recipes

Sweets mark almost every occasion in this part of the world, from a bowl of kheer after dinner to trays of gulab jamun at Eid and fried jalebi on a winter evening. Milk, semolina, rice, sugar syrup, cardamom, saffron and nuts do most of the work, and patience matters more than special equipment.

This collection spans halwas and puddings, milk-based Bengali sweets, Gulf favourites such as kunafa, basbousa and umm ali, and festival treats. Read the syrup and setting times closely: most sweets reward careful timing, and the timers on each page are there to help.

This collection has 34 dishes, including Gajar Halwa, Kheer, Zarda. A typical recipe takes about 55 minutes, and each one comes with step-by-step instructions and cooking timers.