AT Uttam Sweet Home (Uttam Uphar Graha), situated at crossroads in Machli Khadak, Aurangabad, the best and hot-selling �item� is the Imarti. It is a Jalebi-like sweetmeat that sells from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. by the kilo and also by plate. It costs Rs. 80 a kilo. And a plate, with three Imartis in it dripping ghee and sugar syrup, costs Rs. 8. You would be smart to order only a plate, then too, three Imartis is too much. And if you aren�t satisfied, still, have a plate of assorted Bhajiyas; there�s mung, palak, kanda and batata, all being fried in a cauldron of oil by the side and served piping hot.

The Imartis, Jalebis and Bhajiyas are all made by the side of the little Uphar Graha in a clean, open area. The men doing the preparing, however, look anything but clean; stripped to shorts and singlets, they sweat it out in the heat generated by four bhattis on which the Imartis, Jalebis and Bhajiyas are cooking. Nilesh Tak, who runs the show, says the Uttam Uphar Graha was started by his grandfather 70 years ago and since then it has been famous for its Imartis. �The karigars who make them have a touch that is special,� he admits.

The difference between an Imarti and a Jalebi is that the Imarti is made out of urad dal and the Jalebi is out of maida. The Imarti is thicker in shape and intricate in design whereas the Jalebi is thinner, lighter, and circular. Both are fried in pure ghee and then dipped in sugar syrup for a while. It is amazing, the people of Aurangabad can consume a plateful of Imarti and Jalebi at 6 in the morning with the same hearty appetite and enthusiasm as they would do at 11 at night as an after dinner sweet. �The bhattis keep burning all day for the Imartis and Jalebis,� says Nilesh happily.

Curious passers-by and even customers come to buy Imarti and Jalebi and while it is being weighed out for them, they stand by the side and watch the karigars making the sweetmeats. One man mixes the dough, another two spin out the dough to form the Imartis and Jalebis in the cauldron of bubbling ghee, and the fourth scoops them out with a spatula and dunks them in a vessel with the sugar syrup. It is one smooth, swift operation that works non-stop to match the orders. But the Uttam Uphar Graha is also known for its Doodh Peda, Badam Biscuit, Malai Cham-Cham, Milk Cake, Aflatoon, and Kesar Kalakand. �They are all famous and running items, the customers like them,� says Nilesh helpfully. �Everything is made here.�