'Akhrot Barfi' made in Jaipur, the 'origin' of Pakistan: Neither the recipe nor the taste has changed in 79 years, famous in Dubai and London; does not spoil for 12 days

 

Do you know that samosa came to India from Iran. Jalebi came from Turkey and Pizza came from Italy. There are hundreds of such flavours that came from across the border and became popular among the people. One such sweet is 'Ugam', which was once famous in Sindh of Pakistan, reached Jaipur and became 'Akhrot ki Mithai'.

Before the partition of the country, a family from Sindh who had settled in Jaipur made this sweet for the first time. For the last 79 years, this sweet has remained the best taste of the Pink City. Its fans are from Dubai-Africa to London. In this episode of Rajasthani taste, we take you to that place in Jaipur where this special sweet is made...

Rajkumar Gurdaswani, owner of Amarlal Sweets located in Bani Park, Jaipur, said that his father Arjun Gurdaswani came to India from Sindh, Pakistan in 1945. Initially, he spent a few days in Haridwar. Then he headed to Jaipur to earn a living for the family.

Father Arjun Gurdaswani learned the craft of confectionery while living in Pakistan and mastered many flavours within 10 years. During that time, he learned the recipe of a special sweet of Sindh, which was known there as Ugam Mithai. Walnuts were abundant in Sindh, so this sweet was prepared by mixing walnuts and mawa.

Sweet shop started from garage

After coming to Jaipur, he first started with Karachi Mishthan Bhandar in a small garage on MI Road. At that time, there were only a few sweet shops in Jaipur city. He made and sold many Sindhi dishes including chaat pakodas, sev laddoos. But he did not get any special recognition.

Then he got the idea of ​​bringing a new and different kind of taste to the people of Jaipur. So he prepared the 'Ugam' sweet that he had learnt in Sindh at home and served it to his family and some friends. When he got good reviews, he started selling 'Ugam Barfi' made of walnuts for the first time in Jaipur. This sweet was a new sweet not only in Jaipur city but also in the surrounding areas. Within a few days, this taste became popular among the people.

The name of the sweets changed along with the shop

Rajkumar Gurdaswani told that even in those days, dry fruits like walnuts were very expensive. Only a few people could taste this sweet. In such a situation, father used to make it in very small quantity. The shop was within the boundary of the mosque, so later that shop was demolished. In 1967, when he opened a shop in Bani Park, he changed the name to Amarlal Sweets. Since the word Ugam was not spoken and this sweet is made from walnuts, hence it was named 'Akhrot ki Barfi'.

In the 70s, this sweet became so famous that wedding ceremonies were incomplete without it. People started coming from far and wide to taste the walnut barfi. Orders started coming from far and wide.

Those who used to come to taste the walnut barfi at the age of five in my father's time, come to taste the same flavour even at the age of fifty. All the members of our family are engaged in this work today. My father never compromised on the quality of sweets and taught the same to us.

Had a dream of acting, now a master of flavours

Rajkumar Gurdaswani says that I was never interested in my father's work of making sweets. I wanted to act in Hindi films. But my father scolded me and taught me cooking. The biggest reason for this was walnut barfi. Because he made the Sindhi sweet popular in Rajasthan. That is why I gave up the dream of acting and carried forward the work inherited from my father.

Walnut barfi reaches across the country and abroad

People order this barfi from Dubai, Africa and London. Bollywood actor Asrani and his family also like the taste of walnut barfi. Whenever someone from his family comes, they do not forget to bring walnut barfi. Due to purity, the sweet does not spoil for 12 days.

How is this walnut barfi made?

This is a kind of Kalakand, which is prepared in walnuts. Consumption of walnuts is considered beneficial in winters. To prepare its barfi, heat about twenty kilograms of milk and add 400 grams of flour to it.