Imarti |
|
| Origin | |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Emarti, Jaangiri |
| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | Rajasthan |
| Dish details | |
| Course served | Dessert |
| Main ingredient(s) | Urad flour, saffron, ghee, sugar |
Imarti (Emarti or Jaangiri) is a dessert from Rajasthan 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 rabri (condensed milk). 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.
Contents |
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. Imarti word is Proto-Indo European and has roots to Persian and Sanskrit. Imarti is colloquel form of Amrit pak which means Recipe of Nectar.
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.