Duke of Delhi Snack Mixes: Orange & Nut / Chocolate Chunk

Here's a brand new product which is exciting and innovative. I was lucky enough to be sent two tubs of the intriguing Duke of Delhi Snack Mixes to review. They promise to be a mix of "authentic Indian ingredients and flavours, infused with a ZING of British spirit". They are all handmade and hand mixed with natural flavours.

Duke of Delhi has a very strong family ethos behind the company. The founders visited India as children and were captivated by the flavours and the street snacks they encountered there. They have been inspired by these flavours to create the unique Duke of Delhi range. It's all about flavour combinations which are delightfully unexpected.

I love the bold packaging and imagery used on the snacks. There is a lovely procession of vehicles (or is that a traffic jam?) on the label which conjures up the vibrancy of Delhi. The elephant on the front is rather regal looking and pulling a grand carriage. The label mentions that 7% of profit goes to the Elephant Family charity. Elephants are clearly important to the founders and there are lovely stories about a boy and his Elephant (called Duke!), along with some poignant illustrations, on the website.

I received two gorgeous sounding flavours. Orange & Nut Delhi Mix and the Chocolate Chunk Delhi Mix. These tantalising sweet and savoury combinations are no doubt part of a growing trend for such upmarket gourmet products. Many of the major supermarkets are now bolder in their choice of flavour combinations. The obvious one is salted caramel which is often found in ice creams and chocolate. I've always been keen on sweet and salty combinations and it looks like I'm not the only one.

The snacks came in very handy tins. They look very impressive and the tins are useful for both serving the snacks and keeping them fresh in between nibbles! These snack mixes are both based on a traditional Delhi street snack called "Chevdo". This differs quite a bit from the more well known Indian snack mix, Bombay mix. The most obvious difference are the potato crisps used. These are essentially grated fried potato and are absolutely delicious. I loved the look of these snack mixes as soon as I saw these potato strips!

Chocolate Chunk Delhi Mix

I couldn't wait to try the Chocolate Chunk Delhi Mix because of my aforementioned love for salty and sweet combinations. My husband doesn't always agree with me on this and so he was a bit more sceptical about this snack. The ingredients are potato, gram dal, moong, rice flakes, raisins, cashew nuts, peanuts, oil, salt, sugar, Indian spices and chocolate chunks. There is an extremely generous amount of chocolate chunks in each tub. You can't be in any doubt that this is a Chocolate Chunk mix. I got several chocolate chunks in each little handful which almost makes this more of a sweet snack than a savoury one. The chocolate is dark and deliciously full of flavour. There's no bland mass produced chocolate here but it's certainly not one of those gourmet chocolates that is just too dark and overwhelming. This chocolate has a lovely cocoa flavour whilst still being creamy and sweet.

The rest of the mix is made up of the potato strips and a selection of lentils and nuts. They are perfectly spiced with just the right amount of heat. It's a million times nicer than the common Indian snack mixes you can get from the supermarket. The herbs and spices are fragrant rather than overpowering which leads to a very fresh tasting product. The fusion of sweet and spicy flavours is just sensational. This is very much a luxurious grown-up snack to enjoy with friends and family. My husband couldn't believe how much he enjoyed the flavours and it has finally convinced him that sweet and savoury does work!

The Orange & Nut Delhi Mix was fascinating because I couldn't really imagine how the orange and spicy flavours would work together. The ingredients are potato, gram dal, moong, rice flakes, raisins, cashew nuts, peanuts, oil, salt, sugar, Indian spices and natural orange pieces.

Orange & Nut Delhi Mix

I'm also not the hugest fan of orange peel or dried fruit so I didn't think I would like the combination as much as the Chocolate Chunk. Thankfully the pieces of orange in this mix are not orange peel but little chunks of natural orange. They taste sweet and chewy on their own but add a lovely sweetness and citrus kick to the whole mix. The savoury flavours are the same as the previous mix but the orange pieces instead of chocolate makes it a very different snack. The orange and spicy taste fusion is divine and surprisingly this mix was actually my favourite out of the two.

For those people that don't like the idea of such sweet and savoury combinations there is also the Extra Nutty Snack Mix which sounds like a more traditional option. The Duke of Delhi website also offers a mouth watering range of biscuits on their website. They are made with authentic Indian ingredients and semolina, for an extra special crunch.  Check these out for exciting flavour combinations - Fig, Cashew & Chocolate Chip, Coconut & Raspberry, Cinnamon, Cardamon, Cloves & Vanilla.

When it comes to family birthdays or Christmas I love giving food hampers as presents. They are easy to put together and can be personalised with the recipient in mind. I will certainly be buying some Duke of Delhi snacks and biscuits to add to these hampers in the future as they would make a sensational addition. They are just completely different and unexpected but crucially still delicious!

Find Duke of Delhi online, or if you are lucky enough to live close by, also at Marylebone market. Hopefully these snacks will be picked up by one of the supermarket chains, I can imagine this range fitting in perfectly at Waitrose.

UPDATE: Duke of Delhi are now stocked at Fortnum & Mason in London. Congratulations to Duke of Delhi!

Let me know if you have ever tried these Duke of Delhi snacks, I'd love to read your views on them.