At Ritvah, choose from hazelnut truffle ladoos and boondi kalakand rolls

What if the humble besan ladoo came with a hazelnut twist? Or if pistachios and pumpkin seeds came together for a bite-sized barfi? 

At Ritvah, ITC Grand Chola’s new premium mithai boutique, the appeal of the Indian mithai, in all of its shapes, sizes, flavours and textures comes elevated with modern flavours and aesthetics. 

Hazelnut truffle besan ladoo
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Special Arrangement

“While the idea was born from us wanting to come up with contemporary desserts or mithai, we were keen on retaining the essence of our traditional Indian sweets,” says Nikhil Nagpal, executive chef.

The sweets at Ritvah are categorised under different collections such as Classics Reimagined which include boondi kalakand rolls, malai khaja flake, and badushah, The Nut Reserve which has the pista paan delicacy, almond pistachio praline sandwich, and kaju cranberry sheer, and The Contemporary Indian Patissiere which has creations like the rabri taco and gulab jamun cheese indulgence. 

For Chef Nikhil, inspiration for the many sweets Ritvah has to offer was all around him. “For instance, we noticed that baked gulab jamun, or gulab jamun rabdi, was popular in our banquets, and variations like gulab jamun croissants also finding fans. For Ritvah, we tried multiple options including a gulab jamun with a jalebi on top, but finally zeroed in on our gulab jamun cheese indulgence, where came up with a gulab jamun centered inside some cream cheese and mascarpone on a base of sable, topped with saffton strands,” he explains. 

Pista paan delicacy
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

With an emphasis on responsible luxury, experiments with forgotten grains also feature on the menu, with The Heritage Grains and Ladoo Edit featuring almond jowar ladoos, paanch beej ladoos, and the besan hazelnut truffle ladoo.

From a box of delicately crafted mithai, we pick a kaju cranberry sheer to sample first. The rosette-shaped mithai tastes like a rich kaju katli, the sweetness balanced out by a mild hint of tart cranberry. While the besan hazelnut truffle ladoo feels like a decadent, bite-sized explosion of flavours, the gulkhand in the almond gulkhand essence overpowers the senses and the mithai is a bit too sweet.

The mithai menu at Ritvah also has a conscious side; there are sugar-free as well as nut-free offerings. And for that much needed savoury relief, local favourites like the Madras Mixture, a moongphali masala moori, peri peri cashewnuts, togarashi almonds, and a zingy kalimirch nimki are also on offer. 

Boondi kalakand roll
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

With everyone making a beeline for Indian mithai to gift during the festive season, Nikhil also explains that they had to work extensively on the packaging and presentation. “Taste takes precedence of course, and once that fell into place, we sat down to work out how the sweets would look like in a box, plan colours, textures and combinations accordingly as well,” he says. 

While Ritvah’s offerings are currently available through takeaway at their boutique, the sweets and savouries will soon expand to home delivery formats as well. 

Ritvah is located at the lobby level (near Peshawri) at ITC Grand Chola, Guindy. Boxes priced from Rs 704 onwards.