often made of coconut, milk, cream, and jaggery from the date palm. These desserts are consumed in Thailand as well. Pongal Pongal is a sweet dish traditionally made on Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival. Rasgulla Rasgulla is a popular sweet in the Indian subcontinent. It comes in many forms, such as Kamalabhog (orange rasgulla), Rajbhog (stuffed with dry fruits and khoya inside), Kadamba (often served with kheer), and Rasamundi, Raskadamba. Some are white in color while others are cream, brown, gold or orange. They are called Rasbari in Nepal. This dish is made by boiling small dumplings made of a mixture of chhenna and semolina in sugar syrup. Once cooked, these are stored in the syrup, making them spongy. Increasing the semolina content reduces the sponginess of the dessert and hardens them, creating a variety of textures. Some Rasgulla are stuffed inside with treats, such as dry fruits, raisins, candied peel, and other delicacies to create a variety of flavors. Some versions, called danedhar, are removed from the syrup and sugar-coated into different fruit shapes and other creative designs. These are festive foods found year-round in many parts of India. Ras malai Ras malai consists of flattened balls of chhena (cheese curds) soaked in malai (clotted cream) flavored with cardamom. Its name comes from the Hindu/Urdu ras, "juice," and malai, "cream." Sandesh Sandesh is a Bengali sweet made from chhena (cheese curds) kneaded with sugar. A variation called nolen gurher sandesh is made from date molasses instead of sugar. Sel roti Sel roti is a Nepali home-made circular-shaped bread or rice donut that is prepared during Tihar, a widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal and India (Sikkim and Darjeeling regions). It is made of rice flour and incorporates customized flavors. A semi liquid rice flour dough is usually prepared by adding together milk, water, sugar, butter, cardamom, cloves as well as other flavors based on personal choice. Shrikhand Shrikhand is a traditional Gujarati and Marathi dessert made from strained yogurt, sugar, saffron, and cardamom. It has a smooth, creamy texture and is served chilled. Soan papdi Soan papdi is a predominantly sugar based sweet that is pulled to create thin strands resembling cotton candy. It is flaky and has a crisp texture and melts in the mouth. It is usually packaged in cubes and served garnished with chopped pistachio nuts, or in a rolled paper cone. There are many different