Funnel cake or Jalebi being made, in Nepal

From the archive record

Jalebi, or Jilawii is a sweet popular in countries of the Indian Subcontinent such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh as well as many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, like Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. It is made by deep-frying a wheat flour (maida flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. They are particularly popular in the subcontinent during Ramadan. The sweets are served warm or cold. They have a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary exterior coating. Citric acid or lime juice is sometimes added to the syrup, as well as rose water or other flavours, such as kewra water. Similar sweets are imarti, which is red-orange tangerine in color and sweeter in taste,