Ghevar- A traditional Rajasthani Sweet

 Rakshabandhan ( the auspicious Hindu festival that celebrates the bond of protection between a brother and sister ) is later this month but we celebrated it a bit earlier this time before my brother left India.
This time we got the Rajasthani filigreed delicacy " Ghevar " which is a traditional sweet usually prepared during Teej and Rakhi festivals. This traditional  disc shaped sweet is a very fine sweet prepared with flour, ghee,milk,sugar,almonds, cardamom and saffron. Like most Indian sweets this Rajasthani delicacy also is decorated with 'varq' which is a sort of garnishing foil made of mostly pounded silver. ( Varq is edible and is safe to consume. Varq is used to decorate various foods to make the food look attractive)

Mysore Pak - A South Indian Dessert

[ India has a variety of sweets and desserts to offer from different States. Some sweets are seasonal and some are specially made only on auspicious occasions and festivals. It is a tradition to gift a box of mithai  (sweets) when visiting someone at home. It is a symbol of happiness and festivity. At weddings there are always different types of sweets and desserts included in the menu. Boxes of sweets are also distributed amongst close family and friends when sending wedding invitations and to celebrate the birth of a child.]

When I was working in Japan, I noticed that sweets were presented at offices too specially brought back as "omiyage" ( gift) by someone returning from a vacation or an official tour to another prefecture or country and that reminded me of India. Here too we like to gift a box of sweets that city is famous for to our colleagues visiting from abroad or other States. Whenever my brother visits Bangalore on a work trip, he is always gifted a box of South Indian mithai (sweet )called "Mysore Pak".  It is made of pure ghee ( purified butter), sugar and gram flour. Some contain cardamom too. This famous and rich  South Indian desert originated in Mysore and it is known that it was prepared by the palace cook.

 This time my brother's office staff presented him a box of Mysore Pak from this famous shop of  sweets " G Pulla Reddy Sweets". I have been introduced by my brother to various types of such sweets from different sweet shops of Bangalore but I thoroughly enjoyed this one from G. Pulla Reddy Sweet shop. I have tasted  Mysore Pak sweet before but have never tasted one as delicious as this. I loved the velvet buttery taste as it melted in my mouth to unfold hints of a caramel taste. This sweet from this particular shop not only tastes delicious but looks lovely too with hues of golden mustard and warm brown. A dessert looking so appealing and inviting as this tastes even better ! The Mysore Pak from G. Pulla Reddy Sweets is the best I have tasted so far with a soft texture and great flavour.

When I searched for this shop on Google, I was amazed to find out how famous this shop is. And the owner and founder  Mr. G Pulla Reddy was even more famous. He began selling sweets in 1948 on a small cart and his business flourished so much that he opened shops in India and abroad.