Motichoor Parfait

Fusion Desserts For The Sweet Lovers

Indians love sweets. That’s it. No further thought. They deify sweets. There is a sweet associated with every God in India. Ganesha loves modaks and Lord Krishna loves makkhanmishri. Various devis like multiple payasams. All festivals have unique sweets associated with them. Ugadi for instance which is the Telugu new year is associated with Bobbatu, a sweet pancake stuffed with a mixture of lentil and jaggery with a delicate flavoring of cardamom. Like Ugadi is for the Telugus, Vishu is for the Keralites and Puthandu for the Tamils. There are specific payasams and paramannams associated. Similar is the story of various celebrations in the North too. Other religions in India have specific sweets for their special occasions like sheet kurma for Eid, Plum cakes for Christmas and so on.

Sandesh Pudding

Sandesh Pudding

Image Source:bengalicuisine.net

Sweets and India

The point is Indians love sweets, desserts and anything that is remotely sweet in any form. They order desserts at the drop of a hat. Quite literally! India can be the dessert capital of the world. I am told that the early visitors to India way back in the 17th and the 18th century referred to India as the land of sweets. Personally, I feel this is valid even today. The variety, options and the choices that we have in sweets in India is mind blowing. If one were to ever attempt writing about Indian sweets and desserts, it will be nothing short of an Encyclopedia Britannica.

Food delivery has added a different hue to this landscape of sweet loving nation. It has brought forth the possibility of fusion desserts. For the ones, who find this term new, a fusion dessert is the outcome of experimenting with key ingredients of a sweet and combining it with other elements. In simpler terms, fusion desserts are like indo western desserts or sweets. A few examples that come to my mind are motichoor parfait, chocolate hazelnut gujiya, saffron cardamom panacotta, rice kheer sushi, sandesh puddings etc.. These desserts are the brain works of amazing chefs who exercise their creativity to curate delicious fusion desserts with a firm base in traditional Indian sweets.

Food delivery has made it possible to order desserts like the few names mentioned above. The technology involved and the logistics allow ordering these in bulk if need be. Ordering custom desserts or signature desserts made by chefs specializing in a particular segment are now a possibility. Food delivery and food tech combined with social media make it quite a transparent deal. Pictures uploaded on Instagram are visual proofs of the pudding in their literal sense. Ratings on Zomato and similar apps make it clear to the whole world that quality of a dessert. In short, we live in an age where fusion desserts are an utterly delightful and delicious everyday possibility, thanks to food tech.

Fusion desserts generally are a lot about technique. Use of nitrogen, flaming torches, foam cans etc add unique texture, flavors and look to the desserts. When you eat an Indian fusion dessert, at the heart of it is the traditional Indian sweet yet with a twist in the taste that has a tale of its own!

Image Source: cooktube.in

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