From no-added sugar and thandai flavour to gold foil varients, the gujiya gets a makeover this Holi in Lucknow
Gujiyas are every foodie’s delight during the festival of colours. Traditional gujiyas made in every household are the highlight during Holi. Sweetshops and bakeries have gone all out to woo buyers with a variety of gujiyas and are innovating their best to get the edge. HT City takes a look at the trend.
Calorie count!
“We have done a lab test and put the QR code of the test report next to gujiya. While fried gujiya is 260-430 kcal (calories) our baked variant in 150 kcal while the wafer crust must be 180 kcal. Our gujiya bite piece is just 90 kcal. We are trying to encourage more and more buyers for the baked and wafer honey variants,” says Danbro by Mr Brown founder Tanushree Gupta.
Hint of gold!
From ₹40,000-60,000 a kg, the high-end dry fruit gujiya with real gold foil too is finding buyers. “It’s truly a costly affair but has become a premium gifting option. From one-piece box at ₹1,200 to two-and four-piece gujiya boxes it is for gifting purposes. People don’t get it in kilos, but small packs sell well,” says Ved Prakash from Classic Radhey Sweets.
NSA concept
Matrika Gupta of 220-year-old Ram Asrey sweets says, “We have added a fruity twist to the gujiyas with blueberry gujiyas as they are considered one of the super fruits. Also, for the health-conscious masses, we have anjeer and khajoor stuffed gujiyas that have natural sweetness and no added sugar.”
Ravindra Gupta of Chhappan Bhog adds, “Traditional gujiyas always work but people are going for variants like honey, sugar-free, dates, anjeer and honey-pistachio ones. Now we have 15 variants.”
Thandai flavour varients is the new flavour of the season tells Jasjeev Kohli of JJ Baking Co.
Small is big
Bite-sized gujiyas filled with dry fruits are much in demand. “No one can deny that gujiyas are loaded with calories but it’s a part of tradition as well. So, bite-size variants are working well for people who want to have a small portion,” says Srajal Gupta of Madhurima Sweets.
Traditional rules
Whatever may be the buzz, it’s the traditional gujiya that rules. “For puja and to serve to guests, it’s the traditional khoya gujiya that we buy more. I like the kesariya version, but others, be it dry fruits one, baked or sugar-free only a few people buy,” says Dharmendra Jaiswal, a businessman and foodie.
