Name: Jalebi
Yield: Makes 8 jalebis
Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; 1 tablespoon plus 2/3 cup water; 1 1/2 cups maida flour; 2 teaspoons Bengal gram flour; 1 1/2 tablespoons ghee, melted; 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 4 drops yellow food coloring; 2 cups ghee for frying, melted; 1 3/4 cups lime-saffron syrup

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Jalebi© Renee Anjanette Photography from A World of Cake © Krystina Castella

Jalebis are small, bright yellow, web-shaped cakes similar to funnel cakes. They are popular celebration and street cakes in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and India. Soaking them in saffron syrup and then drying them gives the cakes a crispy outer shell. They are made with maida flour (a finely milled wheat flour) and Bengal gram flour (a flour milled from chickpeas), both of which can be found at Indian groceries. If you can't find them, use cake or pastry flour. If you can find fresh yeast, use it instead of the dry yeast; that is the traditional method and it adds to the flavor.

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