For years, European- made chocolates have dominated the taste buds of the global chocolate-consuming population. They have become so synonymous with the West that most forget that it was the Mesoamericans who discovered the process of making chocolate from cacao beans. India, being a former colony, has adopted a fondness for chocolates. Today, a festival or an event in the country is incomplete without a single shiny, crackly pack of these chocolates. But they don’t necessarily have to be European.
Indian chocolatiers are making waves of chocolate in the artisanal sweets-making world. Their claim to fame? Chocolates are made with local ingredients that make them uniquely Indian in taste. While it was Kerala’s Paul and Mike that won the silver medal in the International Chocolate Awards in 2020- 2021, on this World Chocolate Day, which falls on July 7, we look at some of Delhi’s own chocolate brands.
Dr. Pragati Sawhney’s relationship with chocolates is ironic, considering her former profession. She used to be a dentist and a healthcare professional, who is now working full-time manufacturing chocolate products. Her brand, Chockriti, started as almost an education in chocolate for Indians. “Chockriti means fine art of chocolate. The lotus [on the logo] signifies purity,” says Sawhney. She realised the need for pure chocolate after getting to know how chocolate is made and used in India. “The common chocolate used by most home cooks and bakers in India lacks the purity and benefits of real chocolate. Instead of utilising the cocoa liquor and butter, it relies on cacao powder, a byproduct from the extraction process,” she reveals.
What makes Chockriti chocolates different? “We temper our chocolates by hand in small batches. We do not use pre-made industrial fillings or artificial flavours. We tediously extract flavours from whole natural ingredients by brewing them overnight in cream and straining the flavoured cream for ganache the next day,” Sawhney explains. The results are bars of chocolates that are rooted in India’s cultures and traditions, festivals and cuisines, like mogra and jamun gourmet dark chocolate, thandai poppy seed gourmet dark chocolate, date rose gourmet (RoohAfza) dark chocolate bar and the Banaras paan chocolate.
If you don’t want to experiment with fusion chocolates, Savorworks’ Paweena Wu makes chocolates that are slightly more traditional. Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Wu initially worked as an interior designer before discovering her true calling as a pastry chef and chocolatier. “My journey took an unexpected turn when I got married and relocated to India. I fell in love with chocolate making. I studied at an institute in Tamil Nadu and travelled to Italy to master the art of bean-to-bar chocolate mak-making,”Wu recounts.
Savorworks mainly achieved success in coffee bean roasting till 2020. It was after a drum roaster was purchased that Wu shifted her focus to chocolate-making as well. She reveals that it was an uphill journey at first, but she persisted and now, has perfected the craft of extracting the best taste from the cocoa beans. “Our expertise lies in bringing out the best flavours from the beans and accentuating their distinct characteristics. Similar to coffee, we believe that chocolate flavour profiles can be carefully selected and coaxed out by manipulating different variables during roasting,” she elaborates.
While Wu states that each person should explore the brand’s diverse range of flavours to find a chocolate of their own liking, her personal favourite is the Gin and Tonic chocolate bar that was introduced for teetotallers, who have never experienced the flavour of gin. It became one of their best-selling products.
Savorworks also has a milk chocolate option for vegans, which takes inspiration from the head chocolatier’s Southeast Asian background- the pina colada bar, which uses coconut milk as the basis of the recipe. However, the most interesting flavour that deserves a mention is the chilli bonbon, which features a hint of spiciness in the chocolate ganache, that is complemented by the sweetness of mandarin coulis. “The contrasting flavours create a harmonious balance and provide a unique sensory experience,” she says.