Imarti

Imarti

Imarti
Alternative names	Emarti, Jaangiri
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Rajasthan
Main ingredients	Urad flour, saffron, ghee, sugar
Media: Imarti

Imarti (Rajasthani: इमारती) (Emarti or Jaangiri) is a Rajasthani dessert made by deep-frying urad flour batter in a kind of pretzel or circular shape, then soaked in sugar syrup. It was one of the food items presented by Rajputs to Mughals during cultural exchanges. Imarti was considered one of the items of Raj Bhog (Royal Food Menu). Popularity of this sweet dish increased in other parts of India as Mughals expanded there.

In North India it is often consumed with curd (dahi) for breakfast. In South India, this sweet is served after a meal and also popular at weddings and festivals in Pakistan. In particular, Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh is famous for its imarti.

Ingredients

Imarti is made from a variety of urad flour, also colloquially called jalebi parappu (dal) or jalebi urad in south India. Sugar syrup and saffron is added for colour.

Preparation

Urad dal is soaked in water for few hours, and stone-ground into a fine batter. The batter is poured into ghee, though other oils are sometimes used. Similarly to funnel cakes, the batter is poured into geometric patterns, although imartis are generally smaller than funnel cakes. There is often a small ring in the middle.

Before frying the batter, sugar syrup is prepared and is usually flavored with edible camphor, cloves, cardamom and saffron. The fried material is then dipped in sugar syrup until it expands in size and soaks up a significant amount of the syrup. In Northern India imartis are usually drained, so tend to be drier than jalebis. The pieces can be served hot, at room temperature, or sometimes refrigerated.

See also

• List of Indian sweets and desserts
• List of Pakistani desserts