Chilly winds, the sky dotted with kites and the aroma of roasted sesame and jaggery in the air announced the arrival of Makar Sankranti Lohri and Pongal in the city. The winter festivals that herald the season of harvest for India are one of the much-awaited celebrations for many families. Not just for the colourful traditional costumes, but also for the mouth-watering delicacies associated with them. Sesame, jaggery, and peanuts form the base of almost all the dishes prepared during this time, and among the favourites is gajak - which the malwa region binges on to stay warm and happy. Joining in the mood, we went on a gajak trail to bring you some of the oldest and famous gajak houses of Indore , who have added that extra sweetness to our festivities.Sheetal Gajak HouseMG Road88 years oldThe Sheetal Gajak house, that has been in existence since the pre-Independence era, has seen many a winters and kept Indore warm with its signature crumbly gajaks, made from humble cheeni (sugar) and gud (jaggery).For 80 years now, the second generation owner Purshottam Soni, has been maintaining the same simplicity of their product. “There are many varieties and flavours present in the market now. We too have dry fruits, chocolate and mawa gajaks. However, we have noticed that Indoris prefer the original gajak over anything else. It suits everybody’s palate,” says Soni. The name has become synonymous with gajak in the city, and come winter, one sees massive crowd flocking to MG road to shop there. Sonia Malviya, a 25-year-old homemaker, swears by its taste and goodness. “It is a rule in my house to have gajak after every meal during winters. So, we come back every two weeks to stock up. We also shop here for Makar Sankranti.”Gud gajak, cheeni gajak and gajak rollsNema GajakRajmohalla50 years oldThis is a name that is always on every Indori’s mind, be it summer, winter or any other season for that matter.Their kulfi faluda during summers is legendary, while the dry fruit gajaks are equally famous during winters. The jovial owner Natwar Nema or Nema Uncle - which he's fondly referred to as - is equally popular among patrons. “I think it is the richness of the dry fruits that attract people to our shop. We don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients used, yet the cost is not too much for the customers,” he says. The chocolate coating on their gajaks attracts the younger lot as well. Gaurav Tuteja, a psychology student, explains why this is his go-to place during winter festivals, “While our parents like the simple gajaks, our generation likes the little extra that Nema Uncle’s shop has. The chocolate and dry fruit toppers on the gajak base give it an extra crunchy bite.”Dryfruit chocolate gajaksJain Gajak walaMalharganj48 yearsTrust the malwis to add mawa to their sweet dishes to make it richer and delectable. Why would gajak be any different? Lending a dense, cake-like consistency to the original mix of sesame, jaggery, peanuts and dry fruits, these mawa gajaks are found in Jain Gajak wala’s shop. “Sometimes people don’t believe us when we say it is gajak, because it looks like mithai. But after tasting it once, they keep coming back for more. Many people buy it to gift to their friends and family,” says manager. The upcoming festival has brought most of the Indoris to Malharganj for these rich gajaks. Megha Kotwal, an HR professional, who is gearing up to celebrate Sankranti soon has already bought two big boxes from here. She tells us what she likes the most about these gajaks. “Since til and gud form the essence of our celebration we make those laddoos at home. But for our guests, we take these roast gajaks as they look good and are conversation starters.”Mawa gajak, roast gajak squaresSarvamangal Gajak HouseChhatri Bagh35 yearsSankrant remains incomplete without til-gud and Lohri without rebdi. To find the best of these delicacies, patrons head over to Sarvamangal Gajak house for a variety of til laddoos, gud laddoos, gud patti, mungfali gajak and rebdi. Ramesh Bhaiya, who stands sentinel over the big spread of these delicacies as shoppers crowd around to find the best for their celebration ahead, tells us, “Gajaks start rolling in by November, but the til-gud delicacies peak in January around the festivals. Many Punjabi households get their gulab rebdi and normal rebdi from us. Similarly, the Maharashtrian households purchase their typical laddoos from here.”Arpit Sharma, a management student - who loves the crunchy bite of the delicacies served here - says, “This is my go-to place for gud patti. It is not too sticky, yet has a mouthful of goodness.”Til-gud-mungfali gajak, rebdiPics: Arpit Joshi

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