Deepavali Sweets You Must Try and Where You Can Get Them in Singapore

Deepavali is the time when Singaporeans embark on sweet adventures around the world of Indian sweets, mostly called “mithai”. It is a Hindu word that means ‘sweets'. They come in all shapes and sizes with hardly any sort of baking involved. People prepare these sweets in Kadais (a bowl-shaped frying pan) because they help in the slow transfer of heat making sure that the sweet doesn’t get burnt.

Deepavali sweets come in many varieties of flavours and the main elements for preparation include flour, milk, sugar, and nuts. But confectioners create many great variants with these elements by adding chocolate, chia seeds, and lots of other ingredients. 

We have listed down the names of a few sweets and places that can treat your sweet tooth right for this Deepavali season.

Some Most Loved Indian Sweets

Laddu

Laddu also called laddoo is a quintessential sweet of festive seasons, especially for Deepavali. Flour, ghee, and sugar with tiny drops of the chickpea flour mix. goes into the preparation of Laddu. These sweet treats are fried in ghee followed by soaking in sugar syrup. One needs a little special skill to mould the mixture into small balls while it is hot.

Kesari

Kesari is a sweet that is said to have originated from the Southern regions of the subcontinent. It is also one of the first choices of many people from those regions who stay in Singapore when it comes to buying Deepavali sweets. Kesari has a super-tempting bright orange colour, and it has a good texture because of the addition of semolina flour along with staples of sugar, milk, ghee, and water. Confectioners also add cashew nuts and sprinkle saffron on these delicious blocks of sweet.

Soan Papdi

Soan Papdi is a sweet that is light and flaky with peelable sugar strands at the corners. This sweet has a smooth texture just like cotton candy that gets melted when you put it inside your mouth, and it is one of the common choices of Singaporeans who celebrate Deepavali.

Gajar Ka Halwa

Gajar ka Halwa is different from the usual carrot cake, and it is prepared with milk and cardamom till it reduces to a thick pudding-like consistency. It is a sweet that originated from the Indian subcontinent and is prepared by placing grated carrots in a pot containing a specific amount of milk, sugar, cardamom, and water and then cooking it by stirring regularly. Gajar ka Halwa is usually served after garnishing with pistachios and almonds. The nuts used for the preparation are sautéed in ghee. It is also yet another variety of sweets that people choose mostly to prepare or buy for the Deepavali season.

Burfi

Burfi is the sweet that looks the most refined among all the other popular Deepavali sweets. It has a silver coating completely for conceit and it doesn’t change the taste of the sweet. They are cut into a diamond shape, and this delicious sweet tastes good as much as how it looks good. Plain burfi is normally prepared using condensed milk, sugar, and a little amount of cardamom. However, people also add cashew nuts, coconut, almond varieties, and pistachios.

Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is a sweet that hails from Mysore, a state in Karnataka. It is a confection that contains just three ingredients - gram flour, some slabs of ghee, and sugar. The sweet can be considered as an Indian version of fudge as it is extremely soft and dense so that it melts in your mouth very easily. Versions of this sweet that is prepared using less ghee are also available in Singapore to buy for Deepavali.

Jalebi

Jalebi is a popular sweet and sticky delicacy that comes in a pretzel shape similar to that of a muruku. It gets this shape by plopping the fermented batter in a spiral motion into the hot oil. Jalebi will be then dipped in saffron syrup for it to get that special orange colour.

A Few Good Places From Where You Can Get Deepavali Sweets

Shahi Maharani North Indian Restaurant

Shahi Maharani’s signature collection of Deepavali/Diwali sweets include the famous Milk Cake. It is prepared by reducing fresh milk with spices to make it into a fudgy burfi. Their Mango Surprise is a sweet take by giving the usual burfi a spin by adding white chocolate.

Savoury snacks of the place are also in high demand. Namak Paare is another popular dish of this place. Flour, ghee and carom are the ingredients of Namak Paare. It obtains a flaky structure after deep frying. You can also get Shahi Namkeen Mix which is a Northern Indian trail mix with peanuts, raisins, cashews, and pieces of muruku mixed with aromatic curry spices.

Location: 252 North Bridge Rd, #03–21B, Singapore 179103

Rang Mahal

Rang Mahal serves coconut and cardamom burfi, double date and dried fruits burfi, pista lauj burfi, gud til gajak, and some snacks such as masala-roasted almonds and pepper-tossed roasted cashew nuts.

Location: 7 Raffles Blvd, Level 3 Pan Pacific, Singapore 039595

Punjab Grill

Punjab Grill, located at the Marina Bay Sands has launched a range of sweets in classic colourful boxes just for the festive season. You can choose from delicious flavours such as coconut and gulkand, alphonsa and white chocolate, pistachio and gulkand, and many varieties of nuts and seeds. They also have a miscellaneous collection of dry fruit for for gifting friends and family during Deepavali.

Location: 2 Bayfront Ave, B1 - 01A, Singapore 018972

Moghul Sweet Shop @Little India Arcade

For Indian dessert lovers, Moghul Sweet Shop near Tekka Market in Little India is arguably the best sweet shop. It is one of the first sweet shops to sell traditional North Indian sweets. You will find most varieties of Indian sweets here in vibrant colours of yellow, red, green and what not! They serve burfi, jalebi, ladoo, mysore pak etc at very reasonable prices. Check out this shop when you visit Little India for the annual Deepavali street light-up.

Location: 48 Serangoon Rd, #01-16, Singapore 217959