Brisk sale of ellu bella

Stores across the city are selling Sankranti festive treats

With Makara Sankranti coming up on January 14, Bengalureans are busy putting together festive must-haves: ‘ellu bella’ and ‘sakkare acchu’. Those unable to make them at home are banking on stores, which is delivered through services such as Dunzo, Teleport, Rapido, Swiggy Genie or courier.

‘Ellu bella’ is a traditional mix of sesame seeds, Bengal gram, groundnut, coconut shavings, and candy chunks. ‘Sakkare acchu’ is a hard sugar candy, a favourite in this harvest festival season.

Organic sweet

Jivan Organics, Yelahanka Town and Doddaballapur Main Road, is selling organic variants of Sankranti items. Saritha S, owner, takes pride in an alternative to sakkare acchu —bellada achu or jaggery candy.

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Gift boxes

Nagaveni Rajappa, a resident of Indiranagar, is selling her offerings through Ganesha Enterprises, Magadi Road. “Since there is a new strain of Covid, people are scared to head to City Market. This has led to many phone orders,” she says. Her sugar candies come in three colours, and they can be gifted in tin boxes and festive packets.

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With peppermint

Sri Vasavi Condiments, JP Nagar 7th Phase, sells two varieties of ellu bella, with and without jeera peppermint and ‘kusuri ellu’. Sushma Naresh, owner, says her family has been selling the treats for 15 years.

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Young customers

Deepti Nadagouda, a home cook from Vidyaranapura, has been making the festive treat for more than a decade but is selling it for the first time.

A majority of her customers are young professionals. “We don’t dry-roast the groundnuts, as one cannot get the actual taste when it is fried,” she says.

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No slump in sales

Vanishree and husband Srinivas, residents of Chikkalasandra, near Abbayi Naidu Studio, have sold around 900 kg of ellu bella already this year.

Vanishree says, “We thought business would be dull, since many are suffering a financial crunch, but we have had good sales.” The store allows customers to buy ingredients separately.

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Online too

Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, and a host of online stores are selling ellu bella.

Wallet factor

The price of ellu bella varies from Rs 120 to Rs 600 a kilo. Sakkare acchu is priced between Rs 120 and Rs 400.