Two Friends, One Sweet Quest: Discovering India’s Hidden Delights

By Mithai Garage • Jun 10, 2024

The afternoon sun blazed over Coimbatore, and our stomachs were doing their own grumbling. Two friends on a road trip, we had just finished exploring the city’s vibrant markets. Not a grand, life-changing mission, but a simple, sugar-fueled one. Feeling the midday slump, we decided a sweet treat was the only cure. We weren’t looking for just anything. We were looking for a taste of Coimbatore itself.

Our search led us down a quiet, winding street to a small, humble shop. There, a man with kind eyes was carefully rolling a sweet treat. He called them nuts laddu. He served us a warm piece—a compact ball of roasted nuts. The first bite was an unforgettable mix of wholesome crunch and deep, caramel-like sweetness. In that moment, we knew we had found a piece of the city’s soul. It was simple, authentic, and utterly delicious.

As we finished it, we started talking about all the other local sweets we’d never tried. We realized that for every famous sweet in India, there were dozens of others completely unknown outside their region. We had to find them.

That single taste sparked the idea. We wondered, what other secrets did India’s diverse regions hold? We knew about the famous gulab jamun and rasagulla, but what about the sweets only local shops know? We imagined a quest to find them all.

Our trip to Coimbatore wasn’t just a holiday; it was the start of a mission. We’re on a mission to uncover these culinary treasures, to celebrate the artisans who craft them, and to bring the true flavors of India to one plate. This is our story of finding a sweet spot.