Rooted in culture, celebrations in India are all about colours, flavours, and sweets of all kinds. From jalebi and rabri to gulab jamun and laddu—the types of mithais available in India are endless. Of late, the trend of fusion sweets is on the rise—classic mithais with the feel of a western dessert—fuelled by an increase in interest from younger patrons.
Ghewar, a sweet from Rajasthan, traditionally comes in plain, rabdi, malai, and kesar variants. Ahead of Rakshabandhan, sweet makers are playing around with flavours like chocolate, blueberry, coffee and mango.
"We introduced flavours like chocolate hazelnut, black forest, gulab jamun, rose, and pan. Our 'Secret Garden Ghewar' has a floral arrangement and is loaded with the flavours of rose, boondi, motichoor, jalebi, and gulab jamun," said Subha, co-founder of Nihira—a luxury fusion sweets brand.
People are also using edible flowers instead of silver foil for decoration.
"The fusion sweets business has grown rapidly since 2020 both in India and throughout the globe," said Subha. "Fusion sweets are finding favour among the younger generation."
Neha Niwas from Berfila, an artisanal mithai brand, agrees that changing trends have elevated the desi mithai to international standards in terms of flavours and presentation.
"Initially, it seemed sacrilegious to mix chocolates with sweets, but people of our generation are attracted to these exotic flavours."
From laddus that taste like mojitos and lavender to barfis that are more cheesecake and tiramisu, these flavours are getting more outrageous by the day.
Foodies who love their spirits as much as their desserts can try the sinful liquor sweets from Nihira such as whiskey laddu, red wine laddu, gin and cranberry laddu, Jagerbomb laddu, and Old Monk halwa.
Berfila too has an impressive menu of artisanal, customisable sweets to choose from like their popcorn-caramel barfi, pineapple kalakand, mango kalakand, kewra-flavoured rasgullas, and chocolate-filled gulab jamuns.
Superior presentation makes fusion sweets more appealing than old-fashioned mithai boxes.
"If I have to gift mithai to somebody, I'd prefer going the fusion way because they are packed very nicely and look prettier as a gift," said Nikita.
Indian sweet makers are also shipping their versions of desi mithais worldwide to cater to a rising demand for these creations.
(Sanjana Chawla is a freelance journalist who writes about women, society, culture, lifestyle and entertainment)