The title of this post is what Homer Simpson might say if he were Indian or Pakistani, with an anticipatory head waggle. That is what I said when I saw jalebis on the buffet of an Indian restaurant I went to the other day. And, my, were they good, crunchy and colorful, hollow at the core, filled with sweet, sweet syrup. Oh, my, oh, my!

I hope it was not too illicit to wrap this little piece up in a napkin and bring it home to photograph. It had such an exotic shape that it led me to commit minor buffet theft for the sake of art. Though, in truth, there was no fear of it not being eaten then or now just a few minutes after its little photo shoot. Dad had had a nice little “mouth sweetening,” which is more or less a transliteration of the Punjabi phrase “mooh mitha kaar,” which is what people say when they are holding out sweets for you to taste.

Jelabis really are a treat. In looking up videos and recipes, I learned that there is variation, as their is with most recipes in all cuisines though perhaps especially in Indian/Pakistani cuisine, as there are so many different regions in the sub-continent. There are two cool videos with slightly different takes here and here. In remembering men making jelabis in Pakistan and in seeing these videos, it occurs to me that jelabis are quite similar to funnel cake, except instead of being thicker and doused in powdered sugar they are more delicate and soaked in sugar water.

For my rupees, the best jabelis are reddish orange, crispy, bursting with sweet syrup, which should have a tiny hint of rose water. Enjoy the pictures and some jelabis the next time you go out for Indian/Pakistani food. And, for the record, I do know that Indian and Pakistani cuisines are not absolutely interchangeable, though north Indian and Pakistani cuisine come closer to being so.