THE MAKEOVER OF MITHAIS

We're just a few days away from Diwali and the air in Delhi NCR already carries with it a burnt smell owing to the excessive crackers being burst all around.

- VERNIKA AWAL

That said, one cannot miss the festive cheer that surrounds us. Every year, since the past five years, I make homemade sweets and savoury snacks for our near and dear ones for Diwali. From namkeen matar, shakkarpare, chiwda namkeen to besan laddoos—the house is enveloped in the aromas that are reminiscent of a halwai shop. While these traditional mithais and snacks are loved in my immediate circle, the same folks have also shown a propensity to pick up a more eclectic collection of snacking gifts—when they aren't cooking them at home. Through this, came a realisation that Indian mithai, itself, appears to be going through a metamorphosis of sorts.

Luxury mithai makers, for instance, have been taking basic laddoos and barfis a notch up with their contemporary twists, and this makes a big difference in making mithai appealing to the younger generations.