25 Desi Candies Every 90s Indian Kid Remembers

If you grew up in India in the 80s or 90s, your pocket money probably went on one thing: the big glass jars at the kirana shop or the cart outside the school gate. A rupee could buy a handful of joy. Here are 25 desi candies and treats that every 90s kid remembers – and where you can still find the ones that taste just like then.

Sugar-dusted, bright orange and the first candy most of us ever bought. Sweet first, then a tangy citrus kick.

The summer favourite – sweet, fruity and tangy, like a raw-ripe mango in candy form.

For those who liked it sour: the tangy taste of raw green mango.

Sweet, tangy and spicy all at once – the candy that made you pull a face and reach for another.

Tiny colourful balls handed out after birthday parties.

The smaller, rounder cousin of orange candy.

A jar of assorted fruit flavours – you never knew which colour you would get.

Soft, chewy, sugar-coated fruit jellies.

Star and moon shaped tangy candies that felt like a little treasure.

Sour, sticky and impossible to stop eating.

Little sugar-dusted balls of imli and masala.

Tangy imli on a stick, sold from jars outside every school.

Easy to hide in a school bag.

Khatti meethi churan in a paper straw – one of the most loved school-gate treats.

Chewy sheets of sun-dried mango, sometimes with a spicy masala coating.

Roasted jeera, tangy and chatpata – the jar on every dining table.

Bold and savoury, for those who liked a stronger taste.

Fruity and sour pomegranate goli.

Five-colour sugar-coated fennel from the restaurant counter.

The sweet, refreshing mukhwas your parents always took a spoonful of.

Soft and creamy coconut bites.

A small sweet that felt like mithai.

Kesar kulfi taste in a candy.

Milky, chocolatey and fruit toffees sold one at a time for 50 paise or a rupee. Every family had a favourite brand.

Coloured lollipops and boiled sweets that turned your tongue red, green or orange.