BG Naidu Sweets was established in 1908 in Tiruchy. Run by fourth-generation entrepreneur Sharanath Balaji, the shop has 26 outlets in five districts of Tamil Nadu. They’ve been making seer bakshanam since 2018 to cater to the demands of their patrons living locally and abroad. With a 70,000-sq-ft centralised kitchen and experienced chefs, the store has the bandwidth to meet the demands of discerning customers.
“Our two gift boxes are named Amritham and Devamritham. Each is packed with our speciality snacks and savouries. Sweets include our famous laddoo, ghee mysore pak, soan papdi, fruit halwa and ghee cakes. Savouries include mixture and pepper kara sev. The snacks are made with ghee and dairy products sourced from our farms to maintain quality and give it a native touch,” said Balaji. The boxes are priced at `380 and `680 depending on the quantity. For details, call: 9600686868
Perfect Haven Kitchen
A decade ago, a bunch of professionals from the hospitality industry quit their jobs and decided to start a homemade snack business. Located in Egumadurai, a small village close to the border of Tada, the Perfect Haven Kitchen caters to the food needs of companies in the Sri City SEZ in addition to having a separate kitchen in the same premises to make specialised snacks and sweets. “Ladies from local villages are involved in the preparation. They bring in simple and local flavours to the products. We opened an industrial kitchen two years back and started focussing on Indian sweets made with alternatives like brown sugar, palm jaggery and jaggery. They’re made to order, fresh and without preservatives,” said Vinod Radhakrishnan, founder of Perfect Haven Kitchen.
Ghee-filled dates and cashewnut mysore pak, varagu adhirsam, and ragi and millet laddoos are a few among their innovations. Snack options include mixture made of millets and ragi. Foxtail ribbon pakoda, maize thenkuzhal, and thattai are a speciality. If you’re looking for health-friendly options then look no further.
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This Diwali, we’ve included six sweets and nine savoury options keeping in mind what our patrons like. The Madras special mixture will be a new entrant this year. The items will come in palm leaf containers, wrapped in paper and tied with a ribbon,” he said. The boxes are available in 1/4 kg and 1/2 kg priced at `140 and `250 respectively. The team will need a week’s time for preparation. For details, call: 9841403906, or visit: foods@perfecthaven.in
Paati Veedu
It’s not often that you come across eateries dedicating an entire kitchen for bakshanam preparation during festivals. Paati Veedu stands out in this aspect. The age-old recipes passed on from grandmothers and mothers are taught to chefs in the kitchen and replicated with a touch of authenticity. “We’ve been preparing sweet boxes for the past one and a half years since the inception of this place. The second floor has a bakshanam kitchen where the master prepares sweets and savouries. Wheat halwa and paruthi pal are popular among traditional varieties. For paruthi pal halwa, the milk extracted from cottonseed is used to bring out the local flavour. We don’t add chemicals or preservatives. Pure ghee and palm jaggery are added for taste,” said Tara Gangadharan, one of the partner’s mother.
They have patrons from the US, England, Dubai, Europe and different parts of India. People either visit the shop to buy or order online a week prior to the festival. Savouries like kai murukku, seedai, mullu murukku, special mixture, leghiyam and thattai (chilli and pepper) are popular. There are three gift box options — platinum, gold, and silver. A 1/2 kg box with one piece each of 12-14 sweets is priced `250 onwards. The team also accepts orders for corporate gifting.
For details, call: 044 48528080
Or visit: Instagram and Facebook page Paati Veedu
Andhra Delicacy
Thaligai
Located in the heart of Mylapore, Thaligai restaurant has been serving traditional and exotic delicacies since its inception three years back. The products are made by home chefs and the items are sourced locally. This Diwali, Thaligai is offering sweets and savouries with homemade flavours. “All are made of natural ingredients. This year’s specials include nokkal, made using roasted cashew nuts. Diwali marundhu has been made using traditional recipes. Thaligai mixture, omapodi, kai murukku and thattai are very popular with our patrons,” said Nalina Kannan, owner of Thaligai.
The shop delivers internationally through reputed courier agents. They ship all over India. This year’s designer gift boxes have two or three tin containers placed in an eco-friendly paper box. It’s packed with the choice of sweets like paal khova, kaju katli or nokkal along with savouries. They’re priced at `400 and `700. A premium assorted gift box can be customised if ordered before
October 20.
For details, call: 24661512
or 9791272888
Andhra Delicacy
Andhra Delicacy was started by husband-wife duo Sowjanya Dhanala and Bharatkumar G. The year-old Instagram brand offers local delicacies from Andhra Pradesh. All sweets and savouries are prepared at home by Sowjanya’s mother-in-law, sister and sister-in-law in Kurnool.
“For this Diwali, we have stuffed coconut and jaggery, puthrekalu (dry fruit and jaggery), cashew paagam, peni and sannam murukku. People also buy podi and pickles from us. AVM Saravanan’s wife is fond of our sweets. We have the bandwidth to take bulk orders but need a heads-up week in advance for preparation. We often go to Singapore for exhibitions. People from all communities and cities buy our snack items,” said Padmapriya D, Sowjanya’s mother. Their Diwali combo box comprises a piece each of annamaya laddoo, cashew bite, kaju katli, kaju apple, mixture, peni, tandra, dry fruit cake, kova ladoo and putharekalu. It is priced at `300. A smaller version is available for Rs 170.
For details, call: 9940084448
Instagram page: Andhra Delicacy
Girija Paati
What started out as a homemade sweets and snacks brand has now developed into an active online brand. Considering the popularity it has gained among patrons, it’s not surprising that the brand sold 5,000 gift boxes last Diwali. This year, they’ve approached gift boxes differently.
“We have two concepts — one is gifting and the other is for celebrating with family. We’ve come up with a gift bag for the first time. Our aim is to provide goodies different from what’s commonly available in the commercial market. We have kept the options health-friendly and traditional,” said Girija Venkatachalam’s daughter-in-law. Among the delicacies, butter murukku and milaga curry made of tamarind and green chilies are popular. They will be offering Classic, Signature party and Luxury Party hampers depending on the savouries, sweets, podis and pickles that are chosen. Expect staples like malaadu, cashew balls, ribbon pakodas and kara sev. The hampers are available in 1 kg, 1.5 kg and 2 kg. Classic is priced from `1,650 to `1,800 and Luxury from `2,000 to `2,150. Orders can be customised.
For details, call: 9841123218, or visit: Instagram and Facebook page: GirijaPaati Homefoods
Sweetkaramcoffee
There’s no denying the fact that the love for traditional sweets and savouries is unconditional and timeless. One cannot control the temptations of a delicate mysore pak or a crispy butter murukku made by home chefs. In an effort to keep the ancient practices relevant, Sweetkaramcoffee, a start-up e-commerce portal that caters homemade delicacies has been selling seer bakshanam for Diwali since 2015. The 10-member team headed by founder B Venkata Krishnan operates out of their office at Triplicane.
“We’ve come up with sweet and savoury combos packed in eco-friendly jute bags. The one-kg bag will include four sweets — adhirsam, jangiri, badhusha and mysore pak — and five savouries — kai murukku, butter murukku, kara sev, ribbon pakoda and mixture. This year’s highlight is Ganga jal and leghiyam. We want our patrons to have a holy experience. The water is brought from Ganga and will be packed in tiny bottles along with the bags as a compliment,” said Venkatesan, manager. The team has the bandwidth to take up orders even up to 15 kg. They need intimation a week in advance. They’re currently busy with assorted corporate gifts for companies. Combo bags are priced from `300 to `1,200
For details, Instagram and Facebook page: sweetkaramcoffee