The biryani sandesh and (below) the chocolate sandesh at Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick. (Bishwarup Dutta)

Sandesh that smells like biryani, malai roll with butterscotch in every bite — fusion sweets flew off the shelves from Tallah to Tollygunge this Dashami.

“The taste of sweets is undergoing a revolution of sorts. Bengalis seem ready to embrace the new-age sweets being made,” said Partha Nandy of Girish Ch Dey and Nakur Ch Nandy.

“The traditional sweets are there but innovations, particularly with the sandesh, enjoyed an upper hand this year,” he added.

Along with the traditional chandrapuli, this 167-year-old shop on Ramdulal Sircar Street sold mango and chocolate-flavoured moushumi sandesh made with coconut, nuts and a stuffing of molasses, kaju-badam sandesh (different from kajubarfi), rose-crème sandesh and even dark chocolate sandesh.

And it’s a trend being embraced not just by the domestic consumer.

“When we started selling baked rasogolla, we were not sure of the response. Now, it’s a rage. This time, even the elite clubs have ordered our brand of fusion sweets along with baked rasogolla. Corporates too have placed bulk orders for fusion sweets this Dashami,” says Sudip Mullick of Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick.

The south Calcutta shop has come up with a sandesh that gives off the fragrance of biryani while tasting sweet. The creators claim the ingredients have been ground at home to create the special effect.

Several Trinamul Congress leaders, including Madan Mitra, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Subrata Bakshi, had placed bulk orders for this new type of sweet.

“I just love sweets, especially the fried and baked varieties. And I just could not stay off the new fusion items. I had lots of sweets throughout Puja,” says Chattopadhyay.

If those with a sweet tooth are willing to experiment, sweet makers will gladly oblige. “Those who were averse to new flavours are now willingly lapping them up. We have expanded our range with innovative products like Monmatano and Oporupa sandesh,” says Sandip Sen of Sen Mahasay.