Biting into sweet somethings

The Rassogolla Shoppe, a small sweet shop in Aswath Nagar on Sanjaynagar Main Road, is like a slice of Bengal in Bangalore.Started ten years ago by Vishwanath, a man from West Bengal, the humble shop has a wide customer base, in the form of families, youngsters and senior citizens.

“It was started in 1999,” says Vishwanath, who has always been into catering business. “Those days, there was no sweet shop in this area,” he adds.

And till date, the Rassogolla Shoppe is one of the best-known sweet shops in the area. Besides, it’s one of the few places totally untouched by commercialisation, thereby retaining the charm of old Bangalore.  It’s not only popular among the residents of Sanjaynagar, but people from surrounding areas and other parts of the City as well.
One look at the store and an array of sweets and savoury items meet the eye. Be it Sandesh or Rassogolla, one can spot every authentic Bengali sweet here.

“Our sweets are prepared in a truly Bengali style. So the taste is extremely authentic,” assures Vishwanath.  Bite into a delicious, cold Rassogolla for Rs 8 and you will know what he means. Then there are Gulab Jamoons, Mishti Doi, Cham Cham, Malai Cham Cham, Kheer Khadam and all the other sweets that Bengal is famous for.  

“Rassogollas are generally of four types — Chota (small), Bada (big), Gud (jaggery) and Rajbhogh (saffron flavoured). And we have all of them,” explains Vishwanath. And if you aren’t really a taker for sweets, then no worries. There are crisp samosas (also called as singharas), cutlets and kachoris.  And all these are available for just Rs 6. Plus there are different colourful mixtures like Bhoondi Mixture, Khara Mixture and Khatta Meetha. If you want something heavier, go for Channa Butter for Rs 15, which is like Puri Sabzi. “Our most expensive item is Mishti Doi, which is available for Rs 15. The Rajbhogh and Rasmalai are priced at Rs 12 and Rs 11 respectively,” he explains. The shop’s non-Bengali sweets like Kaju Katli and Motichur Laddoo are equally delicious.

Ajay and Leela are two of the store’s loyal customers. “We have been coming here for four years now and we love all their sweets,” says Leela. While Ajay adds, “Their Burfis are my favourite. Everything here is reasonably priced.”

The Rassogolla Shoppe is open on all days from 8 am to 10 pm.