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As preparations for Holi start, sweet and snack shops in Delhi come alive with foods that are traditionally eaten during the festival. Be it shakkar para or gujiya, everything is freshly cooked and packaged beautifully to please customers. Gujiya are like deep-fried dumplings that are filled with sweetened khoya and nuts, and are mostly only available during Holi. We pick seven places in Delhi that make great gujiya.
Kaleva
This Gole Market gem stocks around a thousand varieties of sweet treats and snacks. Sweets from across India—like rasgulla from Bengal, ghevar from Rajasthan and Mysore pak from Karnataka—can be found here. During the holi season, Kaleva makes tasty gujiyas, which people buy in addition to the shop’s excellent laddoos.
Bhawan
A new player at the sweet game, the delivery service Bhawan has been able to give veterans competition. The team has created innovative gujiyas like coconut gujiya and milk cake gujiya. They come in a box with other treats like kachori, mathi, namak para and flavoured shakkar para. Buy one for yourself or to give as a present to someone dear.
Chaina Ram Sindhi Confectioners
One of Chandni Chowk’s prized institutions, China Ram is known for multiple types of halwa like Karachi halwa, badaam halwa and sohan halwa. Come Holi and they begin to make gujiyas soaked in sugar syrup and topped with crushed pistachios. Find the shop near Axis Bank in Fatehpuri.
Gulab Sweets
With a name as sweet as its confections, Gulab Sweets in Vaishali serves everything from ras malai to kheer. They pride themselves on using desi ghee to make their treats and also produce special packs for occasions. People tend to visit for their gol guppas and other chaat but make sure you don’t miss the gujiya during Holi.
Tewari Sweets
A hole in the wall in Lajpat Nagar-II, Tewari sweets is famour for its motichoor laddoos. The owner Anand Tewari has been praised for being friendly and the samosas are also well known. Tewari Sweets makes tasty gujiya at the time of Holi. These fly off the shelves quickly so make a trip to the shop well in time.
Kanwarji’s
Founded by late Lala Kanwar Sen, Kanwarji’s has been around since the 18th century. The place is mainly known for its dalbiji and other namkeen but also makes great sweets. While most of their mithai is good, the place especially sees long queues when gujiya is made for Holi. There are a few outlets across the city.
Hazari Lal Jain Khurchan Wale
Located in a dusty lane in Chandni Chowk’s Kinari Bazaar, Hazari Lal Jain Khurchan Wale has been around for more than 80 years. Their “khurchan” is a bestseller and other milk sweets like malai laddoo, rabri and kalakand are very popular, but gujiya can also be found during the days leading up to Holi.
