On a visit to the historical city of Nawabs, You just cannot overlook the vast variety of flavorful mithayis available in the city. While Lucknow is very popular for its rich Awadhi cuisine including the likes of biryani, kebabs and kormas, you will be delighted to explore different varieties of attractive and tasty mithayis that the city has on its platter.
There are shops located in almost every corner of Lucknow selling lip-smacking mithayis. In fact, there are shops that boast of more than 100 years of preserving the tradition and custom of selling high quality mithayis in the city of Nawabs. During festivals such as Diwali, Holi, and Raksha Bandhan, these shops find special attention as people generally gift sweets to their relatives and friends as a token of love and affection.
If you are in Lucknow or plan to visit the city sometime soon, here are a few traditional mithayi shops you should not miss exploring. The variety, quality and taste of sweets at these shops is simply unbelievable. Read on to know more about the who’s who of mithayis in the city:
Radhey Lal’s Parampara Sweets – Old Trusted Name
Radhey Lal Sweets is synonymous with utmost quality, variety and taste. They create magic with traditional Indian sweets. Located in the city of Nawabs, they have literally ruled the hearts of Lucknowites for more than eight decades now.
All the festive celebrations in the city whether big or small cannot be complete without the delectable mithayis of Radhey Lal. Today, the shop operates under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Jai Prakash Gupta (the 3rd generation of the mithayi wallahs). Radhey Lal’s Parampara Sweets has also been conferred with the coveted ISO 9001-2000 and HACCP certification.
Radhey Lal offer an extensive variety of Indian sweets, Diwali sweets, gift hampers, namkeens, and several other items of the best in class quality and taste. They use the best quality milk, dry fruits, mewa, ghee, oil and other ingredients in all their preparations.
The product range is diverse such as dry fruit sweets, khoya sweets, cheena sweets, milk sweets, and delectable namkeens. The shop boasts of traditional cooks who have mastered the art of mithayi-making. The cooks create magic with all the products sold in the shop.
The sweets at Radhey Lal are hygienically and attractively packed for purity and freshness. They use top quality oil papers, plastic boxes and cardboard boxes that tend to provide quality, variety and artistic appeal to the customers.
Customers can also order the sweets from the comforts of their home through the official website of the company. People living abroad can experience the joys of sending sweets to their relatives living in India by booking online orders. The specialties of Radhey Lal Sweets are Rakshabandhan mithayis, choicest dry fruits, namkeen cans, crunch bars, dry fruit sweets, special handicraft baskets, kaju katli, kaju mewa bite, balushahi, mewa laddoo, etc.
Radhey Lal also sells specially-made makhan, gajar ka halwa, samnak ka halwa, gajak, and flavored milk during winter season. The taste is simply awesome. Their main shop is situated in old Lucknow area of Chowk, close to Gol Darwaza. The other outlets are in Aliganj and Hazrat Ganj.
Ram Asrey – The Quintessential Mithayi Shop
Ram Asrey is an old name tantamount to perfection, quality and taste. It was established in 1805 in the city of Nawabs. The shop has been the embodiment of scrumptious traditional Indian sweets. They have been selling top quality mithayis and namkeens since 200 years. The variety, quality, and taste are simply unrivaled.
All the sweets at Ram Asrey are prepared and served in an authentic style, thus maintaining the legacy and tradition of the brand. They still get some rare sweet delicacies prepared. The secret of those recipes is said to have been preserved till date.
The name immediately strikes a chord with the people in Lucknow. Ram Asrey is not a mere business establishment but a high-class legacy of mouthwatering traditional Indian sweets. All the mithayi recipes are traditional and they have not changed them, thus preserving the taste and quality till date. However, they have changed the delivery and packaging techniques to keep pace with the changing times.
The owners have been accredited with innovation of several mithayis in Lucknow – the most popular being the Malai Paan. The shop has the rarest assortment of exclusive sweets such as the old Kashmiri Nakul to the latest Fortune Bites. Ram Asrey pampers the taste buds with traditional pethas, gajak and even Bengali sweets.
The specialties of Ram Asrey are kaju barfi, kaju pista roll, pista gujhia, Chandra kala, darbhist, sohan papdi, besan laddoo, halwa sohan, lal peda, balushahi, pineapple barfi and much more. Sohan Halwa, makhnan, flavored milk and gajak are the delights during winter season. They have one outlet at Newal Kishore Road in Hazrat Ganj and the other in Alambagh.
Chhappan Bhog – Authentic Indian Taste
Chhappan Bhog is one of the popular shops for mithayis in Lucknow. The shop offers different varieties of lip-smacking sweets and namkeens. Chhappan Bhog has acquired significant popularity and fame within a short period of time. Romancing with the flavor of mithayi is their passion; therefore, they have been able to make varied top quality sweets that have gratified the taste buds of both the locals and the visitors.
Chhappan Bhog is also an ISO 9001-2000 certified firm. They incorporate only the best quality ingredients mixed with excellent dry fruits that tend to give their products a heavenly flavor. All the products are beautifully packaged in handcrafted baskets to give an authentic look.
The specialties of Chhappan Bhog are kaju anjeer barfi, plain kaju barfi, tirangi barfi, kaju choco bite, kaju halwasohan, kaju gujhia, sohan papdi, magdal, pista roll, plain and flavored dry fruits, choco bites, mewa bites, etc. Kaju Dalmoth, Mewa Dalmoth, Moong Dal Dalmoth, Cornflakes Dalmoth, Pudina Dalmoth and Besan Sev are the other specialties of Chhappan Bhog. Customers can also purchase special gift hampers, festival gift hampers, sweets for wedding, sweets and salty combo and salty delights. You can also book your order from abroad at any point of time. They have their outlet at Apna Bazar, Sadar in Lucknow.
Madhurima Sweets – Poetry in Sweetness
Madhurima Sweets has been relishing an immaculate image for two centuries. From a small traditional outlet located in Aminabad to a contemporary branch in Gomti Nagar, they have mastered the art of making lip-smacking mithayis and namkeen. Customers should expect utmost perfection in terms of quality, variety, hygiene and taste. The cooks (karigars) have really mastered the finer nuances of mithayi-making here. However, with the passage of time, they have changed the packaging and delivery methods to lure the modern customers. The karigars have added innovation in all their products to make them more appealing and appetizing.
The specialties of Madhurima Sweets are kaju kesar barfi, pista roll, kaju anjeer barfi, mewa bite, kaju kesar barfi,kaju pinni, motichoor laddoo, mewa motichoor laddoo, boondi laddoo, kaju gujhia, and sohan halwa. The taste and quality of all these products is of the highest order and you will definitely crave for more. Apart from mithayis you can also explore pudina mixture dalmoth, kaju dalmoth, mewa dalmoth, mewa samosa and cashew nut (plain and salted).
You also have the option to buy sugar-free sweets. Madhurima Sweets provide an extensive range of gift hampers, Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan gift hampers as well. Their main outlet is located at Sri Ram Road in Aminabad and the new outlet is situated at Vibhuti Khand in Gomti Nagar.
Haji Sweet Shop – Mithayis that have Heavenly Taste
Haji Sweet Shop was established 50 years ago. Haji Ghaffur who had performed Haj started the shop with humble beginnings. Today, the shop is run under the able guidance of Haji Mohammad Faisal (son of Haji Ghaffur). The famous words of Mohammad Faisal “hamari dukaan par aaj bhi 1 rupaye mein mithayi bikti hai is mehngai ke zamane me, sab Allah ki barkat hai” still hold true (You can still get sweets for one rupee at the shop). Beggars and kids are never returned without giving them sweets at the shop. This is done to show affection and love towards all human beings.
The shop serves the finest traditional mithayis at economical prices in old Lucknow area of Nakhas Tiraha. Special care and emphasis is taken to preserve the taste and quality of all the mithayis at Haji Sweet Shop.
You will generally see long queues at the shop for the amazing sweets such as khoye ke laddoo, milk cake, besan ke laddoo, qalaqand, doodh barfi, balushahi, andarse ki goli, peda and several other mouthwatering mithayis. Customers can also purchase fresh and appetizing snacks such as pakaude, samosa, namakpare, and suhaal. More than 30 different varieties of mithayis and namkeens are made every day at Haji Sweet Shop.
During the month of Ramzan, the most sought-after items are lachche, keema samosa, suhaal, pakaudi and laddoo. Customers can also book orders for weddings and other special events. Haji Sweet Shop is a prominent landmark in the area of Nakhas is synonymous with the Tehzeeb of Lucknow and the extra sweet taste.
The Journey of Mithayis is Endless in Lucknow
Certainly, the journey of sweets and namkeens is unending in the city of Nawabs. There is so much variety, taste and quality that you will be pleasantly pampered with innumerable choices. Every mithayi shop in Lucknow has its own distinctive taste and quality and you will be forced to visit that shop again. The remembrance of delectable taste and artistic appeal of all the mithayis will be etched in your memory forever.
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