Mother-daughter duo Arshya and Subha Aggarwal started Nihira, three years ago. They realised that mithai was a category which had remained stagnant despite there being so many varieties in India. Consumers, they felt, had started drifting away from desi sweets and gravitating towards Western desserts and thus, they decided to make mithai fashionable again. In order to change the look and taste of traditional Indian sweets, they came up with liquor laddoos after experimenting for around six months. The Aggarwals have a family business of manufacturing malt for alcohol; thus, they believe in “respecting their alcohol, more than anything”.  Nihira is a Sanskrit word, which means newly found treasure; it is also another name for Goddess Laxmi. They make a variety of liquor laddoos in flavours such as champagne, whiskey, red wine, gin and cranberry, sambuca and grape and jägerbomb, a strong liquor with a slight anise taste. The liquor laddoos are not centre-filled but infused and so, the taste of alcohol is quite prominent. Expect to first be engulfed by a warm sweetness of the mithai followed by the alcohol after-taste, much like taking a sip of liquor. Customers have a choice of opting for an assortment of liquor laddoos as per their preference in the boxes of 4, 6, 10, 16, 24 and 36. They deliver pan India.

Price: Rs 800 onwards
To Order: 7042849182

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To keep you warm

Sattu pe satta

In the north, sattu, a protein-rich flour made from powdered Bengal gram, is popularly consumed in form of parathas during the chilly winters. But the folks behind Laddoo Story, a small home business by medical student Hrithika Sharma, her mother Ritu and sister Charushree decided to make laddoos out of sattu. “Apart from keeping you warm, they are rich in protein, fibre, calcium,  iron,  manganese and magnesium, and do wonders for digestion and detoxification.” The Sharmas make this superfood snack using roasted chana sattu, and cashews,  almonds and raisins. 

Price: Rs 600 per kg
To Order: WhatsApp 7404742272

Chicken and egg laddoo

Chef Anuradha Joshi Medhora is the founder of Charoli, a delivery kitchen that is working to revive the culinary traditions of Malwa royals. Her two eclectic laddoo offerings are made with chicken and egg.  While the murg laddoos have chicken, mawa and sugar in them, the egg variant is an interesting mix of boiled eggs, jaggery, mawa and ghee. These are typiCally made in the winter months as they are rich in protein and carbs and provide necessary nutrition. “Culturally, it was always believed in the warrior communities that meat is essential for strength and heat in the body; young boys had to go through rigorous training, which would be a part of their everyday routine and these laddoos were hence, considered a perfect snack due to the rich ingredients that went into it.

Chef Anuradha Joshi-Medhora says the murg laddoos are ideal to keep you satiated on long journeys. Pics/Sameer Markande

Using protein as dessert is something that has been done for a long period of time, observes Joshi. The laddoo is not messy, easy to carry and store and loved just as much by kids who are looking for something sweet, she adds. Unlike halwa, it has less ghee and therefore can be packed for long rides, and was ideal for royals to carry during “shikaar” that would go on for days. The texture for both laddoos is akin to soft gooey mawa laddoo and is coated with crushed dry fruits, which gives it a crunchy texture. All in all a rich, creamy flavour with the goodness of almonds, pistachios, kismis (raisins), kesar (saffron) and kaju (cashew nut).

Price: Rs 410 for six pieces for both varieties of laddoos 
To Order: 9833549949

Nuts and Roses

Nuttilicious gulkand balls

Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

When Jegna J Dedhiaa, owner of health food shop La Pistacherie, came in touch with Komal Tejas Nagda, a dietician, who runs Eat Smart.Restart, around two years ago, she knew they had to collaborate together. Every festive season, Nagda comes up with a nutty laddoo recipe, which is nutritious, rich in fibre, packed with anti-oxidants, and satisfies sweet cravings as well. This time around she used ingredients from Dedhiaa’s store to prepare oats makhana cranberry laddoos and pista pan gulkand balls.

“Since I am a dietician by profession, I am always looking to curate healthy recipes,” says Nagda. The oats makhana cranberry laddoo is made using jaggery and also has walnuts, pistachios, almonds and dates. “The pista pan gulkand ball is a Diwali treat, and the gulkand gives it a very refreshing flavour.” There is no added sugar in these treats. Dedhiaa says that all dry fruits and nuts used are premium products, ensuring that there’s zero compromise in quality.

Price: Rs 350-400 for 200 gm
To Order: 9920796154

A handcrafted rose and date treat

Each Diwali, Megha Phull of Zealo Foods, a handcrafted artisanal store, experiments with guilt-free treats. This time around, Phull has curated a special assorted laddoo box, with delicious yet healthy rose and date, and fig and pistachio flavours. “The laddoos have absolutely zero processed sugar, and are completely nut-based,” says Phull, who founded Zealo more than a decade ago.  The base for both the laddoo varieties is dates and anjeer, giving them their chewy texture and natural sweetness. They also use organic ghee to prepare the rose and date laddoo, which comes coated with dry rose petals. For those who prefer oil and ghee-free treats, you could try the fig and pistachio laddoo, which is made using poppy seeds, and nuts like cashew and almonds.   

Price: 12 pieces for Rs 950 and 16 pieces for Rs 1,250
To Order: 9820821188

Savoury

This is masala magic

Authentic Food Stories, available in Mumbai and Bengaluru, is a platform connecting home chefs, to provide authentic, traditional regional cuisines that are difficult to find in restaurants. As part of their quest to create interesting and unique dishes, one of their home chefs has made a savoury laddoo—namkeen aata dryfruits laddoo—for this festive season. Made like the regular aata laddoo, which is a big favourite, this namkeen laddoo has salt and some masalas instead of sugar.  With increased consciousness about health and people keen on avoiding sugar, this version of the atte ka laddoo with added dried fruits and nuts is an excellent option for those watching their waist. 

Price: Rs 250 for 250 gm
Call: 9920391344

Methi ho jaye

Sakshi Rajesh Kushimkar’s Sakshi’s Kitchen started in April 2021. She makes a savoury methi laddoo by including an ayurvedic formula to it. The laddoos help in joint pain relief and are good snack for women during pregnancy. It also makes for a healthy breakfast item for people of all ages. The laddoo is made with methi aata, rice aata, almond powder, dried dates powder, jaggery, dried fruits, poppy seeds, dried coconut, gond or dink, cashew nuts, ghee, cardamom and nutmeg powders, black and white pepper, clove, dried ginger powder, cinnamon, mace, and pepper root. They also make a savoury moong laddoo with green moong aata, dried coconut, gond, jaggery, dried fruits, ghee and cardamom and nutmeg powders. 

Price: Methi laddoo at Rs 900 per kg and moong laddoo at Rs 750 per kg
To Order: 9967574678

Yummy in the tummy

Nandan and Bhakti Patkar at the kitchen located in Kandivli. Pics/Satej Shinde

Nandan Patkar along with two partners started Ladoo Raja to ensure healthy eating is made easy for Mumbaikars. “Nutritious and well-balanced food along with physical activity is the foundation of good health,” the team feels.

And so, with a combined experience of 40 years in the food industry, the trio launched the venture to offer a variety of laddoos and namkeen snacks to customers. They deliver laddoos made of dink, moong, nachani, methi, shengdana, halim, kulith, udad dal, tagda and even multigrain from their Kandivli warehouse. We suggest you add roasted diet chivda to your cart as well. It has fewer calories and serves as a healthier alternative to regular snacks.

Price: Rs 120 onwards (for a pack of 180 gm)
To Order 9820187806

Where there’s laddoo, there is hope

Vile Parle-based Rajkumari Somani is a proud mommy to two kids. Cooking and hosting dinners for friends and family is therapeutic for her. When she started The Ladoo Co. to offer authentic Indian sweets to Mumbaikars, little did she know her business would be appreciated by all. This Diwali, she has prepared a unique menu of healthy and delicious laddoos made out of nachni, coconut, and even moong dal. In addition to these, she will also deliver sheera, shrikhand and rabdi to your home.

Price: Rs 690 per kg onwards (for laddoos)
To Order: 9833624727

Guilt-Free Eats

Roz khao ragi

Former journalist Komal Kumbhar started making laddoos in the lockdown to beat cabin fever and tide over bleak times. From the lot, it’s the ragi laddoos that received an overwhelming response. Made using finger millets, these laddoos also contain coarse sugar and nuts.

What ragi laddoos lack in appearance, they make up with nutrition—it’s rich in iron and calcium. Once Called the poor man’s grain, doctors now advise people to include ragi as part of their meal.

Price: Rs 30 per piece
To Order: 9769743681 

Sasta ani masta

FaralBox was launched in the lockdown last year, when the founding team of young members realised families were apart. The aim was to unite them with an honest-to-heart FaralBox. It became an instant hit and in the first year of their operations, they ended up shipping 750 kg of Diwali faraal across the globe. But it’s their laddoos that are our favourite. The varieties include shengdana, rajgeera, nachani, saptadhanya, dink, moog, saptadhanya, methi and besan. The best bit? They are healthy and affordable.

Price: Rs 90 onwards for sixpieces
To Order: 9137291711

Oats and makhana are festive too!

Methi dryfruit laddoo

Bhavna Savla used to make healthy snacks for her family till 10 years ago, when everyone asked her to share her healthy laddoos with the world. So today, she makes versions that include methi, oats and makhana, and whole wheat and jaggery. This writer had a chance to bite into her oats laddoo during Ganapati celebrations and it was just the right amount of sweet, and didn’t feel heavy on the stomach. As her son Amit says, “Of course, you can order healthy threats for Diwali. But soon after, winter will be here, and you will need some warmth—and these laddoos are perfect for that, without piling on the calories.” 

Price: Oats and makhana for Rs 1,200 per kg, jaggery and whole wheat for Rs 640 per kg
To Order: 9664007328/ 8208992351

Laddoo dough is artist’s clay

Jayalakshmi Naik, 52, was a full-time painter till before the pandemic struck. Two years ago, as the world changed, Naik went from being an artist who played with colour to an artist who sculpts laddoo dough instead. Her specialty includes the traditional besan and motichoor—but also rose coconut laddoos, which have coconut base, rose syrup and white chocolate all melted in. Along with laddoos, you can also order chocolate and paan truffles, and cakes from the home chef who is based in Goregaon East. Just let her know 48 hours in advance and she can make them to your taste—gluten free, and sugar-free as well.  

Price: Rs 380 for a box of 12
To Order: WhatsApp 08433771923. Last order for Diwali will be accepted till November 2

Rich and Ravenous

Is it a cake? Is it a laddoo?

Chef Sugandha Saxena started her brand Laddooh in April. Despite being trained in European culinary techniques, something urged her to make laddoos. Her multi-grain red velvet laddoos continue to remain a bestseller. The team has made sure that these laddoos don’t exactly taste like red velvet cake, but still have a flavour of it with an Indian touch. The dark reddish-maroon laddoos with gold dust on top not only compliment the Indian colour palate but also the taste preference. Authentic laddoos can’t be made without desi ghee and so, to balance the richness, Saxena adds a variety of healthy flour to the multi-grain laddoo including oats, quinoa and ragi. Saxena stays away from using chocolate because she believes it takes away the essence of a laddoo. While all her flavours stick to the Indian palate, she makes sure that the fusion is compatible. An example of this besides the red velvet, is the haldi nimbu laddoo which is vegan, gluten-free and contains coconut sugar. They deliver pan India and only make them on pre-order.

Price: Rs 2,100 for a box of 16, Rs 850 for a box of six 
To Order: laddooh.in

Mehmaan-worthy mithai

Manwaar Mithai, which was initially known as Festive, was started during the lockdown by Chef Neetu Solanki after she lost her job. She runs her small business with her mother out of their home kitchen in Mazgaon. The name Manwaar means ‘mehmaan nawaazi’ in Marwari.

Solanki learnt making mithai and laddoos from her mother, but her culinary knowledge as a professional chef is what helped her make additions and come up with different recipes and flavours.

She makes four types of laddoos, namely, the classic besan laddoo, gond besan laddoo with dry fruits, Nutella besan laddoo which has hazelnut and Nutella at the centre. The decadent peanut caramel laddoos are one of her popular ones.

Solanki tops up this laddoo with a peanut chikki and the centre has a caramel sauce mixed with peanut butter and caramelised white chocolate. She also offers customisation based on budget, the occasion and taste. You can opt for an assorted box or stick to a particular flavour. 

Price: Rs 425 for 500 gm
To Order: 9819327744