Why Kalu Moira’s Kaju Barfi is better than its Northern cousins?

If you thought Kaju Barfi is a North Indian sweet, then think twice. It was invented in East Midnapore and the name of Kalu Moira is synonymous with this sweetmeat. He had a shop adjacent to Kanthi bus stop and his shop was renowned for churning our excellent Kaju Barfi. After his death, the shop closed. Other sweetmeat makers sell the barfi, but it is nowhere close to Kalu Moira’s creation. Lack of expert makers is cited as the reason for this. Kanthi is famous for high production of cashew nuts and the barfi is an indigenous product of the region. However, Kaju Barfi is also a very popular sweetmeat of north India.

And what did Bengalis do when they had to carry their sweets on a tour to distant lands? The local zamindar of Jonai was very fond of soft sandesh and wanted to have them even when he went to distant lands. This led to a series of brainstorming sessions and Manohara was invented. This sweetmeat is made of soft chhena (cottage cheese) and syrup is poured from top which acts as a preservative and the sandesh remains soft and fresh for a number of days.Manohara is indeed an exclusive sweetmeat of Jonai. So, the next time you are travelling and wish to carry that favourite sweet of yours then remember you can safely tuck some Manohara.