Jesal Sweet House serves up 24 years of treats

Deepavali wouldn’t be the same without a box of traditional sweets to pass around. Jesal Sweet House has been serving up festive favourites for 24 years, winning customers over with its quality and authentic flavours.

Founded in 2002, the business is run by husband-and-wife team Teranjit Kaur and Amar Singh, both 58. FMT Lifestyle visited their stall at Mid Valley Megamall last week, where the founders shared their story.

Their journey began modestly, with just RM800 in personal savings.

“My husband and I found it difficult to get by on a fixed monthly salary, so we decided to explore other opportunities. We tried our hand at several businesses and, eventually, I started selling Punjabi suits during Thaipusam,” Teranjit recounted.

It was then that she noticed food stalls drawing crowds at Batu Caves. “That’s when we decided to venture into the food industry.”

Their early years were far from smooth. Their initial investment was lost to a scam, while a subsequent arrangement with a business partner ended badly.

“We were left with nothing. We had four children by then, so there was a lot of responsibility on our shoulders,” Teranjit recalled.

A Punjabi wedding in Melaka eventually proved a turning point. Selling whatever treats they had left at the event, the couple turned enough of a profit to rebuild the business.

It eventually grew to include a restaurant in Brickfields, which served North Indian cuisine for 17 years. However, mounting rental costs and the pandemic forced them to close in 2021.

“It was extremely painful to close those shutters and say goodbye to everyone,” Teranjit said tearfully.

Rather than give up, she turned to outdoor events, making bazaars and shopping-mall fairs a mainstay of Jesal Sweet House’s operations. “I would take on one event after another because we still had a business to run and a family to support,” she said.

Today, the founders are looking beyond their traditional customer base.

“Indians have been our biggest supporters – without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. But I also want to introduce our culture to Malays and Chinese and let more Malaysians know about Indian sweets.”

Jesal Sweet House has a team of chefs who prepare its range of treats, while the founders oversee the process. Rather than cutting corners to keep prices low, the business uses premium ingredients.

A longstanding bestseller is the no-added-sugar kalakand, made by slowly reducing around 100 litres of fresh milk to approximately 22 litres, allowing the natural sweetness from its lactose to develop.

Other popular sweets include almond barfi, carrot barfi, milk cake, dried nut sweets, gulab jamun and rasmalai.

Their ghee ladoo, or motichoor ladoo, has earned plenty of compliments, too. FMT Lifestyle tried one ladoo and found it truly melt-in-the-mouth, with the ghee flavour really coming through.

For Deepavali, the stall also carries seasonal favourites such as murukku.

The founders’ confidence in their products is reflected in their money-back guarantee: if you’re unhappy with the quality, you can request a refund.

“In all these 20-plus years, not even one box has been returned,” Teranjit said proudly.

Freshness is another priority, particularly when travelling for events across Malaysia as well as Singapore.

“We essentially move our entire kitchen with us. Wherever we go, we rent a house and prepare our sweets fresh there, rather than transporting large quantities of prepared sweets from Kuala Lumpur.”

In fact, they often operate multiple booths at different locations simultaneously, with a family member overseeing each one.

In August, after a long break, the couple returned to the restaurant business by opening Jassal Tandoori Restaurant in Puchong. Although business has been slow, they hope to revamp the menu once the Deepavali rush is over.

And with Jesal Sweet House now in its 25th year, Teranjit dreams of expanding the business through franchising.

“I definitely want to continue growing the business and, ultimately, I would like one of my children to take over and continue our legacy,” she said.

Follow Jesal Sweet House on Instagram and Facebook.

Jesal Sweet House can currently be located in the Klang Valley at:

• Ground floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre (until Nov 8)
• East entrance atrium, ground floor, Mid Valley Megamall (until Nov 15)

Business hours: 10am-10pm

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