Life is life a box of Chocolates, only better if it’s a box of Mithai. Mithai refers to traditional Indian sweets and desserts, which are often made from ingredients like milk, sugar, and flour, and sometimes flavored with cardamom, saffron, nuts, and dried fruits. These sweets are integral to Indian festivals, celebrations, and rituals. There are many popular types of mithai, such as:

  1. Gulab Jamun – Fried dough balls soaked in sugar syrup.
  2. Rasgulla – Soft, spongy balls made from chhena (Indian cottage cheese) soaked in sugar syrup.
  3. Barfi – A dense, milk-based sweet, often flavored with cardamom or nuts.
  4. Ladoo – Round sweets made from flour, sugar, and ghee.
  5. Jalebi – Spiral-shaped, deep-fried batter soaked in sugary syrup.
  6. Kaju Katli – A diamond-shaped sweet made with cashew nuts.
  7. Peda – A small, round sweet made from khoya (dried milk) and sugar.

Mithai is a part of Indian culture, shared during festivals like Diwali, Holi, and Eid, and it is also exchanged as gifts during weddings and other important ceremonies. Till today, I’m excited to crack open a box of this to reveal all the colours and shapes. And yes, I’ve turned it into a Cheesecake!

When it comes to these delicious delights, there are many to choose from – The Indian subcontinent boasts an incredible variety of mithai, with hundreds of distinct types reflecting the region’s diverse cultures, ingredients, and culinary traditions. While it’s difficult to provide an exact number due to regional variations and new creations, traditional mithai can be broadly categorized based on their ingredients and preparation methods.

Here’s an overview of the most common categories of mithai:

1. Milk-based Mithai

  • Rasgulla (spongy, syrupy cheese balls)
  • Sandesh (Bengali sweet made from chhena)
  • Barfi (dense, milk-based sweet, sometimes with nuts or flavors)
  • Peda (khoya-based sweet, often shaped into discs)
  • Kalakand (moist, grainy-textured sweet from milk)
  • Rabri (thickened, sweetened milk often served with nuts)

2. Flour-based Mithai

  • Besan Ladoo (sweet balls made from roasted gram flour)
  • Jalebi (spiral-shaped, sugar syrup-soaked fried sweet)
  • Imarti (similar to jalebi but made from urad dal)
  • Balushahi (a dense, flaky flour sweet soaked in syrup)

3. Lentil-based Mithai

  • Mysore Pak (a rich, gram flour-based sweet with ghee)
  • Mohanthal (dense sweet made from besan and sugar syrup)

4. Nut-based Mithai

  • Kaju Katli (cashew nut fudge, thin and diamond-shaped)
  • Badam Halwa (smooth, rich almond sweet)
  • Kaju Roll (cashew-based rolled sweet sometimes stuffed)

5. Syrup-based Mithai

  • Gulab Jamun (fried dough balls soaked in rose-flavored syrup)
  • Malpua (sweet, fried pancakes often soaked in syrup)
  • Chhena Poda (baked chhena soaked in sugar syrup)

6. Rice-based Mithai

  • Pitha (varieties of sweet rice cakes from Eastern India)
  • Payasam or Kheer (a rice pudding flavored with cardamom and nuts)

7. Semolina-based Mithai

  • Sooji Halwa (semolina pudding made with ghee and sugar)
  • Rava Ladoo (ladoo made from semolina)

8. Miscellaneous

  • Puran Poli (a sweet stuffed flatbread made with lentil and jaggery filling)
  • Modak (steamed dumpling with sweet coconut-jaggery filling, especially for Ganesh Chaturthi)
  • Pathishapta (Bengali sweet crepe filled with coconut and jaggery)

Regional Variations:

  • North India: Ghevar, Petha, Pinni
  • West India: Shrikhand, Basundi, Mohanthal
  • East India: Rasgulla, Sandesh, Chhena Poda, Patishapta
  • South India: Mysore Pak, Adhirasam, Kozhukattai

Given the vastness of Indian cuisine, each region offers its own unique and sometimes lesser-known varieties. Festivals, traditions, and even seasons influence the preparation of different mithai.

It’s safe to say there are hundreds of types of mithai across India, and the number keeps growing with modern innovations and fusion desserts!

For this dessert, I’ve chosen a variety of shapes, flavours and colors but I’ve made sure they are all soft enough to cut through easily when you cut through the Cheesecake.

I’ve also chosen to make a no bake cheesecake as this is a creamy contrast to the sweet Mithai!

Mithai Cheesecake

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Ingredients
  

Cheesecake base

  • 200 gms/ 2 cups Marie Biscuits crushed
  • 1/2 cup melted Butter

Cheesecake

  • 500 gms Cream Cheese
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • 1 tsp Vanilla essence
  • 300 ml Condensed Milk
  • 1.5 packages – 1.5 tbsps 22.5 ml Gelatine
  • 100 – 150 ml hot Water

Topping

  • Mithai to cover the Cheesecake according to your choice & preference

Instructions
 

  • Crush the Marie biscuits or use pre crushed crumbs
  • Drizzle the butter over the crumbs till they are moist. You can add a little more or less as needed
  • Once moist pack in firmly into a prepared square pan with the back of a spoon
  • I’ve used an 18 x 18 cm pan but you can use a similar size springform pan as well
  • Because I don’t have a square springform pan, I have lined this on one side with a long piece of parchment so I can lift the cake up and I’ve added two strips on either side as well
  • Set this aside in the fridge for about 30 mins so the base is nice and firm
  • Warm the Cream cheese up in the microwave just so it’s easier to whip
  • Add the juice of the Lemon
  • Add the Vanilla essence & Condensed Milk and whisk this together
  • Add the Gelatine in hot Water and stir to dissolve
  • If there are clumps, press on it with the back of your spoon
  • Allow this to cool down
  • When it’s warm, not hot, add it to the cheesecake mixture and whisk to make sure it’s well incorporated
  • Make sure to scrape down the sides and pour this over the cookie base
  • Put this in the fridge for an hour or so so it’s semi set
  • Use a template to decide how you will position your Mithai
  • After the cheesecake is semi set, lay the Mithai on top
  • Set this overnight in the fridge
  • Once set, and this is totally optional, roll out and measured strips of white fondant to stick to each side. This gives it the real mithai box look, but it also looks pretty good without it!