South Asian sweets
（重定向自Mithai）
![Different varieties of sweets served on a Pumsavanam ritual in Kerala.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Indian_Sweets3455.JPG")
![Payas (or Kheer as it is called in Hindi). Recipes for making it are present in the 11th century Mānasollāsa.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Kheer_with_dates_added,_Indian_Sweets_Mithai_Desserts3455.jpg")
![Barfis and pedas in a shopA tray of burfis and other Indian sweetsMithai in India; Burfis may be garnished with shiny foil vark.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Burfi_and_Peda,_Indian_Sweets_Mithai_Chennai_India3455.jpg")
![A tray of Indian sweets](/Images/godic/202501/27/Diwali_sweets_India_20093455.jpg")
South Asian sweets are the confectionery and desserts of South Asia. Thousands of dedicated shops in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sell nothing but sweets.
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 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.