Even as soan papdi memes make their way around the Indian community ahead of Diwali, the classic Indian sweet is unlikely to show up on festive tables this month. The memes aren’t to blame — rather, as UAE residents struggle with the burden of obesity and diabetes, healthier food choices are showing up even at indulgent celebratory moments.
Stay healthy
“Foods which have a healthy spin attached to them are more in demand,” says Vikas Milhoutra, Executive Chef at Taj Dubai, whose Bombay Brasserie restaurant is a regular festive haunt for Indian expatriates in the UAE. “People today are actively making an effort to eat foods which will help them to stay away from the burden of non-communicable diseases.”
Superfoods will see more inclusion this year whereas fattening elements of desserts will be lessened to a certain extent. Chefs have responded with lip-smacking but guilt-free choices, including gluten-free and vegan options.
Milhoutra adds, “Superfoods will see more inclusion this year whereas fattening elements of desserts will be lessened to a certain extent. Chefs have responded with lip-smacking but guilt-free choices, including gluten-free and vegan options.”
That means many sweets such as laddoos are lighter this year. The rich, ball-shaped indulgences top the hierarchy of Indian sweets and are a popular item at Diwali. As with other traditional sweets, healthier and lighter laddoos are now available in shops and restaurants, with plenty of options for the home chef.
Milhoutra suggests making these from multigrain flour, quinoa and chia seeds in place of ground chickpeas or refined flour. And if they’re pretty and Instagram-worthy, so much the better, he adds.
“We’re finding that with the increasing focus on health and well-being, one big trend is to make sweets at home to your liking and lifestyle. This allows consumers to enjoy the whole preparation, which itself is fun,” says Sumeet Mathur, Managing Director at FrieslandCampina Middle East.
His company’s Rainbow evaporated milk is a recipe shortcut for time-consuming Indian sweets such as pedas, a sort of fudge, which require milk to be thickened and reduced. Google celebrity chefs Tarla Dalal and Sanjeev Kapoor for recipes.
We live in a fast-rhythm world, it’s not like old days anymore. Now, most families have responsibilities which leave us with no choice but to make simple dishes that take no time but are still very tasty. Evaporated milk is a good substitute because it’s natural and convenient, particularly as there’s no need to boil it.
“We live in a fast-rhythm world, it’s not like old days anymore. Now, most families have responsibilities which leave us with no choice but to make simple dishes that take no time but are still very tasty,” Mathur adds.
“Evaporated milk is a good substitute because it’s natural and convenient, particularly as there’s no need to boil it.” And because Rainbow is unsweetened, home chefs can add as much sugar as they like – or substitute it with low-glycaemic sweeteners.”
We’ve created a special vegetarian selection called the Rocket Veg Platter for Diwali, with dahi ke kabab, hara bhara kebabs and other options.
Plant-based eating
Chefs have also seen more people asking for vegetarian food in recent years. The festival of lights is a time when many Hindus revert to a vegetarian diet but an increasing awareness of plant-forward diets and their health and environmental benefits seems to underlie the spike in demand.
“We’ve created a special vegetarian selection called the Rocket Veg Platter for Diwali, with dahi ke kabab, hara bhara kebabs and other options,” says Ranveer Singh Makhloga, Sous Chef at Chatakana, the Indian kitchen at the Dusit Thani Dubai’s 24th St restaurant. “We’re also serving gluten-free items such as rice kheer.”
If that sounds a lot like a traditional Diwali, well… who are we to argue? Like soan papdi, everything old is new again. You can post that to your social media feed.
