Which is the most healthy dessert of all time? Hint: Its name’s right there in the Title!

Gul Papdi or Sukhdi, as known in Gujarat, is an Indian sweet made from wheat flour and jaggery in ghee. Sukhdi is a staple snack like biscuits available in most of the Gujarati, Marathi and Rajasthani households. It is also cooked on auspicious days or on festivals. It is all called as gorpapdi. As all three ingredients are high in calorie, and nutrition values. It is one of the best snacks for growing children especially in winters.

Here we have a famous recipe by an Indian Chef, Maunika Gowardhan. In her words “Eating anything with butter and jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) will always make me a happy girl. But when you combine them with whole wheat flour and roast it on the hob the warm, nutty, sweet smells of this dish will make it seem too hard to resist. It’s heavenly! With a hint of cardamom and ginger powder; a topping of roasted sesame seeds this is one dish that has managed to surprise me. To think that I can make anything else apart from breads or cakes with whole grain flour!

My great grandmother was the expert at making this dish and it never really took her long to put it together. In her rustic copper pot she rustled together the flour & butter, stirring away with ease. Not far in the distance everyone waited with bated breath to sample some of the goodness. For now though they had to settle for the aromas of the melting jaggery with the roasted flour that were filling the house. I know only too well how my mother relished it. She has always spoken about her fond memories when she ate aaji’s (grandmother’s) Gul papdi and almost certainly declaring that no one has ever made it better.

This is my attempt; not to make it better but more to recreate those memories through the aromas that leave my kitchen. And I have to admit (with a few variations!) I have come close. And hoping the women in my family who have influenced my cooking will be proud.

The ginger powder gives the sweet fudge a tad bit of heat which is really good. I made the fudge using two types of cane sugar. Basic powdered jaggery and a molasses dark treacly jaggery. If you want that deep treacle-like rich flavour, swap the powdered jaggery for dark molasses sugar which is readily available in stores. The higher the molasses content the darker, sweeter & stronger the flavour.”

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

• 50gms unsalted butter or ghee
• 120gms whole wheat flour
• 1/2tsp ground cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp of ginger powder
• 75gms powdered jaggery or light brown sugar
• 120mls water
• Sesame seeds & chopped almonds to garnish

Method

1. Dissolve the jaggery in the water in a small saucepan until it’s bubbling & syrupy. Set aside to cool slightly. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat the butter on a very low flame and add in the flour. Stir continuously making sure there are no lumps in the flour. Roast the flour over a low heat for 5-7 minutes until you get a nutty (gorgeous!) aroma
2. At this stage add the ground cardamom along with the ginger powder and stir for a further minute. Now add the jaggery & water syrup, a little at a time, mixing continuously. It will start to form dough like consistency. Turn the heat off and let it cool slightly for a minute or so
3. While still warm, tip the mix onto a flat surface. Start to bring it together and knead. Set in a small baking tray for a few hours in the fridge. Cut into squares sprinkle with sesame seeds and almonds. Serve with chai or dessert.

Courtesy of Chef  Maunika Gowardhan, we have the recipe for this mouth watering fudge. Jaggery is like a multi-talented ingredient, which can make wonders with any recipe that it is a part of. It has an excellent binding property which makes it ideal for delicacies requiring crunch and yet melts in mouth. Sugar on the other hand needs to be caramelised with extreme caution, if overcooked, it gets hard and inedible. 

We hope you enjoyed reading this recipe and are eager to try this at home. Share with us more interesting recipes to try with Jaggery. Also let us know, what recipes would you like us to cover next month!