I was wandering around Delhi's famous Bengali Market today, located close to Connaught Circus and well known as the heart of the city's sweet shops. When people talk about sweets, or mithai, in India they are almost always talking about sweet, sticky deserts made from sugar, condensed millks and nuts.
They're fattening, unhealthy but often quite delicious and at no other time of the year are more eaten than during the festival of lights - Diwali - which is just days away. I'd not been to the Bengali market before and I'd been keen to go since reading a fascinating report about how tastes are changing and how the sweet makers offering sugar-free varieties to lure customers who are scared about their wasitlines expanding too much.
"We have been making them for about 10 years now," said Indu Gupta, of the Nathu's store that dates back decades. "Initially there was not much demand, but in recent years it has shot up." The busy little area, lined with cafes and juice stands, is actually home to two of the most famous sweet stores in Delhi and this morning both were packed with people buying up boxes of mithai and nuts in preparation for next week's festival.
Somehow, I managed to avoid buying a slab of sweets and was feeling pretty pleased with myself, only to fall to the temptation of a couple of samosas and a glass of fresh pineapple juice. No excuses, I know, but this is meant to be a time of celebration. All of this got me wondering as to whether such sweets should be included in a list of the top ten things about India. I'm offering the prize of lunch in Delhi for the person who comes up with the most original and interesting list of their best things about the country. You can click here to take part.
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