Bhang gets a high-end avatar: Cupcakes

Bhang, Holi’s quintessential controlled substance, has made its way beyond the pedas and thandais it has traditionally been packed into. With the rise in upscale Holi parties thrown by the city’s elite, bhang, a potent extract of the cannabis plant, is finding its way into fancier goodies, reports Tasneem Nashrulla.

Bhang, Holi’s quintessential controlled substance, has made its way beyond the pedas and thandais it has traditionally been packed into.

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With the rise in upscale Holi parties thrown by the city’s elite, bhang, a potent extract of the cannabis plant, is finding its way into fancier goodies. A gourmet cupcake shop in the suburbs has introduced bhang cupcakes for Rs 60 a piece. Last year, a popular gelateria introduced bhang gelato.

On Friday, the cupcake shop owner was busy mixing bhang pills into a creamy chocolate mix, hurrying to meet backorders for her 12-bhang-cupcake boxes.

She uses three to four pills — each slightly larger than a marble — to spike a dozen cupcakes. More than that would be “too potent.”

“I know it’s an illegal substance, but everyone sells it openly during Holi,” she said, adding that after she started advertising these cupcakes on her Facebook page, she’s got three to four orders last week alone.