Kheer-made ground, Sandesh dipped in flag colours: Kolkata abuzz with World Cup fever

Kolkata: As the World Cup frenzy reaches feverish pitch in the alleys and lanes of Kolkata, the confectioners here are set to make the most of the occasion by rolling out FIFA-themed cakes and sweetmeats.

From a kheer-made football ground, complete with goal posts and edible figurines of players, to Sandesh dipped in the flag colors of Germany and Argentina, the sweet shops here have spread out a wide array for the soccer-crazy fans of the city.

(Photo: PTI)

A prominent confectioner, with branches across the city, has set up a giant football stadium with eight to 10kg of 'sandesh' at one of the stores. The players of two rival teams are seen facing each other on the pistachio-sprinkled ground.

(Photo: AFP)

It took the sweetmeat makers a week to come up with the sandesh-made stadium, said Pompy Mulllick, the owner of the shop.

"The stadium has been put on display at one of our stores to draw customers. It is not for sale. A replica of the golden cup, also made of sandesh, has caught the fancy of customers. People are buying it in large numbers," she said.

The leading sweet-maker is planning to come up with more surprises as the event inches towards the knockout round, she said.

(Photo: PTI)

"We have mostly used sweet, kheer, pista to prepare the sweets while natural fruit color preservatives have been used to add colour to the items," she added.

Another popular confectioner in the city is preparing customised rosogollas and sandesh, taking inspiration from the jersey colours of three strong contenders of the Cup - Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

"The mango 'sandesh' with green pista is themed on Brazil, the Argentina sandesh has been made of blue berry and vanilla. There is also World Cup Memento 'sandesh' made with chocolate," said Amitava Dey, who runs the sweetmeat chain.