11 Oven-Baked Indian Sweets Secrets Revealed

5. Create jalebi-inspired baked spirals using high heat and quick caramel

Jalebi’s crisp, lace-like texture comes from immediate frying in hot oil, which is tough to reproduce in an oven. A workable oven hack is to pipe a thinner batter into spiral shapes on a well-oiled sheet, then use a two-step heat profile: start with a very hot oven or a brief broil to give rapid browning, then drop the temperature slightly to finish cooking through. The high initial heat helps form a crisp surface while the lower finish stops the inside from drying out. Immediately after baking, dunk the spirals briefly in warm sugar syrup so they take on the classic sweet tang. Expect some textural differences—oven spirals will be less lacey and a touch denser than fried jalebi—but you’ll get a similarly bright syrup-soaked bite without deep-frying. Practice with small spirals first so you can time the high-heat burst correctly for your oven.