Guilt-free trip just a click away

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Gearing up for a surprise anniversary party for her parents, Priyanka Kumar has already placed the order for sweets and chocolates.

“The aim was to look for something sugar-free, as my parents suffer from diabetes. We still don’t find many options at sweet shops, so I went online where there are alternatives — at times at better prices — and option of a home delivery system too,” says the front-office executive at a publishing firm in Delhi.
Hard pressed for time professionals like Kumar, health-conscious families and weight-conscious youth are going for sugar-free delicacies.
Consumers also include fad lovers, shares Dr Vandana Mathur, consultant nutritionist, Metropolis Healthcare. “The consumption of sugar-free sweets is on the rise, as the category is straightaway considered ‘healthy’. With most people on the net these days, finding sweets and ordering them with just a click has made the process much simpler,” she adds.
Not just demand, but the supply side also shows that the online medium is the preferred way when it comes to sugar-free delicacies. E-commerce portals such as HomeShop18.com, Infibeam.com, mithaimate.com, gifts2indiaonline.com and egully.com have dedicated sections for this category.
The sugar-free assortment here ranges from delectable chocolates to desi options such as kaju pista, mango mithai, mango flowers and mango twin pedas, khajur barfi, dhoda burfi, etc. Though the preference for the types of sweets ordered differs, there is a huge demand for Indian sweets, as well as gourmet chocolates and sugar-free health snack bars. Younger people tend to buy sugar-free chocolates, while the elderly choose their favourite mithai brands such as Motichoor, Bikanervala and Ghasitaram, which do not add calories.
“HomeShop18.com introduced the sugar-free sweets category in 2011 and in the last one year a growth of 100 per cent has been registered in the category,” says Narasimha Jayakumar, COO E-commerce, HomeShop-18.com, adding, “The demand for the products is high all round the year, but certainly goes even higher during festival time. Sugar-free sweets are also a healthy gifting option, so we are seeing more people buying them for their relatives and family.”

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Ingredients:
1/2 cup blanched, peeled and powdered almonds (badam)
1 tsp pistachio slivers
1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
2 tbsp honey
a few saffron (kesar) strands

Other ingredients
1 tsp ghee for greasing
For the garnish:
1 to 2 tsp pistachio slivers

Method
Combine all the ingredients except the ghee in a bowl and knead gently into a dough.
Gently roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic into a square of 100 mm x 100 mm (4” x 4”). Garnish with sliced pistachios and press the rolling pin over, so that they stick firmly to the katli.
Cut into 16 squares of 25 mm. (1”) each.
(Courtesy: tarladalal.com)