Fresh, white, soft and the perfect round. Or maybe, with a dash of pink or saffron. Trays of freshly prepared rossogollas floating in sinfully sweet syrup line the shelves of the K.C. Das factory.
A few of the 30 people who work in the factory are bent over large vats, in a room thick with the smell of ghee, making sure that the signature product of Bangalore's foremost confectioner is just right for the city's sweet tooth.
Nearly 2,400 litres of “fresh, cow's milk, with 4 per cent fat” goes into making 800 kg of various sweets every day at the factory, according to C.R. Gilbert, manager, K.C. Das Pvt. Ltd. This number is five times greater during the festive season.
Each batch goes through a quality check and a process of “sensory evaluation”, where either Mr. Gilbert or managing director Biren Das examines the taste, texture and consistency of the sweets. “Our ‘spongy rossogollas' retain their shape even after they're squeezed,” points out Mr. Gilbert.
Tradition
The group keeps up a tradition that began in Nobin Chandra Das's small sweet shop in Calcutta in 1868, and continued by his son Krishna Chandra Das and grandson Sarada Charan Das. The K.C. Das company itself will turn eighty next year.
A visionary, the late S.C. Das set up shop in Bangalore in 1972, given the easy availability of milk in the city. He used pioneering technology in production, storage and packaging, changing the nature of the industry.
Today, the factory, with its enviable compound, may be almost unnoticeable between the glitzy neon boards of entertainment complexes and restaurants on Church Street, but under the fourth generation of the family, it sells over 5,000 pieces a day.
As for the showroom on St. Mark's Road, it is as loved for its delectable sweets and savouries as for its encouragement to local art — upcoming artists are provided a space to exhibit their work.
Innovation continues, with low calorie, low sweet and artificially sweetened son papdis and jamuns for those who have diabetes or are health conscious. All this, after extensive research and development in the Department of Science and Technology-recognised laboratory on the factory premises.
The lab — much of the wall covered by the family's personal art collection — is not only responsible for coming up with safe and effective sugar substitutes, but also the daily analysis of the quality of the raw materials beings used, lab assistant H. Narayanaswamy says.
Besides, it provides the infrastructure for postgraduation and Ph.D students to complete their theses on food and nutrition issues, under the guidance of A.R. Natarajan, the former head of the Microbiology Department, National Dairy Research Institute. As many as 270 students have completed their thesis here, on topics from improving the shelf life of milk products and preparing probiotic yoghurt, to identifying E.Coli in food. Mr. Gilbert, who has been with the company since it was set up here, admits that rising prices of raw materials have hit profit margins, but insists there are limited cost-cutting options. “We can't compromise on the quality of material. Better the ingredients, better the product.” “Quality, not quantity is important,” he says, explaining the philosophy of the group. That, and “keeping the tradition of Indian sweets alive”.
Karunya Keshav
Savour K.C. Das's rossogollas and you picture the mithaiwallah bent over a large vat, in a room thick with the smell of ghee
