‘Salem Jilebi’ in high demand

Preparation of Salem Jilebi in progress at Guhai in Salem. 

Nothing expresses the joyous celebration of Deepavali than sweets, apart from the new apparels and crackers.

The list of plenty of mouth-watering sweets is endless. However, among the variety of options, ‘jilebi’ is served as the ‘celebration sweet of India’

The ‘Salem Jilebi’ prepared by a group of families in Guhai area in Salem city is a major attraction with the people of the western districts.

About 15 families are involved in making this traditional jilebi in their households for the past many decades in Guhai area. This sweet is very popular and in good demand not only among the local people, but also among business houses, which offer them as Deepavali gift to their workers.

It is common to spot men and women preparing the traditional jilebi in their houses in the Mariamman-Kaliamman temple street in Guhai during round the year. During the Deepavali festival season, the demand is so high, that all members of the family are involved in making this sweet since break of the dawn till late evening hours.

The taste of Salem jilebi remains constant for many decades thanks to years of experience of the people. This sweet is made by deep frying batter in circular shapes, which are then soaked in sugar syrup.

As usual, the families involved in this business started receiving Deepavali orders from all sections of the society one month ahead. The main customers are the people who collect monthly instalments from the working class and weaker sections for meeting the expenses during the Deepavali festival. Many such customers have been placing orders with these families for years together.

Many business houses too have placed orders with these families, which have kept them on their toes to meet the deadline.

According to M. Rajasekaran of Sri Shanmugavilas Jilebi Kadai in Mariamman Temple street, it was his grandfather Vasu Iyer who initiated the process of making ‘jilebis’ in the house holds mainly to serve the weaker sections. It became so popular and thriving business about 50 families were involved in this trade till a few decades ago. With many descendants after acquiring education moving away in search of jobs, at present only 15 families are continuing this practice.

The main advantages of the Salem jilebi are that they are made in households in a hygienic condition by experienced hands, use quality ingredients and the reasonable price, Mr. Rajasekaran says. Due to heavy demand, the members of his sisters’ families too join him during the Deepavali season to meet the demand. At present about 15 members belonging to four close relatives are involved in preparing the jilebi in his household, Mr. Rajasekaran says.

The quality and the low price, made jilebi an instant hit with the poor people. “We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the quality of jilebi, despite fall in the profit rate due to steep hike in the price of all ingredients. The apprehension of losing the patronage of customers, we are not able to hike the price too. Further, the competition from the major sweet stalls has made us to wage a rigorous battle for our survival”, he adds.

The popularity of Salem jilebi could be understand from the fact that they are now been taken to foreign countries by the native of this district.

Now, these tradition people too have started adopting latest packing methods to face the competition. “Earlier we used to pack the jilebi in banana leaves. Later we switched over to paper covers and now we use extravagantly decorated boxes”, he adds.

This delicious sweet is priced at Rs. 200 a kg and this proves a big boon to the poor and downtrodden in celebrating the festival.

Adulteration will not be allowed

The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department is going all out to check adulteration in the preparation of Deepavali sweets.

A team of officials led by T. Anuradha, Designated Officer of the Department, has been visiting various sweetmeat stalls in Salem city and other parts of the district to ensure that only quality ingredients such as dal, ghee, edible oil, jaggery are used in the preparation of Deepavali sweets. The team on Monday visited the sweet stalls functioning in Shevvapet and checked the quality of all ingredients.

Dr. Anuradha has also issued strict directive on the formalities to be adopted by the workers involved in the preparation of sweets. They have been directed to adopt hygienic techniques and keep the surroundings neat and tidy. The team members collected samples of the sweets and sent the same to the testing laboratory.

Dr. Anuradha said that the department officials have been conducting surprise checks in the sweetmeat stalls for the past two weeks. The households where sweets are prepared for local sales were also inspected.

The consumers purchasing savouries should check the packing date and expiry date on the packets. They should bring to the notice of the authorities about the packets which were not displaying these details, the designated officer added.