Feast on the finest

Distinct taste

Manoeuvring along dirty streets, elbowing through crowded pavements and negotiating potholes is all worth it if the destination happens to be the 63-year-old ‘Banaras Sweet House’, which is located on the busy street of Avenue Road. The sweets and savouries available here, according to regulars who come in from all corners of the City, are something to ‘die for’.  

 The eatery was started in 1952 by Ram Prakash Agarwal, who learnt the art of making sweets from his parents and a few hotels where he worked before moving to Bengaluru.
 He was clear that he wanted to bring the same taste of the sweets made in Aligarh to the City and that was the beginning.
   The eating joint is now run by his three sons — Mahesh Chand, Ashok Kumar and Narendra Agarwal — who have have consciously retained the original flavour of the eatery. “We retained the basic character and taste of the place. We have introduced a few new items such as ‘kaju halwa’ and Bengali sweets that weren’t on the list. This completes the package,” says Mahesh.
   Taking one through the distinct features of the eatery, Narendra adds, “We stock over 250 varieties of sweets and savouries, including those that are available only in Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab and a few others. We stock items like ‘khaman dhokla’, ‘khandvi patra’ (made from leaves), ‘thepla’ (thin ‘methi chapatis’) and a variety of ‘chaats’.”
   Ashok says, “We are also popular for making and supplying ‘halwa’, which has its variations — ‘badam’, ‘kaju’, milk carrot and the one made from pumpkin.”
A few things in this place that catch your attention are ‘pheni’, an item that resembles a string hopper.
   “This dish is made from ‘maida’ and tastes best when soaked in a bowl of badam milk and sugar. There’s also another special dish called ‘ghewar’, which is made from ‘maida’ and cooked in ‘ghee’.

It is made during ‘Raksha Bandhan’. There’s also ‘malai sandwich’, ‘motichur laddu’, ‘basundi’, ‘rasmalai’, ‘kaju katli’ and ‘champakali’,” says Mahesh.

The eatery is located on Avenue Road, RT Street Cross; for details, call 22269139 .