A Wrestler’s Accidental Recipe Gave Jaipur Its Favourite Rabri Shop That’s 166 Years Old

[JANASENA]

Wrestler Parmanand Jain established ‘Mahaveer Rabri Bhandar’ in 1857. Today, the local eatery serves at least 1500 foodies per day. His great-great grandson, Deepak Chhabra, reveals how his renowned recipe came to be.

In 1857, Parmanand Jain, a wrestler, established an eatery called ‘Mahaveer Rabri Bhandar’ to offer this sweet delight. Today, the local eatery serves at least 1,500 foodies per day from across the country and the world.

Before starting the shop, Parmanand Jain worked as a khansama (cook) in the royal kitchen. Deepak tells, “He would be called to make sweets on special occasions. He was such a perfect cook that he earned the title of Bhakt (a kind of honorific at that time), which was no less than any award. Alongside this work, he used to sell milk, curd, misri (rock sugar), and mawa (dried whole milk). At that time, these sweets were the trend and were largely in demand.”

Once when Parmanand Jain was slow-boiling the milk, he accidentally reduced it to make rabri. When he invited his wrestler friends to taste the sweet, they were in awe. Thereafter, Parmanand Jain started making rabri regularly and soon after, it became a must-have in royal feasts and special occasions.

This is how Mahaveer Rabri Bhandar came to be in 1857.