Jackson Heights Before Diwali: Punjabi and Bengali Mithai by the Pound
Neighbors buy Diwali mithai by weight on 37th Avenue: Punjabi sweets at Raja, then Bengali sweets two blocks east at Rajdhani.
Raja Sweets to Rajdhani on 37th Avenue
🪔 Start with Punjabi sweets at Raja
From the 74 Street subway stop, walk two short blocks north on 73rd Street and turn left onto 37th Avenue. Raja Sweets is a vegetarian Punjabi counter, and its awning reads 100% pure vegetarian, which helps when the box is a gift. Point at the trays you want and ask for a mixed box by weight. Gayot's review singles out its syrupy jalebi.
🍮 Walk two blocks east for Bengali sweets
Rajdhani sits at 74-16 37th Avenue, a two-minute walk east of Raja. It is a Bangladeshi restaurant with its own sweets case, and the tags there have listed sondesh, mouchak and kacha gola by the pound or by the piece. These are the soft fresh-cheese sweets of Bengal, a clear contrast with the syrupy jalebi at Raja. Prices change, and the tags at the counter are the ones to trust.
🎁 Time the box, then sit in the plaza
Diwali falls on Sunday, November 8 this year, with Dhanteras on Friday the 6th. India Pulse reports sweet-shop queues on 74th Street before the festival and suggests ordering mithai about a week ahead, and a weekday afternoon beats the weekend rush. One mixed pound makes a tidy office gift. Raja is fully vegetarian, while Rajdhani also cooks fish and meat. Finish at Diversity Plaza on 37th Road, a short walk south, where benches sit beside the subway entrance.
