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South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia.〔(The Sweet Side of the Subcontinent ) Raison d'Etre, New York City (September 20, 2012)〕〔Priya Wickramasinghe, Carol Selva Rajah; Food of India, Murdoch Books, ISBN 978-1740454728〕 Thousands of dedicated shops in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets; however, outside of these countries, South Asian sweet shops are uncommon.〔 Sugarcane has been grown in India for thousands of years, and the art of refining sugar was invented there.〔 The English word sugar comes from a Sanskrit word ''sakhar'', while the word candy comes from Sanskrit word ''khand'' (jaggery) - one of the simplest raw forms of sweet. Over its long history, cuisines of the Indian Subcontinent developed a diversified array of sweets. Some〔Barbara Revsine, (Indian Sweets in Chicago ), Chicago Now Magazine (October 4, 2013)〕 claim there is no other region of the world where sweets are so varied, so numerous, or so invested with meaning as the Indian Subcontinent.〔Bruce Craig and Colleen Sen (2013), Street Food Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, ISBN 978-1598849547, ABC-CLIO〕 In India's diverse languages, sweets are called by numerous names, one common name being ''Mithai'' (मिठाई). They include sugar, and a vast array of ingredients such as different flours, milk, milk solids, fermented foods, root vegetables, raw and roasted seeds, seasonal fruits, fruit pastes and dry fruits.〔Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1556529542〕 Some sweets such as ''kheer'' are cooked, some like ''burfi'' are baked, varieties like ''Mysore pak'' are roasted, some like ''jalebi'' are fried, others like ''kulfi'' are frozen, while still others involve a creative combination of preparation techniques.〔Tarla Dalal (1999), Mithai, ISBN 978-8186469385〕〔Pramila Parmar (1994), Mithai, UBS Publishers, ISBN 978-8185944883〕〔K Achaya, Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195658682〕 The composition and recipes of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. ''Mithai'' are sometimes served with a meal, and often included as a form of greeting, celebration, religious offering, gift giving, parties, and hospitality in India. On Indian festivals - such as Holi, Diwali, Eid, or Raksha Bhandan - sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared.〔〔Amy Karafin and Anirban Mahapatra, South India, ISBN 978-1741791556, pp 73〕 Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.〔Colleen Sen, Food Culture of India, Greenwood, ISBN 978-0313324871, See Chapter 6〕 ==History== Ancient Sanskrit literature from India mention feasts and offerings of ''mithas'' (sweet). One of the more complete surviving texts, with extensive description of sweets and how to prepare them is the ((サンスクリット:मानसोल्लास); meaning in Sanskrit, the delight of an idea,〔Sanskrit English Dictionary, Germany (2009); see entry for (मन ) and (सोल्लास )〕 or delight of mind and senses〔Monier-Williams' 'Sanskrit-English Dictionary', University of Koeln, Germany (2010); search for (''manas'' in primary language )〕). This ancient encyclopedia on food, music and other Indian arts is also known as the (the magical stone that fulfils desires). ''Mānasollāsa'' was composed about 1130 AD, by the Hindu King Somesvara III. The document describes 〔Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1556529542, page 41〕 meals that include a rice pudding which are called ''payasam'' (Sanskrit: पायसं) are in modern Indian languages is called ''kheer''. The document mentions seven kinds of rice. ''Mānasollāsa'' also describes〔Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1556529542, page 41-42〕 recipes for ''golamu'' as a donut from wheat flour and scented with cardamom, ''gharikas'' as a fried cake from black gram flour and sugar syrup, ''chhana'' as a fresh cheese and rice flour fritter soaked in sugar syrup that the document suggests should be prepared from strained curdled milk mixed with buttermilk, and many others. ''Mānasollāsa'' mentions numerous milk-derived sweets, along with describing the 11th century art of producing milk solids, condensed milk and methods for souring milk to produce sweets. The origin of sweets in Indian subcontinent has been traced to at least 500 BC, where records suggest both raw sugar (''gur'', ''vellam'', jaggery) as well as refined sugar (sarkara) were being produced.〔Michael Krondl, Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 978-1556529542, pp 34-35〕 By 300 BC, kingdom officials in India were including five kinds of sugar in official documents. By the Gupta dynasty era (300–500 AD), sugar was being made not only from sugar cane, but other plant sources such as palm. Sugar-based foods were also included in temple offerings, as ''bhoga'' for the deities,〔Tim Richardson, Sweets: A history of Candy, ISBN 1-58234-229-6, pp 334-340〕 which after the prayers became ''Prasād'' for devotees, the poor or visitors to the temple.〔Moxham, Roy, ''The Great Hedge of India'', Carroll & Graf, 2001 ISBN 0-7867-0976-6.〕〔Adas, Michael (January 2001), Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History, Temple University Press, ISBN 1-56639-832-0〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「South Asian sweets」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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