Thought mithai was passé? Think again. The #NewInTown Khoya is here to revolutionise how we see mithai with its bespoke Indian desserts. Sid Mathur, who’s charmed us with AHM before, recently added this gem to Delhi’s dessert belly, bringing together the forgotten art of crafting mithai and modern age baroque boxing. While everyone of us has a favourite Indian sweet, it’s typically a guilty pleasure we struggle to indulge in, what with the dessert domain dominated by cupcakes, tarts, cheesecakes & more, and quality mithai being a rarity. So, as you may suspect, we got our hands on the new mithai box on the block pronto and got chatting with Sid to unbox the country’s newest sweet spot.
With baked goods taking away the cake in recent years, we ask Sid about the novel focus on traditional sweets and genesis of Khoya, “Two observations led to Khoya, one being the ambiguous quality & hygiene levels in our street shops – it’s frightening to see some of those methods! Secondly, the growing use of chocolates & cupcakes as wedding favours rather than mithai. I wanted to go back to our traditional mithai roots, with the best ingredients & processes we can curate, and so Khoya happened,” he shares.
It’s not just about what you eat, it’s also what you see and feel at Khoya. Telling us that the no-frills presentation of mithai is a major contributor to its declining use as a gift Sid says, “We wanted to combine the traditional part of mithai but also give it a touch of French elegance in terms of presentation and the tonality of the brand. Packaging was integral to the overall concept for us.” As they ace that aspect, Khoya is true to creating an end-to-end product, and went through six months of trials before going on the stove. The mithai that you’ll be popping has been prepared after extensive research by a group of halwais and chefs, is 100 percent natural, and organic as can be. Speaking on the recipe making process, he adds, “While researching we realised that traditionally mithai carried lesser sugar, and also alternative methods of sweetening were used, such as honey.” Taking cue the good peeps at Khoya reduced the sugar content between 10 to 25 percent, depending on the mithai, making it less overpowering and allowing us to taste other aspects of it.
As we chow down our third beetroot-coloured pink motichoor laddoo Sid talks about how they’re defining bespoke, “While we have a set collection of mithai and packaging, we’re happy to customise or create new products as per the patron’s’ request.” Dedicated to serving fresh mithai they dispatch no more than 200 boxes per day however big the order, thus taking care of you from the ingredient to the delivery.
Already gaining popularity, we enquire about a brick & mortar space coming up, “We’re having fun with this structure. The whole feeling of calling up Khoya, ordering tailor-made mithai, and receiving it the next day – there’s something wonderful about that.” Though not in the offing, Sid doesn’t rule out a Khoya store entirely.
With our box of treats almost over, we can testify to Sid’s signing off statement, “We like to create something unique for our customer, try and be innovative and receptive to them. When you see a box of Khoya on your table, you know you’ve received something special.”
