Hafiz Sohan Halwa in Chowk Bazaar is the most famous of Multan's sweet shops and the unofficial home of the city's signature confection. The original shop was founded in 1849 — the year of the British siege — and is now run by the seventh generation of the same family. The recipe is jealously guarded: a slow-cooked paste of semolina, sugar, ghee, milk and roasted nuts, kneaded over a low flame for hours and then poured to set into a dense, sticky slab.
It is sold by weight, packaged in flat round tins that are part of the experience. A 250-gram tin is enough for several people; a kilo will last a week. Branches across the city now sell the same product but the Chowk Bazaar shop is the one to go to.