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As a child, I loved trotting to the neighbourhood sweet shop with my grandfather. Hidden amid the labyrinthine lanes of Old Delhi, the cavernous establishment, redolent with the smell of ghee and bustling with cooks frying delicacies in gargantuan woks, held me in thrall.
My favourite part, though, was the shop’s glass-fronted counter, which was lined with trays of pastel-hued barfis, syrupy gulab jamuns, rasgullas and rasmalais coated with varq, a wispy, glistening sheet of edible silver. Nose pressed against the glass, I would stare longingly at these delicacies. Diwali sweets coated in varq. Getty Images
The Indian fascination with gold and silver varq goes back centuries. Chefs and confectioners have long used it to adorn their dishes, as well as items including chyawanprash, a herbal paste said to boost immunity; paan or betel leaf; mukhwaas, a mouth freshener; candied fruits; pastry; and even mocktails. Nuts are often gilded with silver varq to make them look fes