Exploding with Flavour: These sumptuous crackers are allowed this Diwali

With the message to go green during the festive season is becoming a part of the school curriculum, children themselves are refraining from bursting crackers. (Express photo Gurmeet Singh)

Gulkand-flavoured chocolate bomb, Bounty Sulti bomb, a big chakri with chocolate cookies base, Double mazaa medium chakri, Anaar with crackle, Masala chai flavoured rockets and crunchy ladi bomb with cornflakes are her offerings and a perfect ploy to indulge children with the idea of crackers this Diwali. Each piece is wrapped in packing material similar to those seen in our bazaars, completing their authentic look.

Tangri, who left her profession as a school teacher after 24 years and then as a lecturer in biotechnology to pursue her passion for cooking, now runs her own cooking classes ‘Annapurna’.

On giving Diwali crackers a delicious and sumptuous twist, she says, “I started food blogging and connecting with other cooks in the country. We had a food blogging meet in Hyderabad where I got to know that chocolate moulds are also available in shapes of different crackers. They weren’t available in Punjab locally so I had to arrange for them. Then packing material of crackers is also not that easily available but there wasn’t a better way to make crackers a part of Diwali in a delicious and non-harmful way especially for children.”

Ritu Tangri with the Choco Bomb in Ludhiana. (Express photo Gurmeet Singh)

In a box of chocolates, priced at Rs 250, there are eight pieces including chakris, rockets, choco bombs, anaar and ladi bombs. “For anaar we have used cornflakes and rice crispies to give that crunchy texture, while for chakris we have used cookies and white chocolate. There’s coconut and gulkand in chocolate bombs and cornflakes for ladi bombs. We have tried to use ingredients according to the nature of the cracker,” she says.

Tangri said that her 14-year-old daughter Sia has been spreading awareness in the neighbourhood, telling children not to burst crackers and that was a huge inspiration. “She makes greeting cards giving a message of green Diwali and distributes them in our neighbourhood. We have a pet dog and he gets really scared of crackers. So I thought of giving crackers a twist through my cooking and present them in an edible way for children to enjoy across the country,” she says.