For over a century, Delhi’s Iconic ‘Kuremal Mohanlal Kulfi’ has kept its customers hooked to its unique kulfis — from kesar pista and vegan kulfi to kulfis stuffed in fruits like mango, orange, apple, and pomegranate.
It’s not just the Delhites; tourists from all over the world visit this eatery year-round to hog on the frozen dairy dessert.
The eatery was started in 1906 by a farmer named Kuremal Mohanlal from Haryana. He made this decision at the age of 11, stepping beyond farming.
Inspired by his uncle, who sold kulfis locally, he came up with the idea of selling kulfis to the urban residents of Delhi during the summers.
“Back then, he did not have the option of refrigeration, so he would instead fill baraf (ice slabs) and namak (salt) in a matka (earthen pot) that would reduce temperatures to minus degrees,” says Vishal Sharma, his great-grandson.
“He would then set kulfi contents in a mitti ka koonja (clay earthenware), store these in a huge clay pot, and then carry it on his head to the old Delhi streets,” he adds.
Vishal shares that his great-grandfather would serve kulfis on a leaf and sell it for four annas each. In a day, he managed to sell about 100 kulfis.
In 1940, he was able to open his first outlet in Chawri Bazar along with his son Mohanlal. Soon after, the father-son duo started getting orders for weddings and catering events.
“In our childhood, I remember my grandfather would tell us how he was invited to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to serve our kulfis to the president. He would proudly carry earthen pots on his tonga in front of many police officers,” he says.
By 1950, Mohanlal also expanded the varieties of kulfis from kesar pista and rabri to more than 20 varieties — including mango, paan, pomegranate, tamarind, and khurmani.
Vishal says what the customers love the most is the stuffed fruit kulfis, which were introduced by his father Sunil Sharma in 1980.
Talking about how these delights are made, he says, “We stuff kulfi content like rabri in fruits after carefully removing the seed from the fruits. Along with the pulp of fruits, we stuff kesar pista kulfi inside the peel.”
“We then seal that fruit using wheat dough and store it inside a matka for three to four hours. The kulfis are sliced and then served to customers,” he says.
Priced between Rs 80 and Rs 250, the iconic brand has 55 flavours and manufactures about 6,000 kulfis in a day.