Guru Sweet Mart

Guru Sweet Mart sits in the lanes near Devaraja Market and has been selling mysore pak for generations. The sweet is unlike the dry, crumbly versions sold in boxes across India — the fresh version sold here is dense, slightly moist, and deeply flavoured with ghee. It is cut from large slabs into thick squares and sold by weight. It is also extraordinarily rich: a small piece is enough.

The shop sells other Karnataka sweets — dharwad peda, Belgaum kunda, coconut barfi — but mysore pak is the reason to come. It is best bought fresh in the morning when the day's batch has just been made. A small box makes a good gift if you can keep it intact for the journey; refrigeration extends its life but dulls the flavour slightly.

eating out restaurant
A story
Mysore pak — a dense, crumbling sweet made from chickpea flour, ghee, and sugar — was invented in the Mysore Palace kitchen in the early 20th century. The royal chef Kakasura Madappa created it for the maharaja, who liked it so much he asked its name. Madappa, unsure what to call it, named it after the city. Guru Sweet Mart is run by descendants of that royal lineage of sweetmakers and remains the most authoritative place to eat the original version.

Other places in Eating Out