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4 hours ago
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Chandrahara is a hidden gem of Bengaluru. Invented by the iconic MTR restaurant, the sweet is much sought-after and only available on Sundays. The crispy layered pastry topped with rabdi and chopped nuts, has a history stretching back more than 70 years. Now, Bengaluru-based brand India Sweet House has launched this dessert too.
A European cafe and an obscure Telugu movie
“Chandrahara is our signature dish,” says Hemamalini Maiya, the managing partner of MTR Restaurants, and the first woman in her family to lead the business. The sweet was introduced in 1953, after Yagnappa Maiya, who was managing the restaurant then, went on a trip to Europe. He came back and introduced the dish to the menu.
It was initially called the French Sweet. At that time the Chandraharam movie was playing in theaters. The 1954 Telugu-Tamil swashbuckler movie starred N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri and Sriranjani Jr. “The movie was playing in a theater a close by, so he decided to name it that,” Hemamalini says. Ironically the movie was a commercial failure. Today its name lives on with the sweet.
Theatrical release poster of the movie Chandraharam | Photo Credit: Wikimedia commons
The history of the Chandrahara
In the book, The MTR Story: A Labour of Love, Hemamalini Maiya and author Pratima Chabbi, go into further detail about the invention of the sweet. In 1952, Yagnappa Maiya visited Europe. Through the cafes there he was introduced to many new desserts. He came back and introduced new dishes to the menu at MTR, such as the French Fruit Mixture, a fruit custard. “Among all the sweets introduced in 1953, the chandrahara became the most popular,” said Ganesh [operations head at MTR Lalbagh]
Every Thursday, cooks, servers and cleaners gather in the kitchen across a long rectangular table for a much-cherished, seventy-year-old practice. Working in perfect harmony, they cut pieces of dough, roll them into delicate little circles and finally fold them into small triangles. Each triangle is then sealed with a bud of clove.
Since it is so labour intensive, it takes 10 to 15 people to make, they only have it on Sundays. “There is a section of the crowd that comes on a Sunday, only for the chandrahara. It is very popular,” Hemamalini says.
India Sweet House launches Chandrahara
Now another Bengaluru-based sweet shop, India Sweet House has launched the sweet in their stores. The brand was launched in August 2021, with their first store in Malleshwaram. Currently they have 45 locations across the state. Being a Bengaluru brand, they want to pay homage to this piece of Karnataka’s culinary heritage.
The sweet has a crispy folded pastry that is topped with a rabdi and chopped nuts | Photo Credit: Anagha Maareesha
Rajesh Mehta, the co-founder, says, “It may seem like a simple sweet because it has only two components to it. But those two components are tricky to get right. “ The pastry cannot be too flaky else it will melt with the rabdi. If is it too hard, then it is not enjoyable. The rabdi is made with milk and sugar, and has to have the right consistenty. “It took us multiple trials to get it right.” They have a centralised kitchen in Magadi Road. The production happens there. The chandrahara is priced at ₹90 and is available on Sunday at their outlets across the city.
I ask Hemamalini how MTR feels that other brands are also offering the sweet. “ That is no surprise. Like any other sweet, the origin will be somewhere, and people will try and replicate the sweet. Everybody will have their version of the Chandrahara. It won’t be the exact same and there will be variations. All dishes evolve.”
English (US) ·