Central Delhi residents rejoiced when the unrivalled kulfi shop Kuremal Kulfi opened in Bengali Market a few years ago. Established in 1906, Kuremal Kulfi’s first shop was in Chawri Bazaar, where it still exists today. The shop sold only three flavours—mango, rabri and kewra—in its initial years and even set up a stall at Parade Ground during Ramlila every year.
Back in those days, Kuremal came to Delhi from Haryana to sell kulfi for a few months along with his uncle and periodically returned to his village. He moved to Old Delhi after he got married. Mohanlal, Kuremal’s son, joined him after he finished school. After Kuremal passed away, his two sons established two separate shops along the same road. Depending on which side customers enter the street from, they are likely to find either Kuremal Mohanlal or Kuremal Mahavir Prasad.
At both shops, fruits like mangoes, oranges and pomegranates are hollowed and stuffed with rabri. They are then left in a sealed earthen pot to freeze. This is the signature Kuremal kulfi, although other varieties similar to sorbet (jamun, falsa, pomegranate, etc.) also exist. A batch of kulfi is kept in the freezer for no longer than five days. Before eating, each kulfi is dipped in water so that it can thaw, extracted from the mould, sliced in half so that the layers of fruit and kulfi are visible, and served.
Kuremal Mahavir Prasad boasts an international and celebrity clientele. The shop has supplied kulfi everywhere from a festival in Hong Kong to Bollywood actors Twinkle Khanna and Akshay Kumar’s wedding in 2001. They also regularly ship to Japan. Even Rahul Gandhi, Sheila Dixit and LK Advani have visited the shop.
71 varieties of kulfi are sold under the Kuremal brand, which includes ones low on sugar for those with diabetes. Some of the kulfis are as reasonably priced as ₹35 for a piece. Armed with a multitude of flavours and kulfi-making techniques, Kuremal Kulfi has gone on to become iconic in the eyes of Dilliwalas.