Eggs are probably not the first ingredient that comes to mind when you think of Indian desserts. Milk, khoya, sugar, coconut, flour and nuts tend to dominate the mithai conversation. But some regional Indian sweets quietly rely on eggs for their texture, richness or structure. In fact, a few of these desserts can look nothing like an egg-based dish at all. Here are nine delicious Indian desserts that may surprise you with what goes into them.
Muttamala means “egg garland”, and the dessert consists of fine golden strands made from egg yolks. This spectacular Kerala dessert is almost impossible to identify as an egg dish just by looking at it. The yolks are carefully poured through a sieve into boiling sugar syrup, forming delicate threads that resemble noodles or a golden necklace. Goan bol is a traditional sweet bread or cake that can easily be mistaken for an ordinary coconut-based bake. Traditional versions can contain eggs alongside ingredients such as coconut, semolina, flour, sugar and toddy or yeast. The result is a slightly chewy, rich and aromatic dessert associated with Goan festive cooking. The famous Parsi-style mawa cake, particularly associated with Mumbai’s Irani bakeries, gets its richness from mawa, butter and eggs. The eggs help give the cake its soft crumb, while cardamom provides its unmistakably Indian aroma. It may look like a simple tea cake, but its dense, buttery texture makes it considerably more indulgent. Kheer usually means rice simmered in sweetened milk, but some regional and home-style preparations take a completely different route. Egg kheer uses beaten eggs cooked gently into sweetened milk, creating a soft, custard-like consistency. Cardamom, saffron and nuts can be added just as they are in more familiar versions of kheer.
It may not be an exclusively Indian dessert, but caramel custard has become a beloved part of dessert menus and home kitchens across India. The glossy caramel on top hides the egg-based custard underneath, making it an easy one to overlook.
Its smooth, trembling texture comes largely from eggs, which are combined with milk and sugar before the custard is steamed or baked.