Three things made only here
Most of what a snack shop sells, another shop sells too. Three things on this shelf near South Kolkata, Kolkata do not exist anywhere else: a dry-fruit cake sweetened with honey, jamun chips under the Copperpot label, and the house murukku.
Honey dry-fruit cake
Dense, dark and full of fruit and nuts, sweetened with honey instead of sugar. It is the box people bring when the host has already been given every mithai in Kolkata.
Is it sugar-free?
No, and it is not sold as sugar-free. Honey is itself a sugar, and under India's food-claims rules a food sweetened with honey cannot be called "sugar-free" or "no added sugar". What is true is simpler: it is sweetened with honey instead of sugar. If you avoid sugar for a medical reason, ask your doctor, not a snack shop.
How long does it keep?
Ask at the counter when you buy; the answer depends on the batch and the weather. The box is sealed, and it travels well.
Jamun chips
Crisp chips made from jamun, the dark purple fruit of the Kolkata summer, sold under the Copperpot label and not stocked by anyone else in the neighbourhood.
Jamun is a short season and a long memory; these keep it on the shelf all year. If you want them for a hamper, say so when you order.
The jamun chips were not on the shelf on the day of photography, so there is no picture of them here yet. The words above are the owner's; the photograph will follow.
The house murukku
The spiral in the tall jars: tight, golden and loud enough to announce itself across a drawing room. It is the jar that gets opened first and finished first.
