Come Diwali, the festive mood lights up as bright as the lamps that mark the celebrations. And, the sweet toothed out there can stop getting calorie-conscious for the moment and enjoy the umpteen ‘saccharine-coated’ confectionery options . The sweetmeat shops in the city have lined up a variety of confectionery, candies and sweets that can ‘melt in your mouth before melting your heart’.
Enjoy Diwali to the fullest with your all-time favourite ladoos (all varieties, including the besan ladoos), syrupy-yet-crusty Jilebi’s, the very-southern Mysorepa (a lip-smacking combo of ghee, sugar and flour) or the array of milk sweets which tastes ‘pure heaven’! Your Diwali can’t get more sweet.
However, it is the assorted sweet boxes that have more takers as the festival is all about gifting. “Assorted sweets are our speciality during the season. The items include Ladoo, Mysorepa, Bombay Halwa, Milk Peda, Milk Katli, Badusha and Sonpapdi,” says Subramanian D M of Sree Krishna Sweets at Jos Junction in Kochi.
One can even go for a colourful sweet box with special flavoured pedas, including the chocolate, Horlicks, cocoa-chocolate and mango variety. These flavours can bring in a fresh taste and colour while retaining the original goodness. The packets are available in one kilo and half kilo.
However, if you go for the assorted sweet box, you will miss Jilebi, Rasagulla, Rasmalai, Gulab and Kala Jamuns as these sweets don’t last long. “Though these sweets are in demand, they can’t be included in the box as the assorted boxes are kept for 10-15 days,” he adds. Since Diwali is more of a North Indian festival, the sweets available are more of the ‘Northie variety’ with Bengali sweets ruling the roost. “During Diwali, it is the mostly the North Indian community who come to us for sweets. So, our products are mostly North Indian. Bengali items like Cham Cham, Gulab Jamun, Kala Jamun, Rasgulla and Mothi Laddo are in much demand. We have customers from Mattanchery, the Navy and Tamilians,” says Subramanian.
And, no prizes for guessing why Bengali sweets are on demand. The lingering taste of the Cham Cham with a crust of peda and syrupy milk cream sandwiched between them says it all.
Sweets made of almond (badam) like the Badam Halwa, which are a perfect concoction of ghee, sugar and almond, can be a tasty treat this season. Dry fruits are also a Diwali delicacy like the sweets made of them. “Special boxes with dry fruits including almond, raisins and pista are a speciality,” he adds.
If you are not a milk sweet enthusiast, you can choose the assorted sweets pack without milk sweets. “We have both options, with milk sweet and without. However our Diwali speciality is the Bengali sweet ‘Sandesh’,” says Babu of Bimbis Sweets, which claims to be one of the few sweetmeat shops in the state that offers Sandesh on sale.
Are you one who loves Bengali sweets, but can’t stand the syrup? Thenyou can choose from Malai Sandwich, Chenna Khajoor, Rajbhog and Pakeeja prepared without the sugar syrup.
So this festival season, grab an adorned sweet box, fill them with mouth-watering delicacies and gift them to your loved ones. While that will give you some really sweet moments of sharing, indulge yourself with a choice of the season’s delicacies!