Jalebi

Jalebi

Jalebis as served in India
Alternative names	Jilbi, Jilipi, Jhilapi, Jilapi (Bengali), Zelapi, Jilapir Pak, Jilebi (India), Jilawii, Zilafi (Sylheti), Zoolbia (Middle East), Jeri (Nepal), Z'labia (Tunisia) Mushabakh (Ethiopia)
Course	Dessert
Region or state	South Asia, Middle East, North Africa, East Africa
Serving temperature	Hot/Cold
Main ingredients	Maida flour, saffron, ghee, sugar
Variations	Jahangiri or Imarti

Jalebi, also known as Zulbia, is a sweet popular in countries of South Asia, West Asia, North Africa, and East Africa. It is made by deep-frying maida flour (Plain flour or All-purpose flour) batter in pretzel or circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup. They are particularly popular in the Indian subcontinent.

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 rose water. Jalebi is eaten with curd, rabri (North India) along with optional other flavours such as kewra (scented water).

This dish is not to be confused with similar sweets and variants like imarti and chhena jalebi.

Names for the dish include Hindi: जलेबी; Sanskrit: सुधा-कुण्डलिका, Marathi: जिलबी Bengali: জিলাপি; Gujarati: જલેબી; Kannada: ಜಿಲೇಬಿ; Malayalam: ജിലേബി; Odia: ଝିଲାପି; Punjabi: ਜਲੇਬੀ; Tamil: ஜிலேபி; Telugu: జిలేబి; Sinhala: පැණි වළලු; Sylheti: জিলাফি Zilafi; Sindhi: جلیبی‎; Urdu: جلیبی‎; Azerbaijani: zülbiyə (South Azerbaijani: زۆلبیه); Pashto: jalebī; Pashto: ځلوبۍ‎ źəlobəi; Persian: زولبیا zulbia; Lurish: زلهیبی zuleybi; Arabic: zalābiyah or zalebi; Somali: Mushabbak, Egyptian Arabic: مِشَبٍك Meshabek, Tunisian Arabic: Zlebia); Tagalog: Jalebie; Harari language: ሙሻበኽ Mushabakh.