India is known for its delicious food and bread with various varieties of masalas and is home to one of the largest street food markets in Asia. Among these dishes, there was a mistaken sweet delicacy that turned into a best seller and, in return, made the makers of this dish earn a great deal of money.

Kunda- a sweet dish or delicacy that is famous in the southern part of India is made in the state province of Karnataka’s Belagavi or Belgaum.

The dish is made by mixing Condensed milk, Indian cow’s ghee (A byproduct of milk), khawa (a byproduct of sugar), a few dry fruits, and a lot of manpower. It takes approximately three hours of manpower to make Kunda by continuously stirring all the raw ingredients into a hot bowl.

The mistaken sweet story

The Purohits of Rajasthan in the Northern part of India are known for their renowned sweet-making abilities. They are called Halawai/Halwa waala (Sweet Makers). Amongst their platter of sweets came the funny mistaken sweet story of Kunda.

The halwa waala, on a sunny day in Indian conditions, was preparing his array of sweet dishes. He kept the condensed milk (approximately a litre) to boil on a homemade Chula (Chula – an Indian Gas or stove of its own kind) at a certain temperature to mix his boiled milk into different sweet recipes.

While he kept the condensed milk boiling after a while, he noticed a different change in the milk’s colour as it turned into a brown watery liquid form. Being confused, he turned off the gas to make sure the milk returned to normal temperature and kept the milk aside. As he kept the milk cooled down a little, he realized the warm boiling milk had turned itself into a raw form (later called Khawa) in a brown colour form.

The Halwa waalas, being amazed by the khawa's colour and texture, tried the taste of the mistaken sweet and it turned out to be delicious and tantalized the makers' tastebuds.

The Purohit family of Rajasthan knew that this mistaken sweet could bring them great fortune as it was easy to make and extremely delicious. It also appealed to the local taste.

The evolution

The Mistaken sweet was further modified or revolutionized in a way that no other sweet makers could cook it the way that the Purohit family could. They owned a different style of cooking with added ingredients. It eventually became a market differentiator. While other shops tried to replicate and sell the same product, they failed miserably.

It has been seventy-two years since Kunda was first discovered. Now, the Rajasthani Purohit Family has over four shops in Belagavi Karnataka, all situated in different localities for people to enjoy the sweet dish. The family produces over seven hundred kilograms of kunda on a daily basis and plays a major role in connecting people. In India, sweets are an inextricable part of every celebration and Kunda became synonymous with all the important festivals and celebrations.

The original shop of Purohit Sweets has been spreading sweetness for the last seventy-two years. In the coming generations of food extravaganza, the brand is shifting to more modern cuisine. The original Purohit Sweets has been maintaining and promoting its sweet brand tradition in these changing times when people are consuming fast food and processed meals. Purohit Sweets has left no stone unturned to provide and serve their customers with the best in town when it comes to quality sweets (maximum satisfaction guaranteed).

Lastly, the "mistaken sweet", Kunda breaks barriers and is consumed by people locally and internationally. India is a country which is home to people of almost all the major faiths in the world. There are quite a few festivals in India all year round. Since Kunda is not a seasonal sweet, it is pretty much an evergreen delicacy. It brings people of different backgrounds and faiths together.

Days and years have passed but the quality of Kunda at the hands of the Purohits remains at its finest.

Kunda has such a widespread effect in the local area where it was first discovered that the City Belagavi has been also called Kund Nagari (City of Kunda) and is recognized as such by the State and Central government.