Surtis gorge on fafdas, jalebis worth 3crore on Dussehra

SURAT : Dussehra, the festival that celebrates the win of good over evil, is one day when the food-loving Surtis like to savour delicious fafdas and jalebis to their fill.
Farsan and mithai shops across the city opened up early in the morning to serve hot fafdas and jalebis to their customers. Since morning, thousands of residents queued up outside the farsan stalls and mithai shops to buy fafdas and jalebis.As per an estimate, Surtis gorged on fafdas and jalebis worth Rs 3 crore on Tuesday.
A few years ago, only a few farsan shops used to sell fafdas. Now even on routine days, most of the farsan shops dish out fafdas along with papaya chutney. There is no beating the trend of savouring fafdas and jalebis on Dussehra in the Diamond City.
While residents in the walled city and posh areas like Athwalines, City Light, Piplod and Ichhanath savoured fafdas and jalebis, people in the diamond hub of Varachha and Katargam celebrated the festival with a combination of 'ganthia' and 'jalebi'.
"The business was phenomenal. We sold more than Rs 2 lakh worth of fafdas and jalebis on Dussehra," said Channabhai Patel, owner of Adarsh Farsan. "Off late, people here have started savouring fafdas and jalebis on Dussehra. For us it offers a big business opportunity."
Another farsan mart owner in Chauta Bazaar, Dhanji Shanker, said "Most of our customers placed orders two days in advance for both fafdas and jalebis. This time we offered pure Rajasthan jalebis fried in pure ghee."
But the 'poor man's sweet jalebi' comes really expensive in the Diamond City. Price of pure ghee 'jalebi' ranges from Rs 350 to Rs 400 per kg at top sweet shops in the city, while 'fafda' sells for about Rs 150 to Rs 200 per kilogram.