Lakshmi Sweet Centre Ltd

You'll spot the queue before you see the shop front on Dudley Road — that's how you know Lakshmi's doing something right. This Blakenhall institution has been churning out proper Indian sweets and savouries since before half the city knew what a samosa was, and the endless stream of families loading up boxes tells you everything about the quality. The display counter groans under the weight of fresh mithai — those sticky, syrup-soaked gulab jamuns that dissolve on your tongue, flaky kaju katli that actually tastes of cashews, and barfi in more flavours than you knew existed. The savoury side doesn't slack either, with samosas that shatter at first bite and bhel puri mixed to order. Prices hover around £8-15 for a decent mixed box, and frankly, you'd be daft not to grab some for later.