What the fudge!

FOOD SINFUL PACKAGING NEAT SERVICE POLITE COST AFFORDABLE VERDICT 154The sharp yellow colour resembling sunshine in a colouring book the crackling of the paper when you untwine a green top and the burst of khattameetha flavours when you pop a Mango Bite into your mouth mdash an averagetasting candy that has had our heart for years simply because of the memories it can evoke It is much the same riot of emotions Lonavalastyle fudge can inspire in a Mumbaikar because it is so much more than a treat mdash itrsquos the rapturous wind in your face when you hang your head outside the car windowRiding on the sentiment attached to chocolate fudge mdash now ubiquitous across Mumbai mdash Azhaan and Tozaar Cooper Iranian brothers aged 29 and 24 have started Nine 15 The delivery service offers seven flavours of the chocolatey dessert Whatrsquos different though is that they give the traditional sweet treat a newage spin So you have versions like the orange chocolate cointreau chocolate nut mint and nut rum and raisinItrsquos a natural evolution considering the Cooper Brothers mdash who until last month were working at restaurateur Amrish Arorarsquos twin restaurants in Cuffe Parade mdash come from a family with an interest in food Training at Le Cordon Bleu Pasadena between 2014 and 2016 added skill to complement their lineage City Bakery in Pune belongs to my uncle and my motherrsquos family used to own Nizam Bakery in Kalyan Though it is shut now fudge is something my mother has been making since we were little The longer we worked in the industry the more we wanted to start something of our own So we decided to take these classic recipes and make them more suited to our times Tozaar saysWhat he means is that their nutbased fudges carry modern flavour preferences including mint The experimenting however is not limited to flavour alone Tozaar claims Wersquore using premium ingredients like Dutch cocoa instead of drinking chocolate quality alcohol and oils This explains the unfamiliar texture of their fudge notwithstanding the decadence We sampled four variants and this is how they fairedMinty freshThe chocolate nut mint Rs325 for 200gms fudge is denser than the other variants The mint which comes from mint oil is subtle but has a stronger aftertaste It could work for those who like this odd combinationNuts about thisWith a gooey texture oodles of hazelnut adding a delicious mouthfeel to the chocolate hazelnut Rs387 for 250 gms this decadent variant is our favourite It has the right amount of sweetness sitting perfectly between dark and milk chocolate its palpable stickiness such that the mix melts into a pleasurable sludge in your mouthGet your caffeine fixThe chocolate walnut coffee Rs300 for 250gms is delish but it feels slightly charred perhaps from the overuse of coffee The lingering bitterness that settles on your palate after yoursquove gulped a spoonful is nice but the subtleyetsharp notes of the walnut are entirely lost It would taste great as cold milkshake thoughHow orange is too orangeThe chocolate walnut orange cointreau Rs425 for 250 gms has a mushy texture and a strong citric essence that overpowers the velvety appeal of chocolate While the walnuts help add crunch the orangeflavoured liqueur is much too strong and takes away from the classic combination of ingredients instead of adding a pleasant headiness the way rum does to a Christmas cakeAT Nine 15 Noshirwan Mansion Colaba CALL 8291185667 minimum order 1 kg upto 3 km radius and 4 kg for delivery in the suburbs orders need to be placed 24 hours in advanceShe wears Lonavalarsquos fudge crownThere is a charm in consuming what comes to you after a slight struggle Half the joy of finally digging a spoon into a pillowy brick of Cooperrsquos Fudges amp Chikkis from Lonavala is the knowledge that itrsquos made in small batches It is sold out every evening it might run out before you get to the end of a serpentine line leading up to the modest shop in Jaichan Chowk and no more than two people are aware of the original recipe Everything about it is quaint including the pin code 410401 Itrsquos also the original Thanks to its fame brands like Maganlal now produce their own recipe runny and vapid Over time the over 80yearold shop has introduced other flavours like kaju kesar and kopra pink but their plain chocolate and choco walnut remain bestsellers Unlike the Cooper brosrsquo version from Mumbai Rashna Irani of Cooperrsquos Lonavala doesnrsquot produce what the Parsis call lsquochikkatrsquo or sticky fudge Itrsquos lighter in colour nuttier muddier and well carries a fascinating story of how the recipe fought the odds to survive handed down across families But thatrsquos for another day and another column in this paperCALL 9850616181 they deliver large orders to Mumbaiby Tinaz NooshianCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also 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