Sweetly wrapped in history and mystery, myth and magic, India’s mithais offer the most thrilling introduction to community and regional culture— truly a cause célèbre.
We love them and certainly it seems our god’s love them!
India has a serious and enduring love affair with mithai, or sweetmeats as the Western world calls it. At the drop of we’ll find an excuse to indulge ourselves is these delectable, ambrosial offerings, with which we often as not pamper our deities who, it appears, seem to be equally happy to be thus indulged.
Being in the midst of Navratri, or the sacred nine nights, which uncap the festival season, it’s the perfect time to unleash our taste buds on a joyful quest that takes us from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur.
DELHI
The Purana Sheher, or Old City, is the best place to start our sampling spree— And why not, considering it has a towering reputation for the best mithai shops in town, some of which date back to over a 100 to 150 years or thereabouts.
Chaina Ram Sindhi Halwai
From the Mughal bastion of Red Fort, we follow the arterial road through Chandni Chowk, lined up on either side by buildings of varying vintage companionably leaning against each other. Our goal is the over 120-year-old Chaina Ram Sindhi Halwai shop, which straddles the T-Point from where you veer off right towards Asia’s largest wholesale spice market Khari Baoli. The shop stands back-to-back with the beautiful Fathepuri Masjid, builtin 1650 by Fatehpuri Begum, one of the several wives of emperor Shah Jahan. Chaina Ram’s hottest selling item is the Karachi Halwa. Their Sohan Halwa, motichoor ladoos, besan ladoos, gulab jamuns, pista burfi and dodha are some of the other fast selling items.
Old Famous Jalebi Wala
One of the most enduring mithai shops is the Old Famous Jalebi Wala, located at the corner of Dariba Kalan, the famous street for gold and silver jewellery. Once just a little stall on the sidewalks it’s been seducing the palates of kings and commoners alike since 1795 with its fresh and flawless, crisp and golden jalebis deep fried in pure ghee and drenched in a decadent syrup. Today you can gorge on their yummy mutar samosas and go back to sampling their iconic Rabri Jalebi. A gun-toting son of the owner back in the day is believed to have kept the competition and the badmashes at bay.
Kanwarji’s
Located near Paranthe Wali Gali lures you with its Til Barfi, Gajar Halwa and Chenna Barfi and Til Barfi. Check out their unique Coffee barfi.
You should also stock up on the famous savoury snack at Kanwarji Dalbijiwala, which has been around since the 18th century near Paranthe Wali Gali.
Shiv Mishthan Bhandar
Sequestered in Kucha Ghasi Ram, this wonderful mithai shop has a nice range of halwas…sooji halwa, moong dal halwa and, of course, the much-loved gaajar halwa. An unexpected find amidst all these halwas are their delicious Imratis.
Shyam Sweets
Located on the Chawri Bazar Rd, Near Chowk, Raghu Ganj, Manohar Market, Hauz Qazi, this iconic shop has been indulging local residents of ‘Shehar’ and shoppers for decades with their yummy Chamcham, Kesar Pak, Paan Roll etc.
Kallan Sweets
Having paid your respects and soaked in the cultural vibes of Jama Masjid head for the ever-popular Kallan Sweets on the Matia Mahal Road here to sample the Fruit Barfi, and Shahi Tukda.
Annapurna Bhandar
A Bengali gent, Mohinimohan Mukherjee, who once hailed from Lahore and served in the railways, opened this sweet little mithai shop opposite Gurudwara Sri Sees Ganj Sahib in 1929. Deciding to be his own boss for a change he decided it was more fun serving Chandni Chowk’s residents with a taste of Bengal. They make the most delicious rasgullas and chamchams, dilbahar, sandesh, chamcham, mishti doi, and kancha golla. In winter they also have the Bengali favourite kara pak amongst the other jaggery based items on sale. If you want to see how popular the shop is, check out the throngs around the stall, which they put up at the Kashmiri Gate Pandal during Durga Puja.
Haldiram
A hot favourite for everyday indulgences and festival treats Haldiram has, for over 85 years, expanded its footprint all over town including Chandni Chowk, Lajpat Nagar, Rohini, Janakpuri etc. Its seasonal orange burfi, and gujiyas, along with gulab jamuns and baby rosogollas are irresistible.
Nathu’s Sweets
With a scattering of outlets in town Nathu’s which is located in Bengali Market has been raking it in with favourites such as Khoya Pista Barfi, Milk Cake, Motichoor Laddu and kaju barfis.
Kaleva
If you are lurking around Connaught Place, you should definitely make your way to Kaleva in Gole Market, close to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. It is perpetually thronged by patrons vying for their awesome khoya burfi.
Bangla Sweet House
Patronised by no less a personage than erstwhile Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpai Bangla Sweet House, in Bhagat Singh Market (near Gole Market) , has been wooing Dilliwallas since 1940, when it was established by Lala Atma Ram. The bestsellers here are the Moong Dal Burfi, Kesar Petha and Boondi Ke Laddoo pinni, patisa, coconut burfi and milk-cake.
Hira Sweets
With over a century of spoiling the taste buds of Dilliwallahs Hira Sweets decided to open a shop in Connaught Place near Rajiv Chowk in 2012 with delicious traditional desi ghee sweets. They serve a mean balushahi and pista burfi; also on offer are Bengali favourites delicious chhena toast to tasty kesar sandesh . Season specialities include Monsoon favourite ghewar, and winter delights like kesar feni and Kalakand. The shop originally was established over 125 years ago in Shahdara, on the outskirts of Delhi, by the now deceased Ram Babu Sharma, a Congress leader.
Kamala Sweets
Chittaranjan Park, the Bengali bastion in Delhi, would never be the same if it didn’t have Kamala Sweets. If you are looking for authentic Bengali mithai this is your go-to shop for chamcham, raj bhog, chhenaar jilipi and sandesh!
Annapurna Sweet House
Located in CSC Market 2, Chittaranjan Park Annapurna is hot and happening with the local residents for its varieties of sandesh, rosogollas, mishti doi and badam halwa.
AGRA
The historic city of Agra is synonymous with petha, a delicious mithai made from ash gourd. What’s also popular are the seasonal gond laddus, the very rich milky dodha burfi and dal moth (spicy snack).
Panchhi Petha Store
The most iconic brand of course and your safest bet from the numerous offerings in town is Panchhi Petha. Take your pick of popular offerings such as santra (orange), kesar, angoori and coconut petha. The shop in the main market Sadar Bazaar also offers ladoos, pedas and desi ghee ki gajak which is a peanut brittle.
Bhagat Halwai
Dating back to 1759 Bhagat Halwai is located in Nehru Nagar. Along with the traditional pethas it also offers other traditional mithais to keep the customers rolling in.
Sri Dauji Mishtan Bhandar
Long reputed for its kesar pedas, shahi kaju pista barfi, sohan halwa, mysore pak and kaju kalash, Sri Dauji Mishtan Bhandar, located on Central Bank Road, Kamla Nagar, is always thronged by mithai aficionados.
Deviram Sweets
Located near GPO Agra Deviram Sweets is a popular breakfast joint— but its jalebis, petha gilori, bundi ke laddu and rabri are sweet on the palate too.
Pracheen Petha
This iconic shop has several spots around town, but the one near Noori Gate seems to have a special vibe. It’s probably the yummy chocolate petha, coconut petha, lal petha and raspberry petha which are the big draw along with a choice of other western-style confectionary items.
JAIPUR
This historic city has a glut of mithai shops which lures the citizenry and tourists with an amazing range of traditional and inventive mithais.
LMB
The big daddy of them all is Laxmi Misthan Bhandar or LMB, located near Johari Bazaar. Local lore has it that when the new capital was being established in 1727 Maharaja Swai Jai Singh II, along with the traders and artisans, businessmen and entrepreneurs who who settled here, there also arrived a bunch of halwais, who quickly went back into business with the Walled City’s first mithai shops. An unbeatable favourite is the paneer ghewar, doodh feeni and sohan halwa amongst other delicacies.
Bhagat Misthan Bhandar
Desi ghee is the favoured base with which this shop near Chhoti Chaupar, has been churning out the most delicious mithais including their famous doodh ke laddu and moti choor ladoos since 1957. During the monsoon season their delectable ghewars are a sellout. The main outlet is on MI Road.
Govindam Sweets
Located close to the Govind Dev Ji Temple, Gangori Bazaar Govindam Sweets, has carved in stone its reputation for authentic Rajasthani sweets. Patrons arrive in droves for their seasonal ghevar, feeni, kesar peda and mawa kachori, created from age-old recipes and the finest ingredients.
Sodhani Sweets
While this shop has long staked its reputation on the yummy samosa and pyaz ki kachori, citizens still swear by the quality and authenticity of their jalebis, rasgullas, gulab jamuns and other mithais.
Rawat Misthan Bhandar
Jaipur’s populace loves this shop, dating back to 1856, for its awesome pyaz ki kachori. Located in Sindhi Camp it’s also growing in popularity for its ghewar, misri mawa, mawa kachori, saffron-flavoured gulab sakri, kaju roll, kaju kattli, motichoor laddu etc.
Kanji
Patrons are stoked by its palate-stirring offerings of raj bhog and rasmalai. They are even willing to gorge on smaller helpings of Kanji’s famous raj kachori just to make room for these delicious mithais. Outlets are open at Bapu Nagar, Sindhi Camp and Sikar Road.
Mahaveer Rabri
For rabri buffs in the city this is the place to go on Tonk Road for their fabulous Kesar Rabri. You should also try their rabri malpua and gajjar ka halwa, two other seasonal favourites.
Kanha
It has several outlets across town, including C-Scheme, Tonk Road, Malviya Nagar, Vaishali Nagar and many more. During the monsoon festival of Teej catch ‘insta’ moments watching the teeming throngs around their rabri ghewar.
Doodh Misthan Bhandar
For over 60 years Doodh Misthan Bhandar, near Tonk Phatak, has been expanding its footprint across the city. That’s because it's largely favoured for its milk products. Unmissable treats here are the awesome rajbhog, motichoor laddoos, kaju katli, ghevar.
Kesar Mithai boutique
Established in 1985 on Tonk Road, it’s popular for its superb variety of Indian, Turkish and fusion sweets. They also offer an alluring sugar-free range of mithais.
This listing is but a small window to the infinite variety of Indian mithais one can pick up travelling through the Golden Triangle. Just imagine how awesome it would be if you were a mithai buff and had all the time in the world to explore the offerings of the local neigbourhood mithai shops that have become regular hang-out joints for the residents of these historic cities!