If you grew up in the 80s and early 90s, chuskis and golas were your dreams, whose mention gave you goosebumps, as the Indian traveller hadn’t ventured into global cuisines enroute his many globe-trotting escapades.

Over the decades, traditionally-inspired chefs remodelled the once-taboo street-treats into a new avatar, actually a gourmet delicacy, in restaurants and ice-cream bars. The ‘loved-by-one-and-all’ roadside Kala khatta ‘chuski’ aka ice gola aka ice cream soda float- the one that tops the list of guilty pleasures of the edible variety- the one that was a cult- has repearedly been reinvented into hand-crafted signature molecular desserts and cocktails, with a market still driven by sweet nostalgia for the authentic traditional version.

If stories are to be believed, they say it was invented by the Japanese during the Heian period (794 to 1185 AD) when ice was brought down from mountains and stored in a cave called himuro aka ‘ice-room’, for the royalty. The much-loved Hawaiian shave-ice comes with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream at the bottom of the cone. Mexican vendors call it raspa, and bring it on in many flavours, including lemon and chilli powder. Ais kacang is a popular form of shaved ice sold in Malaysia and Singapore and Japan, calls it kakigori. Needless to say, whoever came up with the plan to make the first popsicle aka chuski aka baf-ka-gola, we owe them a “Big Thank You” to give us an irresistible super-delicious dessert to slurp on.

Indian summers and Kala Khatta go hand-in-hand. As the first drop touches the already drooling and mouth-watering you, the sweet and tangy icy sizzler rushes you back to your childhood when you waited for the ‘gola wala uncle’ to ring his chime as he crossed your grandmother’s lane. 

As we grow older, we become more calculative. We worry whether the ‘gole wala’ roadside vendor washed his hands, or is the ice from RO demineralised water or what chemical color has he put in the syrup. We worry about typhoid and bacteria playing havoc in our gut and stress out worrying about it. Of course, the tempting kala khatta ice gola follows embargo norms in every household, and rightfully so.

Demand creates market for products and this is at the backdrop of all our product innovations at Dhampurgreen. No need to worry about hygiene as now you don’t need to go buy a kala khatta gola from the roadside vendor. You can just make one at home, and entertain all your guests, including those ‘difficult-to-please’ children! Time to set up your own ‘kala khatta gola counter’ at your kid’s next birthday party!

“Your Kala Khatta is always in my pantry. My kids love it and so do their friends. Thank you for saving us from those bad stomach disasters when we couldn’t resist the roadside golas”, says Deepti from Ahmedabad. “We always have summers here and this our go-to drink at home! Even my father-in-law loves it as it reminds him of his village, his roots.” Deepti adds.

Its customer like Deepti that inspire us to dare.

We at Dhampur Green dare to venture into every household that craves for original authentic tastes without worrying about those prohibition norms. Hence the KalaKhatta ready-made syrup concentrate. The sweet, tart and spicy syrup is a perfect summer coolant and when doused over shaved ice, it turns into an old- fashioned, loved by everyone, ice lolly, the ‘barf-ka-gola’. Take a stroll down memory lane, all the way to your childhood memories, with Dhampur Green’s classic Kalakhatta syrup. This iconic summer delight is total desi, and yet brags a history that percolates deep into many cultures and legends. 

“Every time I have a kitty-party at home, my friends want my Kala Khatta mojito. It’s kind of made me popular in my circle. I always keep a few of your bottles ready, I’m so insecure I’ll run out of them”, says Urvashi Jhunjhunwala from Nagpur.

As the cool sip of our kala khatta mocktail washes down your throat, this mouth freshener takes away every last bit of fatigue, leaving you energised and refreshed. Pour generously over ice lollies or golas and relive your childhood! The riot of tangy, salty and mild spicy flavours of assorted spices, cumin powder, black salt and ginger are a fun flavour for ice lollies, popsicles, sherbet’s, mocktails, cocktails, sodas, sorbets, iced teas, lemonades or just any drinks your bartender can imagine!

We shared our stories.

Time to share yours……

Write to us, speak to us, connect with us……..we hope to hear from more customers like Deepti & Urvashi.

Tell us your stories, tag us on #dhampurgreen on Instagram/ facebook and other social media. We’d love to hear the conversations and stories this nostalgic syrup brought out at your home!