Shahi jilapi

Shahi jilapi, whose name means royal jalebi in Bengali, is a large traditional sweet from Chowk Bazaar in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, where it is known across the country. The dough is twisted into a big coil, deep fried and then soaked in a lightly spiced sugar syrup, which swells it further. A single piece can be a few inches across and weigh between one and two and a half kilograms, so it is shared by three or four people at iftar or as a snack. The sweet is most closely tied to Ramadan, when Chowk Bazaar, a long established iftar hub, prepares and sells it in quantity. The article describes it as a more recent addition than the ordinary jilapi of the fifteenth century and says the name refers to the royal kitchen of the Nawabs of Dhaka, where families ate it at gatherings. The batter is made from flour, baking powder and milk, and the syrup is flavoured with cinnamon and cardamom.