It's said a dessert is like a feel-good song and the best ones can make you dance. But many new-age diets give these indulgences a bad name. But, with Mumbai's Vile Parle resident Chef Yashodhan Deshmukh's gulab jamuns, ras malai, phirni, puran poli, shrikhand and jalebis, you can feast to your heart's content.

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Desserts sold under his Ville Parle-based sweets store Sollasa (a play on 'solace') have been tested in a National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories approved lab to show a glycemic index (relative ability of a carbohydrate to increase glucose in the blood) below 30 and a glycemic load (effect of consuming a gram of glucose) of 10. "Unlike other mithaiwalas in India, we display our certificates on the wall of our outlet. Customers have the right to know," insists Deshmukh.

They also come fortified with probiotic properties for gut health and proper digestion. Having these sweets is scientifically good for health. The Mumbai chef admits most celebrations are incomplete without dessert. "A dessert helps release the serotonin hormone that lifts mood, facilitates digestion and loosens stomach muscles. It brings down blood pressure and hence chances of a stroke," he says. "Healthy desserts improve testosterone levels and hence sexual performance."

But aren't there restrictions linking desserts to lifestyle diseases? Deshmukh insists these are not linked to eating sweets. "Consumption of processed sugars through junk food, soft drinks and ready-made sweets is bad, but sugar in its original form (traditional cooking) is beneficial. Naturally sweetened desserts [with plant-based sweeteners] with high-proteins and low calories improve weight control and decrease food cravings." He explains that his naturally sweetened desserts provide antioxidants that help with immunity and fibre, which promotes digestive health, appetite control and positive cholesterol levels.

He should know. Though a chef by training, he worked as a PA to senior Maharashtra politico Dilip Walse Patil from 2006-2017. "Hectic schedules meant irregular food and sleep. At 90kg plus, I was both prediabetic and obese."

A health scare made him quit his job and devote himself to regaining his health. He used his training as a chef to try permutations and combinations of healthy food options for himself. "Since I've such a sweet tooth, it became the area of focus," he laughs, adding, "Like most Indians I crave traditional sweets over cakes, puddings, pastries, etc. The idea of Sollasa desserts, which can be consumed guilt-free by weight-watchers and diabetic patients came from there." He is quick to underline how he abhors the chemically synthesised sugar alternatives being peddled in the market. "I am shocked these get sold given how they've been proven to be carcinogenic."

Little wonder then that the venture, which was soft-launched only six months ago, is making waves not only across India but even abroad. "We were overwhelmed with the orders for our healthy Diwali faraal from Toronto, London and Dubai. Within India too there was a flurry of orders from Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore."