Jalebi -- A twisted rounded sweetness, in Nepal

From the archive record

Jalebi is a sweet popular in countries of the Indian Subcontinent such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh as well as many other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, like Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco. It is made by deep-frying a wheat-flour (Maida flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. 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 rosewater or other flavours such as kewra water. Similar sweets are imarti, which is red-orange in color and sweeter in taste, and angoor aana which is grape-green in color; unlike jalebi, these are made from th