BRB, ordering rasgulla tiramisu for my Teen Patti night

Once upon a time, Diwali was about discovering the newest pataka on the block: the bomb that fizzles and flies, the flowerpot that sparkles metallic... you know the works. Today, this innovation has shifted from crackers and landed straight into mithai. The puja thaali no longer features run-of-the-mill kaju katli or boondi ka laddoo; the selection is between Bombay Sweet Shop’s Biscoff Mathura peda and jalebi waffle.

In fact, there’s no dearth of whacky flavours: Mumbai’s artisanal patisserie Toujours has a motichoor cheesecake tart and New Delhi-based fusion food restaurant Bhawan is zhuzhing up your nani’s namakpare with Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Clearly, traditional Indian mithai and celebrations are now being reimagined, so much so that old-school favourites are being sorely missed. “I just want to go back to festivals where matcha isn’t mentioned. Maybe these sweets look cool online but genuinely, who tf is choosing a coffee rasgulla cake mish mash over actual mithai? Make me meet them,” grumbles Bengaluru-based Ishaan Trehan. And something tells us he’s not alone when it comes to questioning the legitimacy of matcha cham cham and 54 per cent dark chocolate modaks.

Well, you naysayers may be surprised, but the out-of-the-box takes on trad sweets thrive because they fulfil more desires than just flavour.

When Mumbai-based Manisha Naik decided to throw a Diwali party, the primary criterion was to build intrigue. “Today, people’s calendars are booked with Diwali gatherings, but I want mine to start conversations,” says the 29-year-old product manager. One way she plans to achieve this is by serving modern iterations of traditional festive food.

Naik’s grazing table will feature Bombay Kaju Crunchy Bar and Mawa Cake from Maska Bakery and Tom Yum Makhana from Bombay Sweet Shop and a badam halwa tres leches cake that the host is whipping up herself. “I have three different friend groups coming in and I have realised interesting food becomes the best icebreaker,” she adds.

Lucky for Naik, the new-age festive desserts aisle is loaded. And this experimentation is hardly limited to Diwali. Back in August, Mumbai-born chocolatier Ether marked Ganesh Chaturthi with a saffron, caramel, and motichoor bonbon. For Rakhi, the brand crafted silver- and gold-dusted kinstone chocolates inspired by keshi pearls and even collaborated on a fine jewellery line. This month, chocolate-coated makhana and vanilla chai barks are the new gifting ideas on their Diwali lineup. Clearly, the market for mithai glow-ups exists, even if it revels in a little bit of shock value.

A rasgulla is no longer just dipped in sugar syrup—it’s also concocted and layered with coffee tiramisu. While these experimental combinations look exciting in online campaigns, the real question is: who is buying this matcha-coated hype? A very curious lot, according to Girish Nayak, the chief mithaiwala at Bombay Sweet Shop.

“Younger generations, in particular, are curious and adventurous. They have explored global flavours through travel and social media,” says Nayak, adding that their sweets are for people who value tradition but aren’t afraid of a little reinvention. “There’s also a broader cultural shift where fusion is celebrated, not feared, and trying new things is seen as a mark of curiosity.” 

The latter is especially true. At a time when everything we watch, read, and eat is a signifier of our identity, festive gifting and menus are no different. Discovering unique flavour combinations and readily embracing them becomes a sign of pride; you may call it first-mover’s advantage. “When we can replace Diwali poker with mahjong to match trends, of course the mithai we serve should also match what’s new,” says Delhi-based Drishti Kapoor, 31, who is peppering her Diwali gathering with snacks from Bhawan and party favours from The Laddoowala. In fact, it is this desire to present age-old Indian sweets with a fresh spin that pushes Bhawan’s founder, Kainaz Contractor, to keep innovating. 

While their primary clientele skews millennial, Contractor is keen on bringing young Gen Z into the fold. “From the start, Bhawan’s mithai programme is intent on making the next generation look at traditional snacks as ‘cool’ and delicious,” she says. The restaurant now also serves a laddoo inspired by a Snickers bar and a halwai’s take on the viral Dubai chocolate as part of this bidding. For the most part, these playful combinations attract wonder and fascination, building buzz online that later translates to sales offline.

But every now and then, a unique take flies too close to the sun and lands on the wrong side of the internet. 

Just ask Bengaluru-based pastry chef Jenny Clinta, who runs the country’s only dessert-based supper club, Sakaré. Back in February, a gajar-ka-halwa-inspired palate cleanser that Clinta serves skyrocketed to virality—the Instagram Reel has over 5 million views and thousands of comments, many that mock the dessert for its innovation. “We use French cooking techniques, so confit carrots in cardamom and sugar are paired with semifreddo ice cream made from mawa. Every bite reminds you of gajar ka halwa, but it doesn’t look like it,” the chef explains. Even today, eight months later, Clinta finds people sharing and trolling the dish, though this only lasts until they taste it. “Once they try it, they love the flavour. We have learnt that playing with Indian sweets can be tricky because people are emotionally attached,” she adds. 

Yet thankfully, this tumultuous ride to fame hasn’t deterred Clinta from tests and trials; next up on her recipe testing menu is the South Indian payasam. After all, you know what they say, all PR can be good PR. Similarly, Nayak is also conscious of the nostalgic sensitivity that comes with traditional mithai. “In my experience, flavours go too far when experimentation starts to overshadow the soul of the mithai, when it becomes more about novelty than taste or emotional connection,” he says. “We follow a philosophy where every creation should either remind you of the form of the original or its flavour. That connection is what makes a sweet memorable.”

And believe it or not, however cool modern mithai may seem, establishing this boundary feels paramount to retaining curiosity. Internet dwellers are drawn towards flashy and new, but they are just as quick to discard innovations when they falter on the cringe scale. We should tread and taste carefully because no one wants matcha gulab jamun to end up in the graveyard with coffee raves and fake shaadis.