Mumbai: Foreign Food, Laddoo

A rich saffron ball comprised mostly of greatness, some sugar, milk and semolina, rolled in chopped almonds and pistachios then garnished with rose water and edible silver foil. We?re salivating already.

This guilt-laden Indian sweet or mithai, the Motichoor laddoo, is a favorite all-year round but gets especially ubiquitous around December, an auspicious month for the great Indian wedding. Traditionally, a nuptial invite announces its arrival with four enormous laddoos in an Indian fabric-wrapped box tied with golden thread. Receiving a minimum of ten invites during the wedding season is common, so there?s nothing you can do to keep those great balls of fire from rolling in and ruining your diet. Unless you?re willing to settle for the less tasty, tampered with sugar-free ones, the real ones are absolutely the way to go.

Almost every Indian sweet shop in Mumbai stocks laddoo, but the best Motichoor laddoos are labored over by a confectioner named Nathumaharaj, and sold at Amrit Bhog, a South Mumbai mecca of mithai. Sweet lovers over in the US, UK or Canada can even order some online on mithaimate.com, or use celebrated chef Tarla Dalal?s complicated recipe.

It?s no coincidence we think, that laddoos are also preferred by the cute and rotund Lord Ganesha (the Hindu Elephant God). Not a body type you?ll want to visit during the holidays, but a sweet blessing you should willingly accept.

Amrit Bhog confectioner, 89 / B, 4, Shantinagar, Chandralok, Napean Sea Road, Mumbai, +9122 23622556, 8 USD for one kilogram.