Foodie first winter choice gajak, variants flood shops

INDORE: With setting in of winter, sesame brittle or gajak is back in city markets with a bang. Ready to melt in mouth and leave sweet lingering taste. Made by pounding roasted sesame seeds in thick syrup of jaggery, this Indian speciality, consumed mainly in winters, is believed to have properties that protect the body heat in this season.
"The basal metabolic rate of our bodies increases during winters.As a result, our bodies need more amount of energy to cope with surroundings. So people feel hungrier and need more energy providing foods to beat the winter chill. Sesame seeds are rich in anti-oxidants and jaggery helps fight iron deficiency. The combination of the two makes is perfect tonic for winters and provides energy. That is why it is called the food of masses." Kapila Singh, a city-based doctor said.
However, this year people are forced to buy less because of prohibitive cost. People, who bought one kg of sweet are now buying only half a kg.
"Tilli was available in the market till last year at costs of Rs. 120 -150 per kg. But this year the same product is costing us Rs 225-250 per kg. Moreover, dealers at Chhavni mandi are anticipating a further hike in the prices of these seeds." Jai Prakash, a sweet dealer said.
Due to increased competition in the market and sweet dealers are working are working on less profit margins. However, the aim to provide good quality sweets to Indoreans remains unchanged.
In past, gajak was brought from Morena to Indore. But for past couple of years, many gajak makers have shifted base to Indore and now prepare the mouth-watering delicacy in bulk. By conservative estimates, 400 quintals of gajak is churned out everyday in the city. No just gajak, but other such sweets are also in demand. Among these are thal gajak, mawa roll, til patti, chocolate barfi, kaju barfi and daana patti.
Vijay Ram of a city based confectionary and sweet shop told ToI that the business of gajak has reduced substantially this year partly because of delayed winters and partly because of high prices of the raw material. "This season, gajak is being sold at Rs 280 per kg and other sweets are Rs 320 per kg. However, for those who have a tight budget, daana patti is in a great demand as it costs only Rs 240 per kg," he added.
The winter medicine needs no prescription and is consumed by people of all age groups has always remained the first choice of foodie city folks. The demand for the delicacy continues to be robust despite rising prices and inflation, a sign of true Indoreans.