Peddling a cherished taste

Over the last eight decades, the busy ‘Bangalore road’ in Ballari has witnessed tremendous changes. The small clothing and jewellery shops on this road have transformed into malls and swanky showrooms. However, there is one thing that has not changed on this, the most important road in the city. It is Imtiaz’s makeshift shop, a cycle, on which he sells Ballari’s most relished sweet, khowa. K M D Imtiaz is a fourth-generation sweet-maker and seller.

The simple sweet is locally called ‘cycle-khowa’, as it has been sold for the last eight decades on cycle. It is made of milk, sugar and some dry-fruit powder. The sweet has a special following across the state and has, at times, even been parceled out of the country by local customers.

While it could be easily confused for Belagavi’s famous kundha, those who have tasted both say it is a bit different, as Ballari’s cycle-khowa is a bit more granular, thicker and sweeter than its Belagavi cousin.  

It is believed that cycle-khowa took its birth in the kitchen of the British Cantonment at Ballari, some time in 1944. Gudesab, who used to work as assistant cook in the military camp of the British at Ballari, picked it up from a Punjabi cook. With the British leaving India in 1947, Gudesab decided to use his culinary skills learnt at the camps to make a living. 

T G Vittal, a 73-year-old resident of Ballari, vividly remembers how Gudesab used to cycle around the city selling the hot sweet, from a copper utensil on the carrier of the cycle. “The taste of the sweet has not changed a bit. I have been relishing it since I was five years old and even today, when I taste it, the same sweetness, aroma and warmth fills my heart,” he says. He remembers paying 10 annas (approximately 60 paise) for a handful of khowa that was packed in the palash leaf (muttuga yele).

One of the reasons the sweet has retained its flavor is the process the family members of Gudesab have been following. They procure milk from a specific breed of buffalo from selected farmers in surrounding villages. 

“We supply special feed comprising of hay, husked rice, rice flour, green fodder, and sesame seeds to these farmers to rear the buffaloes, as the milk produced will have thicker fat and density,” says Imtiaz, grandson of Gudesab. The milk thus procured from the farmers is boiled on a low flame on firewood for over seven hours, where a liter of milk transforms to 200 grams of khowa. “Apart from sugar, almonds, and cardamom powder, no other ingredients are added while preparing the khowa,” he says. All through the process, one person keeps stirring the pot. “All the ingredients should be added at the right time and temperature, failing which the taste is spoiled,” says Imtiaz.  

Currently, five descendants of Gudesab are selling this sweet across the city. Each family procures nearly 300 liters of milk from the selected farmers and prepares nearly 50 to 60 kg of the sweet per day. The sweet is sold at Rs 440 per kg. 

Even today, they sell these sweets on the carrier of the cycles. However, one of the family members has upgraded to a scooter.

Social media influencers have helped the sweet reach newer places. “People from as far as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hyderabad and other places are coming to savor the sweet. We are planning to expand the business beyond Ballari and set up a dedicated factory,” says Aftab Nawaz, great grandson of Gudesab and fifth-generation sweet maker. However, financial constraints are preventing them from expanding their business at present. 

The family also has the fear that their secretly held recipe could be ‘stolen’ and claimed by others. “We are working towards getting a product patent. We do not know the process of getting it, so we are seeking the help of experts,” says Mehboob Pasha, Gudusab's son.   

For many, including yours truly, cycle-khowa is not just a sweet, but a memory that reminds one of the good old days.