The transformation of a Middle Eastern honey ball into South Asia’s favorite syrup-drenched dessert.

Luqmat-al-qadi, Lady Canning, kalo jaam — this delicacy known by various names is among my top favorite Indian sweets. You'll encounter it all over: in Indian eateries overseas, in residences, and in the smallest of stores throughout India. The gulab jamun consists of deep-fried spheres created from milk powder, flour, butter, and cream (or milk), immersed in sugar syrup.

A cherished memory from my childhood, when I was around six or seven, is going to my best friend’s birthday celebration. Next to the various other dishes, there was always a big glass bowl filled with small, dark brown gulab jamuns swimming in warm syrup. I was always amazed that her mother prepared them from scratch every year. They were wonderfully sweet, tender, and still a bit warm. Even now, gulab jamun is still my favorite Indian sweet.

Gulab jamun is widely favored in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and many parts of the subcontinent. In 2019, it was officially announced as Pakistan’s national dessert. The name essentially means “rose fruit” — with gulab signifying rose, and jamun alluding to the tangy Java plum found throughout South Asia, which the sweet resembles in both shape and color. The "rose" might also reference the syrup it is immersed in, typically flavored with rosewater.

That rosewater serves as a hint to one potential origin tale. Although there is no conclusive evidence, numerous food historians think that gulab jamun was brought to the subcontinent by Turkish invaders from Central Asia. Some argue it was a serendipitous invention by the chef of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, although solid proof for this is insufficient. What I have found is that the dessert closely resembles the Arabic sweet, luqmat-al-qadi, which was brought to India by the Mughal emperors.

Luqmat-al-qadi is lighter in hue and frequently drenched in honey instead of sugar syrup. Its origins trace back to at least the thirteenth-century Abbasid caliphate, as evidenced in cookbooks like Kitab al-Tabeekh and writings by historians like Abd-al-Latif al-Baghdadi. The Greek poet Callimachus references deep-fried honey balls given to victors of the ancient Olympic Games, which seem remarkably alike