KC Das
From introducing canned rosogollas to serving the all-time-favourite rossomalai, KC Das has become a household name when it comes to sweets and savouries. Started by Nobin Das in Kolkata, the shop’s legacy was carried on for generations by his son Krishna Chandra Das, and now, director BN Das is at the helm. They successfully run the flagship store on Church Street, which opened in 1972.
Along with this, they also have another outlet at Basaveshwaranagar, along with franchises in JP Nagar, Coles Road, Sarjapur Road, Indiranagar, Gandhi Bazaar, Kamanahalli, Malleswaram, HSR, New BEL Road, and Vignayan Nagar. Not just Cham Cham, Rabri, Fruit Dahi, Khir Kadam, etc, KC Das also takes considerable care in serving diet Rosogollas, Sondesh, Jamoon and more for diabetic patients. “Das always says this is not business, but a social obligation.
A fan of art and culture, he has hung paintings on the wall at the Church Street store, and the amount from paintings sold goes to the artists at Chitrakala Parishath,” says Shampa Chakraborty, head of Operations in Bengaluru. They have a laboratory at their factory in Yelahanka, where advanced technologies are used to incorporate useful microbes, thus bringing out probiotic curds which is good for health.
– Sudeshna Dutta
Anand Sweets
While much has changed on Commerical Street, Anand Sweets continues to remain a familiar store. The family business comprising long-serving staff has generations of the same families following virtually unchanged recipes. While the first store on Commercial Street continues to serve Kaju Katli and Sohan Papdi, they have expanded to 11 stores across the city. The menu sees a change every six months with something new introduced to it.
From the signature Badamika biscuits and Cashew Meetaaz or a range of Arabic specialities, such as Baklava, the team is also working on coming up with creative and original products.Although traditional at heart, the 30-year-old iconic sweet store caters to the discerning crowd of Bengaluru, and has been reinventing itself to cater to the changing tastes of Bengalureans. At their 1,20,000 sq ft centralised production unit in Jigani that is able to churn out 30,000 kg of products every day, the facility also whips up diet and sugar-free sweets.
To keep up with the changing times, they have tied-up with delivery aggregators. “There were a few spots to eat out on Commercial Street and one of them was Anand Sweets. For Deepavali, we used to go there for the Kaju Barfi,” says Prabhavati M, an old Bengalurean.
– Vidya Iyengar
Asha Sweet Center
Started in 1951 by the Late Kantha Prasadji Garg, Asha Sweet Center, Malleswaram, has been a go-to destination for sweet lovers in Bengaluru. The store, with several branches now, has an extensive set of options, including Bengali sweets, Khova sweets, savories, snacks and more to choose from. When it comes to the crowd favourites, Badam Milk, Samosa and Mysore Pak have stood out. “The softer version of the Mysore Pak was introduced in the ’80s which turned out be a crowd-puller, and prior to that, it was the crispy version of the same,” says Narendra Kumar Garg, a third-generation businessman. Garg also claims the Rasgaulla has been the top-selling item till date since its introduction. The store witnesses about 100 customers a day. The pricing starts at `540/kg for pedas. “People read the board and come looking for sweets but they end up with much more than sweets,” he says. –
- Muneef Khan
Kanti Sweets
Kanti Sweets started its journey in 1957 with founder Pandit Jyoti Swarup Sharma at a small 6x6 sq ft shop on KG Road.Today, the band has grown to 73 outlets across Bengaluru. Shailendra Sharma, managing partner and third-generation businessman, says over 100 varieties of savouries and bakery items are prepared using traditional recipes and latest technology.
“We manufacture different varieties of traditional sweets like Kaju Katli, Special Mysore Pak, Motichur Ladoos for which we source raw materials from the certified suppliers across the country. The quality of raw materials and products are constantly checked and monitored in our GLP certified in-house lab with experts in the field,” Sharma says.
– Lesly Joseph
Banaras Sweets
Ask any passer-by on Avenue Road for Banaras Sweets, and you’re sure to be guided to the iconic sweet store. And if you’ve got a sweet tooth, then indulge yourself in the 250-plus options at Banaras Sweets. Located on bustling Avenue Road, the store, opened in 1952, is famous for its Rasmalai, Rajbhog, Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, Kaju Katli, Besan Laddoo, Son Papdi.
The store is open on all days of the year between 9am and 10pm. Muttaiah, a regular customer of the store, says, “I have been buying sweets from this shop from the last 40 years for every occasion.Now, even my grandchildren enjoy the sweets, especially the Son Papdi.” Just make sure you park near Mysore Bank junction and walk to the store. That way, you won’t feel guilty about relishing that extra Gulab Jamun.
– Brinda Das
Shree Mahalakshmi sweets
You might have to wait for almost a whole year to enjoy the Mysore Dasara but there is no stopping from digging into some sweet delicacies thanks to Shree Mahalakshmi sweets, a store in Mysuru, which has outlets in Bengaluru too. The first outlet was opened in Vidyaranyapura, Mysuru in 1990, and came to Bengaluru in 2015. It started off in a small way but owing to word of mouth, it gained popularity and expanded to different parts of Karnataka.
Shree Mahalakshmi sweets has more than 200-300 types of sweets to offer. The popular ones include Mysore pak, Pure Ghee Jamun and Chandrakala. If sweets are not your thing, then they also offer spicy dry snacks, the most popular being SMS Khara. The special Mysore Pak is priced at `580 per kg and you can have SMS Khara for `380 per kg. Shiva Kumar, chairman of Mahalakshmi Sweets, says, “We make sure that before the sweets are placed on the shelves, they are put through a quality test to ensure consistency.”
– Monika Monalisa