Meanings
plural jalebis · alternative jallebi · alternative jelabee · alternative jilabi · alternative jilapi · alternative jilebi · alternative zulbia · alternative mushabak
- A sweet popular in the Indian subcontinent, made by deep-frying a maida flour batter and soaking it in sugar syrup.
But Bhole refused to listen. He became very angry and started to scream, “I want jalebis! Give me jalebis! I want them now!”
2006, Hema De Munnikl, Bhole: Adventures of a Young Yogi, page 223 more examples
You will not believe how quickly jalebis can be made. I have used yeast to ferment the jalebi batter quickly and so it does not require to be left for a day to ferment. The trick here is to immediately start frying the jalebis once the batter has rested for 10 minutes.
2000, Tarla Dalal, Chaat, page 98On the way he saw a sweetmeat seller making jalebis (spiral sweet). He was tempted. In his mind he thought he'd have some jalebis.
2001, B.S. Rana, Jataka Tales, page 80Mr. Alam and his staff often insist that visitors enjoy a free treat like chocolate barfi, condensed milk mixed with chocolate, or jalebis, deep fried rice flour coated in a sugary syrup, while they shop. “I want my customers to feel welcome and offering mithai is a way to show hospitality,” Mr. Alam said.
2018 January 17, Shivani Vora, “A Go-To Grocery for Indian Cooks”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
- Hindustani
- Englishjalebi
From Hindustani जलेबी / جلیبی (jalebī). Doublet of zalabiya.
More words from Hindustani
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic زَلَابِيَة, شُبَّاكِيَّة
- زَلَابِيَة (zalābiya)Translations
- شُبَّاكِيَّة (šubbākiyya)Translations
Bengali জিলাপি, জিলিপি
- জিলাপি (jilapi)Translations
- জিলিপি (jilipi)Translations
Catalan zlabia, zlebia
- zlabiaTranslations
- zlebiaTranslations
- zalabiaTranslations
Dutch jalebi
- jalebiTranslations
Finnish jalebi
- jalebiTranslations
French zlabia, zelabia
- zlabiaTranslations
- zelabiaTranslations
Hindi जलेबी
- जलेबी (jalebī)Translations
Italian jalebi
- jalebiTranslations
Japanese ジャレビ
- ジャレビ (jarebi)Translations
Korean 잘레비
- 잘레비 (jallebi)Translations
Persian زولبیا
- زولبیا (zulbiyâ)Translations
Portuguese jalebi
- jalebiTranslations
Punjabi ਜਲੇਬੀ
- ਜਲੇਬੀ (jalebī)Translations
Russian джале́би
- джале́би (džalébi)Translations
Spanish yalebi
- yalebiTranslations
Tamil ஜிலேபி
- ஜிலேபி (jilēpi)Translations
Turkish müşebbek, zülbiye
- müşebbekTranslations
- zülbiyeTranslations
Urdu جَلیبی
- جَلیبی (jalebī)Translations
Cite this entry
jalebi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalebi
“jalebi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalebi. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jalebi,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalebi.
Source: jalebi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.