Get ready for sweet something

Great Goodies

Sweets are a big part of the festivities and there is a large variety of them available in the markets for Bangaloreans to binge on this Deepavali.

Varying from North Indian specialties to South Indian delicacies to sugarless options, the sweetmeat shops are busy with activity. While the markets are full of dry fruits during this season, dry fruit sweets have their share of fans. “We have many offerings like ‘badam walnut’, ‘badam suryamukhi’, ‘Amritsari Pinni’, ‘cashew dry fruit barfi’, ‘kaju anjeer sandwich’ and ‘kaju burrito’. The fast- selling items are always ‘kaju katlis’ and ‘motichoor ladoo’,” says Arvind Dabu, co-owner of Anand Sweets. He adds that the newest products for the season are ‘almond ballotin’ and ‘Turkish baklawa’.

Some like their sweets assorted. “We are offering about 20 different pre-packed sweet packages from the range of Rs 100 to Rs 1,000, as per requirement. We are also launching them online. The packs are in four series: ‘Festivity’, ‘Aura’, ‘Relish’ and ‘Delicacy’. The ‘Festivity’ series is the fast-selling one which comprises South-Indian sweets like ‘halwa’, ‘ladoo’, ‘badusha’ etc,” details Haritha Krishnan, director of Sri Krishna Sweets. 

While the ‘Festivity’ and ‘Aura’ are assorted sweets, the  ‘Relish’ and ‘Delicacy’ series are the ones which contain varieties of one sweet like ‘soan papdi’ etc. She adds, “The ‘Mysurpa’ (softer version of the ‘Mysore Pak’) has always been our best-seller. This is because of the silkier pure ghee version we make, with a special recipe.”

There are also options in sugar-free sweets for people who are conscious about their calorie-intake or are diabetic. S Geethabai, the proprietary of Dezire, a store on Gandhinagar Main Road, says that they have many South-Indian options to offer.

 “We have about 25 options to choose from, which include ‘pista barfi’, ‘kesar barfi’, ‘ladoo’, ‘badusha’, ‘suryakala’, ‘chandrakala’ and ‘halwa’s like ‘wheat halwa’, ‘carrot halwa’ etc. We also have jamuns like ‘gulab jamuns’, ‘kala jamun’ and ‘dry jamuns’,” says Geethabai. 

She adds that popular items for Deepavali are ‘milk halwa’ ‘badam halwa’, ‘jangiri’ and ‘kalakand’. Most people warn others about sugarless sweets, but Geethabai explains, “Our sweets are made of levulose which is a refined form of fructose and a healthy option for anyone. The sweets are low-calorie and also they do not leave an after taste, which most other sweets in the market do,” says Geethabai.

With all festivities having a modern twist nowadays, there are people who prefer cupcakes and other goodies for Deepavali too. Naadia, owner of Dotted i, says that they have different sweet items planned for the festival. “We have cupcakes in flavours like chocolate, strawberry and lemon to exotic flavours like choco-mocha, red velvet and vanilla with choco-chip. The topper or fondant is shaped in the Deepavali theme, with crackers, ‘diyas’ and ‘chaklis’ on it,” she says. 

She adds that they also offer tarts and cookies. “The cookies have ‘diyas’ and other traditional symbols on them which make them apt for the festival. We also make truffle chocolates which can be given away as return gifts.

 These truffles are filled in the centre. People also buy macaroons, which are in festive colours like yellow, orange, pink etc,” she sums up.