I have spent the past two and a half months in India, and have found my greatest comfort in Indian desserts. They have satiated my sweet tooth cravings and kept me company through my good times (while having a great time with my cousins) and my bad times (after getting my wisdom teeth removed). So here's a list of Indian desserts (in no particular order of goodness) that are totally worthy of your tastebuds!

1. Ladoo

Ladoos are first and foremost identified by their spherical shape. They're pretty popular in india and are served for religious occasions, although they are also served at festive events and at home for a nice treat. There are various ways of preparing them (depending on where in India you get them,) but they are primarily made of flour and sugar. Learn how to make a classic boondi ladoo here.

2. Barfi

Barfi is a milk based sweet, kind of similar to fudge (but not really?) and it comes in a variety of preparations as well. It can be made from with pistachios, cashews, peanuts and even chocolate! The main ingredients include sugar and condensed milk, and when it gets really fancy, has a silver-colored, sugared surface. They are commonly made in a diamond shape, perfect for making pretty formations for festivals such as Diwali. Learn to make cashew barfi (kaju katli) here.

3. Peda

Peda is pretty similar to barfi honestly, but I really love peda, so it totally makes the list. It's also called a 'milk cake' and is absolutely delicious. It can be easily molded into a lot of fun shapes- I once had peda in the shape of a banana. I hated bananas and declined before I learned that it was actually peda! Learn how to make some really cute apple shaped peda here.

4. Bebinca

Bebinca is one of my all time favorites: It's a Goan dessert (ie, from Goa) and is pretty awesome. It's a multilayered cake that you can pretty much eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner or in between with a dollop of ice-cream (yuuum). Bebinca is pretty popular for events as well- I myself had it for Christmas once, and it tasted amazing. The recipe requires a bit of effort since cooking the layers are difficult to manage, but it's totally worth it! In Goa, they make bebinca in stone ovens as many as 16 layers, but you can make them at home too if you'd like, here.

5. Payasam/ Kheer

Payasam or kheer is one of South India's most popular desserts. It is served on auspicious occasions- just like how cakes are served during birthdays and weddings, in South India, payasam too is served in celebration. It involves cooking rice or vermicelli in milk, till it is sweetened after which dry fruits and nuts are added for extra flavor. Traditional payasam is cooked with jaggery and coconut milk, although you can use regular milk and sugar instead as well. You can serve it hot or cold (cold for more consistency). Learn how to make this the popular paal payasam here.

6. Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is another one of my favorite sweets and it practically melts in your mouth. It's very rich (which means I usually can't have more than one piece,) but it is totally worth every calorie! As long as you don't eat it regularly. Its main ingredient is ghee along with, sugar, gram flour and sometimes cardamom. Depending on the recipe, you can make it soft and fudgy, or crispy, and it tastes great either way. Learn how to make some of this amazing dish here or here.

7. Lassi

Lassi is basically super healthy and also really yummy. It's kind of like an Indian smoothie. You can add all sorts of fruits to it to give it flavor. Lassi can be sweet or savory, depending on your craving- so you can have it with meals to compliment your spicy food or just as a sweet drink before, after, or in between meals. Learn how to make sweet lassi here and savory lassi here.

Also, here's some more recipes if you want to make some traditional Indian mango lassi or even some strawberry lassi!

8. Kulfi

You may have heard of kulfi flavored ice-cream before which is funny because kulfi is basically the Indian version of ice cream. It differs a bit in texture, but it tastes delicious. It contains a blend of saffron, cardamom and sugar, as well as crushed nuts and has a unique taste and texture (much denser), which is absolutely worth trying. It comes in a variety of flavors, the more traditional ones being rose, mango, cardamom (elaichi), pistachio, cream etc. Learn how to make an easy cream (malai) kulfi here.

9. Unniappam

Unniappam is another South Indian specialty- especially popular in Kerala. It is prepared from rice, sugar, jaggery and ghee. It kind of reminds me of sweet hush puppies, but instead, it contains coconut and bananas. I'm not a big fan of coconuts or bananas, but this is something I'd eat anyway so you should totally try it! It's really crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is served at festivals in Kerala such as Vishu (Malayalam calendar New Year). Learn how to make these fried goodies here.

*Note: To make Unniappams, you require a special ebelskiver pan or vessel which you can purchase on Amazon here. Alternatively, you could just use a spoon to drop the dough into the oil very carefully to maintain a spherical shape.

10. Halwa

Halwa, or haleweh (or a lot of other variations) is popular in many parts of Asia as well as in the Middle East, Europe and even Africa. It can come in various consistencies- semi solid, to kind of like jello, to fudge-like. The wonderful thing about halwa is that you can make halwa out of basically any ingredient. The difference in preparation depends on location, which means there are probably ways of making halwa that I'm not really familiar with. The kind of halwa I'm familiar with is gelatinous and soft, and is flour-based. A pretty popular kind of halwa is an easy carrot halwa, which you can learn to make here.

This list is definitely not all there is to Indian desserts; I still haven't listed popular goodies such as jelebis, gulab jamun, etc, but I hope you enjoy these wonderful desserts as much as I do. Let your culinary side take over as you try out these cool sweets!