The history of Delhi can be mapped through its food, and it is indeed an intriguing exercise. With the Mughals came the biryani, nihari and kababs, the British introduced the capital to various breads, cakes and pastries, a certain West Pakistan refugee put Delhi on the world map with his chicken curry which we now know as the Butter Chicken; and there are examples aplenty, how Delhi’s streets have always had space for interesting food and foodies alike. The sweet shops or the Mithaiwalas of Delhi are also an integral part of the city’s wide culinary heritage. Some of these sweet shops are even more than 100 years old.
Here are some legendary Mithaiwalas of Delhi that have stood the test of time.
Chaina Ram Sindhi Confectioners
In their own words, Chaina Ram Sindhi confectioners have been offering “matchless quality since 1901”. The shop, originally situated in Lahore’s Anarkali Market, relocated to Chandni Chowk after the partition in 1947. Dipped in Desi ghee, the sweets of Chaina Ram have indulgence written all over them, from ladoos, barfi, patisa, to soan papdi, you can get everything here for your desi mithai cravings, but if there’s one thing you must take home in bulk, it is their chewy, translucent and nutty ‘Karachi Halwa’ .
Bengali Sweet House
A landmark sweet shop in Delhi’s Bengali Market, Bengali sweet house has been a crowd-puller for more than 7 decades now. Lala Bhimsen came to Delhi in 1936, for his father’s medical treatment and set up his first sweet shop in Ferozshah Road, and then later in 1937, he opened a bigger shop in Bengali Market, which was the up and coming food hub in Delhi, minutes away from the Lutyen’s Cannaught Place, He was the first person to introduce ‘Bengali sweets’ especially the chenna-based ones like rasgulla, sandesh rasmalai outside of Bengal and Bengali sweet house was also one of the first sweet houses to include light-bites and snacks like dosa, dhoklas in their menu.
Singla Sweets
Established in 1885, Singla sweet shop has stood the test of time when it comes to quality sweetmeats. They take immense pride in their sweets made of pure desi ghee. Some of our all-time favourites would be, the Angoori petha, khoya barfi, gulab jamun, kesar sandesh.
Nathu’s
In 1936, when Nathu Ram Ramesh Kumar established his humble tea stall in Delhi’s Bengali Market, nobody could have anticipated how big the brand would become in the coming years. The Bengali market outlet now sells more than hundred types of sweets and snacks. There are countless branches of sweet shop across the city, and they now deliver food around the country too. From milk cakes, Dodha barfi, kaju katli, patisa, to Mathri, cocktail samosa, kachori and namak pare the options are endless.
Kanwarji
Tucked away in one corner of the old Parathe Wali Galli in Chandni Chowk, Kanwarji was established iin the year 1850, by late Lala Kanwar Sen. In addition to their Badam Lauj, Ghewar, Kaju Katli, Dry Fruits Besan Ladoo, Rajasthani Boondi Ladoo and Bikaneri Barfi, they are also renowned for their namkeen and savoury snacks like ‘Dal Biji’ a dry trail mix made of sev and fried lentils.
Other heritage mithawalas of Delhi include the Annapurna sweets of CR Park renowned for their authentic Bengali sweets and Old Delhi’s Kallan Sweets, the Old Famous Jalebiwalah, and many more. In the year 2015, Delhhites had to bid a tearful goodbye to Ghantewala, an Old Delhi sweets shop established in the year 1790 by Lala Sukh Lal Jain. People still swear by its Soan Halwa and th Habshi Halwa.