Imagine if greasy, syrupy sweets such as the gulab jamun, rasmalai and others of its ilk were done away with. Further imagine that guests at a wedding exchanged cupcakes and marshmallows to mark the occasion.
Futuristic while it may sound, the inspiration lies in the fact that our love of sweets has taken quite a beating over the past few years for them being severely high in calories and harbouring deadly diseases. And nothing compares the largesse of a traditional Indian wedding that goes at serving sweets hammer and tongs, often leaving diabetic, health conscious guests bereft of choice.
While the sticklers for tradition may dispute the completeness of a wedding without indulging in sweets and excess, the brides and grooms in question squirm in despair each time they have to politely accept a sweet offered by a beaming guest or another. However many may be the ills of sweets, there is no mistaking the novelty attached to it. Taking this thought to the next level, we pick our brains on conjuring up a dish that comes a close second to sweets at a wedding.
"Sky is the limit for showing creativity with a wedding dessert menu," says dietician Dr Shikha Sharma, recounting the time she attended a wedding in Dubai where sweets were substituted with sliced dates stuffed with dry fruits. She stresses on the need for a health counter at every wedding that'd serve fun salads made of boiled corn, olives, jalapenos, pineapple and pomegranate. Says she, "Fruits done in interesting ways sprinkled with cheese cubes, yogurt topped with fruits or apple baskets with a choice of syrups are other options."
Yogurt finds favour with Dr Nidhi Sarin, clinical nutritionist, Fortis La Femme, who prescribes flavoured yogurt with a lot of fruits on it to the sweet-sick gentry at a wedding.
"One can also go for sugar-free varieties in custards, puddings and mini cakes as they add up lesser calories than a full-fledged rasgulla," she informs. "If sweets were to be substituted then it would have to be with fruits like mango and strawberry as both are good looking fruits," she adds as an afterthought.
But if sweets must be consumed, warns Dr Sharma, it should be done in small portions to avoid feeling nauseated. This way you end up tasting everything on the platter without stuffing yourself silly. Though the psychological effect food has by stimulating appetite cannot be negated, it is a wonder how diabetics for whom sweets are a weakness cope up at a typical wedding.
Given the season, mangoes emerge as a runaway favourite of confectioners after chocolate for lending a distinct flavour to tarts, mousses and souffles. Though for pastry chef Devendra Bungla of Hyatt Regency Delhi, chocolates are a perfect alternative to Indian sweets. Says he, "Chocolate gifting culture has crept into the Indian society in a way that it has become synonymous with celebration. Little by little, the chocolate culture, if not fully, will be at par with the sweet culture." Chocolate's greater shelf life is another reason why confectioners prefer it over traditional Indian sweets. And if given a chance to redo a wedding dessert menu, he would load it up with dark and white chocolate truffle, and his specialty, Almond Cornflakes Rocher. Here's the exclusive recipe shared by chef Bungla.
Almond cornflakes rocher
Ingredients: Almond flakes 500gm, sugar syrup 75ml, icing sugar 60gm, cornflakes 250gm, dark chocolate covertures 400gm.
Method: First boil the cream, then add chocolate covertures and mix properly. Further on, add kirsch liquor, and allow it to cool. Pipe the mix inside the shell. Cover the shell from top with tempered chocolate and give the rest for setting. Coat with dark chocolate covertures and put on a cooling rack and give the shape of a fork.
One wonders why adhere to conventions when even the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William could excuse themselves of a few, such as the choice of sweets. Apart from a brandy fruit cake served at the wedding that was allowed its necessary four weeks to mature, a chocolate cookie cake too was prepared on Will's demand, while frozen yogurt was sourced from Snog on Kate's request. Contemporary English weddings too are on the path of a menu overhaul with 'candy buffet' gaining popularity among guests where they can take a pick from unconventional goodies like cake pops, mini cupcakes, French macaroons, lemon drops, chocolate covered almonds aside from the usual jelly and liquorice sweets.
Pastry chef Savio Fernandes of JW Marriott Mumbai believes in the magic an assortment of yogurt log, Philo apple bundles, sugar free chocolate mousse, Normande (apple base dessert), sugar free pralines and super light cheesecake, can create without making you feel full. He consents to whip up a delicious fruit yogurt which is a brilliant substitute to heavy-duty sweets.
Fruit yogurt
Ingredients: Yogurt 200gm, sugar free substitute 10gm, single whipped cream 150gm, fresh pineapple juice 250gm, corn flour 20gm, gelatine (soaked in cold water) 20gm, fruits to garnish.
Method: Mix the corn flour with some pineapple juice and keep it aside. Boil the pineapple juice, sugar free substitute and add in the corn flour, once the mix boils take it off the heat and add it to the soaked gelatine. Cool down the mix and stir in the yogurt which has been whisked till smooth. Fold in the whipped cream and pour the mix into dessert glasses or set in moulds. Freeze it for 8 hours and de-mould. Finally, garnish with fruits and serve.
Sweets and celebrations are so finely interwoven in our tradition that it is impossible to disassociate the two. But perhaps with a dint of creativity and lateral thinking we can still indulge our sweet tooth.
anwesha.mittra@indiatimes.co.in
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