Rookman Sweet House. Picture by Biju Boro

Surya Mahal. Picture by Biju Boro

The countdown is over. Diwali is finally here. It is time to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, to burst crackers and light diyas. For many, Diwali is not just a festival of lights and crackers. It is time to share our happiness by distributing sweets.

A host of renowned sweet shops have rustled up a smorgasbord of goodies — laddus, gulab jamuns, motichurs — that can send a sweet-lover into ecstasy. Madhukunj, the hub of special sweets, has unravelled a world of lipsmacking delicacies.

Apart from the traditional raj bhog and the all-time favourite rosogolla, Madhukunj has specially prepared sweets like the badam barfi and moti paak, which just melt in your mouth. A medley of besan rolled into tiny dots, mewa, sugar and pure ghee, moti paak is the rage among gourmands with a fixation for sweets. Ever popular halwas come in gajar and moong dal varieties. Topping the list is of course the juicy, crispy jalebis that Madhukunj is famous for. “All sweets are prepared in pure ghee to suit the flavour of Diwali,” said H.M. Dugar, its director.

For those who have reservations about juicy sweets, there is a host of dry goodies. For them, Rookman is the perfect choice. Nestled in the busy Fancy Bazaar, this house offers as many as 250 varieties of sweets. Several varieties of dry fruit sweets, too, are on display like pista diamond — diamond-shaped sweet with the flavour of kesar, almond and pista. Among Rookman’s specialities are badam roast — roasted badam with kaju, pista, saffron leaves, kesar and cashew filling — that can delight the gastronome with unique tastes.

An array of delectable sweets with preservation value like pista parwal, Kaju apple decorated with clove stick, pista roll, magdal, an item made of arhar dal that can be preserved for two weeks, are also on display. These are priced between Rs 6 and Rs 8 per piece. “During Diwali gifting of an assortment of sweets that can be preserved makes sense because one cannot consume too many sweets at a go,” said Ravi Sharma of Rookman Sweet House.

JB’s, the family food hub, has chosen to make healthy sweets with low cholesterol. The line up of goodies sans those smothered in ghee or milk includes anjir chakra, mouth-watering badam pista barfi, badam anjir rocket — rocket-shaped dry sweets with ingredients like badam and the Diwali favourite anjir. Sweet samosas with badam and pista along with anjir barfi rub shoulders with other goodies. All these are available within the range of Rs 400 to Rs 500 per kg.Veteran shops like Sharma Sweets, which have been satisfying tastebuds over the past two decades, are showcasing a range of delectable sweets for the Diwali crowds — badam barfi, kaju barfi, the all-time favourite laddu and pera. The Diwali specials are the golden Banarasi laddu and dilkusar — a special mithai churned out of besan, ghee and mawa — gulab jamuns and specialities like chandrakala and dry fruit barfi. Last but not the least is a special tray with an assortment of dry fruits like the akhrot, kismis, pista, kesar and kaju.

For connoisseurs who think purity is the ultimate word, the destination is Bharatiya Jalpan. This confectioner swears by sweets that are fresh. “It is our tradition. We are committed to serve our customers with fresh sweets. We never make sweets with shelf value,” said Pradip Parekh, partner, Bharatiya Jalpan. Among the array of sweets are the gond barfi — a pure ghee product, moti paak and mewa laddu – laddu topped with dry fruits. All items are priced between Rs 170 and Rs 180 per kg.

Customers who wish to feast on sweets but are reluctant to jostle with the crowds in the shop can call up Surya Mahal and ask for home delivery. “We are offering unique items like gulkan barfi, shahi samosa, kesri phirni with kesar in gift boxes that begin from Rs 100,” said Devendra Shettia, proprietor.

Apart from Diwali specialities, Guwahatians can revel in traditional malai chamcham, the all-time rage, and shahi chamcham. For Tirupati Sweets offers these items along with Diwali specials as “variety”. Among the Diwali line-ups are barfis in badam, kaju and kaju kesar pista flavours in the range of Rs 6 to Rs 7 per piece. In the halwa section there is Karachi halwa prepared from arrowroot and ghee. Besides, this store also has gond paak churned out of coconut, ghee and gond.

Those who share the festive spirit with gifts for others can opt for beautifully-designed boxes with an assortment of goodies that would make a trencherman with a sweet tooth whoop in delight. Rookman has designed a special dala carved out of cane for gift purposes. Five types of decorative wrappers are offered free on purchase of 1 kg of sweets.

Sharma Sweets has designed thermocol gift boxes in different colours decorated with lace. Gift boxes are available for prices ranging between Rs 50 and Rs 800 to suit all pockets.