City fights Ravan of cost to savour fafda, jalebi

AHMEDABAD: On Tuesday, Amdavadis will relish piping hot twirls of fafdas and syrupy golden jalebis as their Dussehra treat.
It is believed that Lord Rama loved jalebis (called shashkouli in that age) and since Dussehra is celebrated to mark Lord Rama's win over Ravana, jalebis have become central to the celebration. In the case of fafdas, legend says it was the favourite of Hanuman.In Gujarat, every fast is broken with a dish made of gram flour. Hence the Navratri fast ends with fafdas. While Amdavadis made a beeline to popular fafda centres till Monday evening, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) conducted raids on 30-odd fafda joints across the city and collected samples.
At any rate, the increase in the prices of chana dal may force Amdavadis to enjoy the festive treat prudently . The price of fafda has increased by around 7%-12% compared to last year.“The price of fafda ranged from Rs 340 to Rs 400 per kg last year,“ said Murlidhar Agarwal, the president of the Ahmedabad Mishthan and Farsaan Association. “This year, fafda price has increased to Rs 360 to Rs 450 per kg. The price of jalebi has also increased from Rs 400 to Rs 480 per kg to Rs 450 to Rs 550 per kg.“ Naresh Tank of Laxmi Gha tia Rath told TOI that consumption of fafdas was low this year.“Prices of ingredients have increased, spiking the cost of fafdas. Now, a 50 kg bag of besan flour costs Rs 6,700; it was Rs 3,500 last year,“ Tank said. There are 400 registered members of the association and 3,000-odd small counters have been set up in the city to sell Dussehra treats. Hence it is difficult to estimate the quantity of the sale.
As for the AMC raids, officials said that in all 54 samples from the 30 establishments were collected and notices were issued to 144. An administrative charge of Rs 24,500 was collected and 457 kg of stale fafda and jalebi were destroyed.
The AMC took samples of fafda from a well-known eatery in Vastrapur based on suspicions of unhygienic products.Jalebi samples were collected from an outlet on Gandhi Road as well. AMC officials said that in order to meet orders, some eateries make items three days in advance and fry them again before selling.