Pakistani dessert consists of a traditional sweet dish that is very simple and the ingredients can be found easily. Some of the traditional Pakistani desserts can be a healthy dessert and they are served cold. 

Desserts can also be served on special occasions or special events, right after each meal. But some Pakistani desserts are being served or incorporated with the meal already. They will surely level up the flavor of the dish. 

Provided below are some of the best Pakistani desserts with their recipe. Lists of ingredients are also provided for your reference in case you would want to recreate these sweets. 

The Best Pakistani Desserts with Recipes

Here are some of the Pakistani desserts that you can try making at home:

Bread Pudding/ Shahi Tukda

Here are the ingredients:

• 4 heaped or 200g of ghee (buy it here)
• 7 slices of bread
• 5 cups of milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup of thick cream or fresh cream
• 1 tsp green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
• A pinch of dry saffron strands

Here’s how to make a bread pudding:

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Fried Bread/Poori

Here are the ingredients:

• 3 Cup Fine flour (wheat flour)
• Salt (to taste)
• 2 tbsp of Cooking Oil
• 1 liter of warm water 
• 3 tsp of Suji
• Cooking Oil or Ghee (for deep frying)

Here’s how to make:

1. Start by making a dough. In a large bowl, sieve the wheat flour, add suji, and salt. Mix them well. 
2. Add oil to the mixed dry ingredients and incorporate them using your fingertips. 
3. Sprinkle the water little by little and knead the dough until the desired softness and stiffness is obtained. The dough must be smooth and tight. 
4. Let the dough rest for 30 to 45 minutes and cover it with a plastic wrap. 
5. After that time, remove the cover and press the dough again. 
6. Cut the dough into small equal sizes (about the size of a lemon) and turn them into balls. Apply oil to the dough to avoid sticking it on your hands. 
7. Flatten the dough between your palm to make a disc-shaped bread and cover it using a clean cloth. 
8. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough about  6-8 inches in diameter and 1.5 mm to 2 mm of approximate thickness. 
9. Prepare a pan for deep frying and heat the oil over medium heat. Test if the oil has enough heat by dropping one dough into it. If the dough comes to the surface immediately, that means the oil is hot enough. 
10. You can now carefully slide the rolled dough into the oil while pressing it gently with the back of the spatula. This should help the bread to puff up. 
11. Once it puffs, flip it and cook the other side until it is golden brown. It may only take 30 to 60 seconds to cook one rolled dough. 
12. On a plate with a paper towel, transfer the cooked bread. 
13. You can serve this bread called hot poori with a vegetable curry or sweets like suji ka halwa aloo ki sabzi which is a sweet dish. 

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Carrot Pudding/Gajar ka Halwa

Here are the ingredients:

• 6 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 2 lbs of carrots 
• 1 tsp of cardamom powder (buy it here)
• 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup of nuts (blanched almonds, sliced cashews and pistachios)

Here’s how to make:

1. Grate the carrots using the smallest grater hole and squeeze out the carrot juice using your hands. 
2. On a pan over medium heat, add the butter and melt it. 
3. Add the grated/drained carrots then saute it for 5 minutes. 
4. Add the ground cardamom powder and let the carrots cook until soft for another 15 minutes. The color will start to get dull once it’s cooked. 
5. Turn the heat into low and pour in the condensed milk, continue cooking for another 30 minutes while stirring the carrots constantly. Let the condensed milk evaporate for about 30-45 minutes, the carrots’ appearance should be dry and sticky by that time. Make sure to keep an eye on the pan. 
6. Once you get the right stickiness, put the nuts in. If you want to blanch the almonds, simply soak them in hot water for about 5-10 minutes, peel the skin and slice them.
7. It is now ready to be served. You can store the Carrot Pudding/Gajar ka Halwa in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Reheat these sweets in the microwave if you are serving them. 

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Gulab Jamun

Here are the ingredients:

• 125 grams of evaporated milk solids (khoya or mawa)
• 2 ½ tablespoons of all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 4 tablespoons of milk or water (add more if needed)
• 2 tablespoons of paneer (optional)
• Cooking oil (for frying)
• 1 ½ cups of sugar
• ¾ cup of water
• ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 1 teaspoon of rose water (optional)
• 1 ½ teaspoon of lemon juice

Here’s how to make:

1. Prepare the sugar syrup. Add the sugar and water on a large/wide pot. On medium heat, dissolve the sugar and let the syrup boil to get a sticky consistency. 
2. To test the stickiness, get at least ¼ teaspoon and let it cool. Roll over on your thumb and forefinger. It should stick once you try removing the thumb and the finger. 
3. Add the ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon of rose water and 1 ½ teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix them well and remove from the heat. Set aside. 
4. Make the dough by stirring the 125 grams of evaporated milk solids, 2 ½ tablespoons of all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon of baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of cardamom powder in a mixing bowl. 
5. Sprinkle the milk little by little to achieve a smooth, crack-free dough. Gently knead the dough if needed but don’t over need to avoid forming gluten. The dough should be smooth, not dry and crumbly.
6. Cut the dough into 14 or 16 parts. 
7. Take the parts one by one in between your palms and form a ball by rubbing it gently a few times until it becomes round, smooth and crack-free.
8. In a deep pot, heat up the oil. 
9. Test the oil by gently sliding a dough ball. It should rise slowly with bubbles and not brown, indicating that it is the perfect timing to fry the dough balls. 
10. Put the heat into medium flame and put the balls one at a time. Add as many balls as possible, but make sure to do it slowly. 
11. Keep stirring until they are all golden brown. Remove the cooked Gulab Jamun and allow the balls to cool down in about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add them to the slightly hot sugar syrup. 
12. Gently roll the balls into the syrup until they are evenly coated. Let it soak for another 45 minutes before serving these sweet desserts. 

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Those are just some of the familiar desserts from Pakistan. There are other desserts from Pakistan like vermicelli pudding which is made out of vermicelli noodles. There is also the Habshi Halwa which is typically prepared and made from milk and is a sweet dessert. 

Have you tried any other Pakistani desserts? Which one is your favorite from these sweet delicacies from Pakistan?