Bangalore, often called “Garden City” is famous for its beautiful gardens, parks, and pleasant climate. The City one of India’s largest metropolitan cities evolved gradually and is also known as the "Silicon Valley of India."
The city is also well known for its eateries, street food corners, quirky cafes, and coffee roasters dotting every corner of the town, serving cuisines and sweets worldwide.
Be it brunches, buffets, burgers, rooftop cafes, late-night eats- Bangalore has it all.
The city is geographically located in the state of Karnataka, which is in the southern part of the country. Well! We all know that South India is famous for its spices, and so is Bangalore.
What comes to your mind when you think of street food from any place? A place with a tingly fusion of flavors. A street filled with the smell of samosa and jalebis, sweets, chats, and a lot more mouth-watering food items.
A sweet dish is all we need to end any meal, be it your lunch or dinner. For your visit to Bangalore, the authentic local sweets are perfect with an arousing aroma and dipped in pure ghee.
There are many famous sweets in Bangalore, dishes that are rich in taste, and tradition and stick to the culture and roots. Many of the sweets are offered to the temples as religious practices and love for god.
Let’s see some of Bangalore's famous sweets that are guaranteed to leave you with a treasure trove of blissful food memories.
1. Mysore Pak
A traditional South Indian sweet made with gram (Besan), ghee, and sugar. Mysore Pak originally originated from the city of Mysore and hence the name defines it all. With a generous amount of ghee and sugar syrup, the sweet is unique on its own.
It is soft and once you start having it, it will definitely melt in your mouth and obviously melt your heart too. It is an aromatic and a real treat to your taste buds.
As time evolves, you can find rock-hard to super mouth-melting versions of this famous sweet in Banlgore. For a perfect traditional Mysore Pak, one should have a perfect understanding of the sugar syrup consistency and the method of cooking the besan in the syrup.
If you are in Bangalore, Sri Venkateshwara sweetmeat stall is one of the oldest and best sweet stalls in the city. They serve the famous Mysore Pak on Banana leaves and it operating for over 100 years. The locals of Bangalore themselves have quoted this shop as King of Mysore Pak.
And guess what! The amazing fact is according to the list of best street food sweets in the world published by Tasteatlas in the year 2023, Mysore Pak ranked as the 14th best street food sweet worldwide.
2. Badam Halwa
In India, Halwa is one of the popular sweets, be it any occasion or the arrival of any expected guests in your house.
Made with almonds, sugar, ghee, and cardamon for taste and fragrance, Badam Halwa is one of the varieties of Halwa.
In India, halwa is a go-to dessert for lots of people, especially during festivals. The traditional pudding is made up of whole almonds soaked, peeled, ground, and cooked with ghee, milk, or water and sugar.
As the name suggests, badam halwa, “badam” is the Hindi word for “almonds” hence the name.
Well! If you are in Bangalore it is one of the famous sweets in Bangalore that are also served in tiffin centers serving Karnataka foods. Be it a lavish South Indian celebration like weddings, baby showers, housewarming ceremonies, etc. you are more likely to be gifted with a pack of badam halwa.
You can find the best taste and more importantly, the texture that makes it so different from other types of sweets. And it is one of the premium sweets of the Indian cuisine.
Anand Sweets and Savories is one of the famous sweet shops in the streets of Bangalore to explore Badam Halwa at the best rates.
Get yourself out in the streets of Bangalore, and buy this rich, decadent, nutty south Indian style melt-in-the-mouth pudding-like dessert.
3. Sajjappa
It is a deep-fried sweet recipe made with sweetened coconut stuffing with a pastry dough that is made with rava and maida.
Sajjappa is actually a festive recipe that is served as a part of meals around the state.
Still, wondering what Sajjappa is? Hmm…let me try to explain in simple terms. It is a little coconut-stuffed sweet kachori. Crispy and crunchy with the flavors of coconut and jaggery, they will make your day more yummy.
Jalaram Sweets is famous for its traditional Sajjapa sweet in Bangalore.
So, don’t just stop yourself because it’s deep-fried, after all every day is meant for indulgence.
4. Dharwad Peda
It is an Indian sweet delicacy unique to the city of Bangalore and the state as well. The sweet history takes us back to around 175 years ago. As the name suggests, the sweet derives from the name of the city of Dharwad in Karnataka.
The Peda is rich milky sweetmeat and an energizing dessert. It is a melting-in-mouth sweet made from the rich milk of the Dharwadi Buffalo. You can eat it as a pick-me-up dessert.
You can even gift or stock in the house for an everyday sweet. Find these famous sweets of Bangalore in Anand Sweets and Savories.
5. Belagavi Kunda
As the name suggests, the origin of the sweet is from Belagavi city in North Karnataka. Made with a thickened form of milk made from heating pure milk, sugar, cardamom powder, and dry fruits.
The sweet is actually influenced by the Kunda dessert from Rajasthan. Cooked with caramelized sugar, it’s a perfect sweet to end your festival and serve your guests.
Shree Purohit Kunda in Belagavi is famous for the best Belagavi Kunda around the city.
6. Gulbarga’s Malpuri
Deeply fried and stuffed with Khao and dunked in sugar syrup, the sweet is famous for its sweetness and is known for its unmatched richness.
Going to Gulbarga and not tasting the Malpuri is just an incomplete journey. You can find this super delicious sweet at Mamu Puri Sweet Shop, which is very famous for its Malpuri.
The sweet is full of natural ingredients like buttermilk, rice flour, and sugar served mostly as an evening snack. The edges are dipped into rich ghee and sooji. And the center is soft and deeply fried which makes it more yummy.
7. Kayi Holige
Kayi Holige also known as Coconut Poli or in simple words Coconut Bread is a mouth-watering and flavorful vegan flatbread with crispy edges and sweet delicious filling inside.
It is a traditional and classical South Indian dessert made with coconut, jaggery, and plain flour. Popularly known as Puran Poli, the sweet is famous in other parts of the country too.
Thin, stiff yet very soft in texture, try the famous Kayi Holige in the famous shop Nammane Holige in Bangalore and explore the flavors.
8. Kesari Bath
Made of rava and ghee with pineapple flavor, Kesari is one of the famous sweets in Bangalore. It is perfect when it is savored with the upma or uppitu.
To make it more delicious the rava is roasted in ghee until the fine rava becomes fragrant. Further mixed with sugar syrup, Kesari is served with green cardamom powder and fried cashews and raisins for more flavors.
You will find this Bangalore famous sweet common in their everyday meal. It is also offered to the deities in many temples in South India. Try out this delicious Kesari Bath at Kanti Sweets in Bangalore.
9. Dumrot/Khasi Halwa
Here is yet another famous sweets of Bangalore that tastes so good that you will eat one after the other. It is a unique, tasty, and rich halwa made from ash gourd or white pumpkin, sugar, nuts, ghee, and raisins and flavored with saffron.
Usually served along with breakfast on the wedding or festival menu, particularly Udupi cuisine. It is one of the most unique types of sweet delicacy that you will ever taste.
You can try out Khasi Halwa on Sri Ram Vilas Sweets, which is aged over years and famous for Dumrot.
10. Rava Unde and Puri Unde
Also known as puffed rice ladoo, a popular household and famous sweets of Bangalore that one should try at any cost if they are in Bangalore.
Made with semolina, powdered sugar, nuts, and ghee, it is a famous South Indian sweet. Trust me, they are aromatic and taste delicious. The people of Bangalore are crazy about this sweet.
You can try them in Subbamma Angadi, Gandhi Bazar, Basanvangudi.
11. Halbai
It is a kind of rice halwa or rice cake prepared using rice, jaggery, and coconut. It is also made like a savory snack and tastes exceptionally good when consumed with ghee.
The soft, slimy texture, makes the one of the perfect desserts to end any meal if you are in Banlgore.
And since is made from natural sugar, it is safe for consumption by even those who have high sugar levels. You can any locals and locate the sweet shops that serve Halbai.
12. Chiroti
A traditional and one of the famous sweets in Bangalore. Made with plain flour, fried flaky pastry with concentric circles of delicate layers, sprinkled with a generous amount of cardamom-flavored powdered sugar, or dipped in fully cardamom-flavored sugar syrup.
Cooked with ghee, almonds, and cashew it is enjoyed with sweetened milk. And if you are someone who has a sweet tooth, then you must try this for yourself!
Thinking about where you can find this Bangalore famous sweet, try reaching out to VV Puram Food Street, a perfect place to explore this sweet and more of the street foods of Bangalore.
13. Hayagreeva
The sweet is made with chana dal, jaggery, and fresh coconut. As the name suggests, it is generally made for occasions and offered to Lord Vishnu as nivedyam and eventually served as prasadam.
It has a thick texture and is prepared with dry coconut, ghee, Bengal gram, and dry fruits and nuts. And guess what the amazing fact is, this Bangalore famous sweet has a connection with Hindu Mythology.
Forget about it, let’s focus on eating this sweet, Try this famous shop Havyaka Sweets in Bangalore.
14. Kesari Bhaat
The most loved and yet another famous sweet of Bangalore is Kesari Bhaat. It is an Indian version of rice pudding that is yellow in color because of saffron or turmeric. Bhaat actually means “rice” in Hindi.
Kesar Bhaat is cooked with roasted rava, pineapple, sugar, and cardamom. It is one of the healthy dishes loaded with the goodness of nuts and is best served when it is warm.
It is a counterpart of sheera which is a popular treat for young ones and old ones too.
Brahmins Coffee Bar is one such place that serves delicious Kesari Bhaat and is hugely popular among the Bengalureans.
15. Payasam
The South Indian dishes are not just versions of species but also Kheer. Made of milk, moong dal, chana dal, rice, and jaggery the pudding is creamier and most flavorful.
Godi Kadi Payasam, prepared with broken wheat is another famous payasam in Bangalore. With a low-calorie composition and creamy texture with a rich nourishing taste, the payasam is healthy and made for festivals and religious ceremonies.
Try out this at By 2 Coffe-Temple Meals, and don’t forget to try out other meals and dishes at this place.
Wrapping Up
In some or the other way, we all love to indulge in some tasty sweets from time to time. But we are always confused to figure out where to start because of so many options in the market. Especially, when you are new in a city, you always have the enthusiasm to explore the city, and if you are a foodie then exploring food is your first job to do once you enter the city.
If you are a newcomer to the city or a seasoned sweet eater, you don’t need to worry. We have rounded up the famous sweets in Bangalore, according to locals.
So pack your bags, and start your sweet tour around the biggest city, Bangalore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the state food of Bangalore?
Ans. Dosa, idli, types of “Bath”, ragi balls, and jowar rotis are some of the most common food in Bangalore. You must try Mangalore buns, vadas, chaats, kebabs and rolls too.
Q. What is the most famous sweet of Bangalore?
Ans. The most famous sweet of Bangalore is “Mysore Pak”. Dipped in pure ghee, this South Indian sweet originated from the city of Mysore, which is not far from Bangalore. It is also known as the national sweet of Karnataka.
Q.Which sweet is Karnataka famous for?
Ans. You can find Kajjaya or Anarsa in almost every household across Karnataka. It is a traditional deep-fried South Indian sweet cooked from ground rice and jaggery.
Q. What is the specialty of Bangalore?
Ans. Also known as Silicon Valley of India, the city is famous for its pleasant weather and natural charm owing to several green parks around the city.
