A dirty war is going to happen on the issue of kalakand in Alwar. Apparently, it all started with one guy after partition – Baba Thakurdas. He used to sell it on a cart and then a small shop. It was so good that it caught on and now there is a whole market in Alwar known as the Kalakand Market.
But there are violent debates about whether it is a kalakand or a milkcake. Every sweetshop in the city has milkcake on the counter. It does look like the kalakand from the kalakand market. Most people from the city call it milkcake, even though the shop banners say otherwise.
Now, this kalakand is drier and of a deeper shade than the East Indian one. But there is no agreement on whether the one you get in the city is a kalakand or a milk cake. Someone said that molds are used for milk cake, while kalakand is set in trays. Someone else said kalakand is white and soft, milk cake is brown. But then, the shop has a deep brown shade of kalakand called mawa kalakand.
I don’t think this one is being resolved anytime soon. So, just eat and enjoy.
