Pongal Sweets & Prasad

• Buy from a shop with turnover, not from the prettiest box

  A busy mithai shop makes fresh batches daily through the season. A shop with an elaborate box and no queue is usually moving old stock. Ask when this batch was made — a good shop will tell you without hesitating.

• Kaju and dry-fruit sweets keep, milk sweets do not

  Kaju katli, badam barfi and dry-fruit rolls survive several days at room temperature. Anything with fresh milk or paneer — rasmalai, peda, sandesh — needs refrigeration and should be bought last, not first.

• Ask for the sugar level

  Festival mithai is often sweeter than the same sweet off-season, because sugar is a preservative. Most shops will make a less-sweet batch to order if you give them a day.

• Check the silver leaf

  Real chandi ki varak is edible. If the silver layer looks like thin foil you can peel, it is not varak and it should not be eaten. This is a genuine and common food-safety problem with cheap kaju katli.

We do not rank sweet shops or accept payment for a mention here. Our editorial policy explains why.

• Gift FinderA shortlist of gift categories with an honest note on what to look for and what to avoid.
• Festival Budget CalculatorA per-category breakdown, a total, and the amount you are over or under budget.
• Festival Shopping ChecklistA saved, tickable checklist you can reopen in the shop.