Jaipur’s wait for one of the most loved desserts, the doughnut, may nearly be over

The other day I was watching a feature on Dunkin Donuts, the famous American chain of doughnuts and coffee, on television. It was then that it occurred to me how similar the cooking process of doughnuts and our Indian vadas was. Both are fried with a hole made in the centre giving them the shape of a ring. The only difference is that while the former is a dessert, the latter is a salty snack. Of course, the batter is different too. Doughnuts are made of white flour mixed with yeast and our vadas are made of ground lentils.

Back in school I remember, no charity event was complete without a crowded doughnut stall put up by the Anglo-Indian nuns. We actually used to wait for any such event to take place-just for the doughnuts. The ring-shaped soft cakes had powdered sugar sprinkled on top, making it hard to eat without having your lips smeared with sugar. Hot and fresh ones being made then and there sold, literally, like hot cakes. My love affair with doughnuts, therefore, started rather early.

The Dutch may claim it to be theirs, but the truth is doughnuts are probably one of the very few original American foods that the Yankees can boast of. Throughout Europe, American food chains like McDonald's and Burger King have popularised this dessert. An assortment of mini doughnuts made in the classic way with sugar sprinkled on top, the chocolate-coated éclair look-alikes, caramelised and the ones filled with jam would cost you around couple of pounds at any Burger King in London.

I was quite surprised to come across small kiosks selling similar assortment of mini doughnuts in Delhi. Most malls in Delhi have them now.

But it was MOD-short for Mad Over Donuts—a Singapore-based doughnut retailer, which caught my fancy. To any one travelling to Delhi, I strongly recommend that you visit MOD in Delhi’s Select Citywalk Mall, Saket, and the Great India Place in Noida. If you are going to Mumbai then try the Snowman’s at Breach Candy or the Oberoi Mall in Goregaon.

The MOD doughnut is the real thing. The ‘original’ actually reminded me of my schooldays. Soft, hot dough rings with light sugar sprinkled on top-I could barely stop at one. The chain serves over 15 flavours of doughnuts starting from ‘original,’ the very American ‘cinnamon sugar,’ ‘mama mia’ with Italian herbs, to cocoa-flavoured glaze with rich espresso mousse. Each costs about Rs35, while half a dozen are priced between Rs 175-200. A dozen would cost you between Rs315-360.

A seasoned pastry chef, Kishi Arora, joined the group as the executive chef about a year ago. Her expertise in food styling has helped them develop a rather interesting array of flavours. Having worked in the patisserie of Four Seasons Hotel in California, Kishi was well exposed to this American comfort food. Along with some very revered food experts in Singapore, Kishi has developed a range of dough that is fried every time to make those soft pillows of sheer bliss.

For all of us in Jaipur we may have to wait for a few months to enjoy these doughnuts. Says Lokesh C Bharwani, director of MoD, “We plan to move on to other cities soon. We intend to have a nationwide presence by 2010.”

Pallavi Bose/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication