City’s legendary sweet makers prepare to leave visitors spoilt for choices
Kolkata: Bengal, considered the ‘sweetest spot’ on India’s tourism map, is celebrating its biggest festival — Durga Puja — while its legendary sweetmeat shop chains are ready with their assortment of delectable items to ensure visitors are spoilt for choices.
Never has Bengal not been mentioned in the same breath when discussions on the best sweets in India are afoot. The state takes pride in the wide assortments of sweetmeats it produces and whose consumption surpasses the borders of India, making a reputation for itself globally. Even friends and relatives, living abroad and visiting Kolkata during Puja, remember to pack some sweets on their way back home as a token of “sweet memory”.
Housed in a heritage building in the northern part of the city, Girish Chandra Dey & Nakur Chandra Nandy, popularly called ‘Nakur’, is known for their quintessential ‘sandesh’ since 1844. Partha Nandy, one of the descendants of the family, insists that in this Puja one ought not to miss out on the following sandesh varieties: ‘Dilkhusha’, ‘Parijat’, ‘Golapi Pera’, ‘Mousumi’, ‘Kulfi’, among others.
He specifically emphasised ‘Daab sandesh’ whose recipe has been altered this year to add a “divine taste” to it. Besides, the ‘Malai Roll’ is a hit but he does not want to harp on one sandesh lest he does injustice to the other varieties, said Nandy. Prices range from Rs 25 to Rs 50.
As for sale, he said: “Despite the fact that ingredients witness a price hike during festive seasons, we are not aiming for high profits. For us, customer satisfaction and decades of loyalty are everything.”
Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick in South Kolkata, is the haven for sheer gastronomic pleasure. Sudip Mullick, the fourth generation entrepreneur of the family running this sweetmeat shop chain that started in 1885, highlighted the ‘Paan-flavoured sandesh’, adding that paan (betel leaf) is an inherent part of Durga Puja. Others to opt for are ‘Agomoni sandesh’. However, the special item is a dessert called ‘Tres Leches’. Prices range Rs 25 to Rs 50. “We are expecting at least twenty per cent more profit from last year’s sales,” he said.
Loved, flaunted and the first thing to pop up in mind when thinking of Bengal, Rasagollas have been the forte of K.C. Das sweetmeat chain that began its journey in 1930. Dhiman Das, who is the descendent of the family and is in charge of the business, feels it would be a sin to miss out on the ‘Gondhoraj sandesh’ and ‘Rossomalancha’, among others.
The special item this Puja is a canned zaffran-flavoured gulab jamuns. “We last introduced canned Rasagollas in 1930. It was the first and only canned dessert made in the country then. Now in 2023, we have introduced this,” he remarked. Das added that it has not been possible yet to entirely recover from pandemic losses and hopes to do so in this Puja.
