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“What’s India’s Worst Sweet?” Asks Journalist; Netizens Respond With Petha, Mysore Pak & More

From Agra's Petha to Tamil Nadu's Milk Cake, desi foodies shared what they believe to be the 'worst Indian sweets'.

by Sanjana Shenoy
“What’s India’s Worst Sweet?” Asks Journalist; Netizens Respond With Petha, Mysore Pak & More

Apart from being a talented journalist, India Today’s Shiv Aroor is also known to trigger foodies on X (formerly Twitter) with his ‘Mediocre Food Series’. He often posts pictures of different Indian dishes and marks them as ‘mediocre’. This time, Aroor asked his followers— “What’s India’s Worst Sweet?” From Agra’s Petha to Tamil Nadu’s Milk Cake, desi foodies filled the comments section with what they believe are some of the worst mithai our nation has to offer. Check it out!

Journalist Wants To Know India’s Worst Sweet

“Answer this and have a nice weekend,” captioned Shiv Aroor on his post asking X users to name ‘India’s Worst Sweet’. If you have a sweet tooth like us and are a loyalist of mithai then some of these answers could trigger you. It’s our job to warn you and warm you for what’s to come! Some common answers were Petha, Mysore Pak and Soan Papdi.

The soft, sometimes gooey texture of Petha and its sugary notes were reasons for its disapproval. Soan Papdi made it to the list as Netizens called it the “infamous gift sweet”, a mithai that’s meant to be passed around instead of consumed. Many were repelled by its dry, flaky texture, the very reasons others love it. When it comes to Mysore Pak, it’s pretty apparent why many dislike it—  the loads of ghee that go into it, making it quite unhealthy.

Petha, Mysore Pak Are Front-Runners

Surprisingly, many even dissed Kaju Katli, India’s ubiquitously loved sweet. Netizens found it to be too overrated. A person even posted a pic of Parwal ki Mithai. Khoya and dry fruits are filled in parwal, a veggie. Perhaps, veggie in sweets is a put-off for the Netizen. Bread In Sugar Syrup (Shahi Tukda), Milk Cake, Malpua, Jalebi were other answers to Aroor’s controversial question.

If you ask us, cross our hearts, we have to admit it’s Petha. Overly sweet, one-note flavours and an okayish texture leaves us on the edge. What do you think is India’s worst sweet?

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Pro and @ShivAroor/ X

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First Published: February 22, 2025 11:30 AM