JAGGERY TEA

It is simply a soul warming drink, ideal to have during winter mornings. Made by boiling palm jaggery with hand-ground spices like cinnamon, cardamom and a strong flavour of dried ginger, the ingredients add to the refreshing flavour of this drink, making it the perfect cuppa to sip on, when you are tired or down with a cold.

Ingredients

1 tbsp chopped palm jaggery

2 tbsp black tea

2 cardamoms pods

2 stick cinnamon

¼ tsp grated fresh ginger

Milk to taste

Method

Heat 2 cups of water in a non-stick pan. Add cardamoms, cinnamon and tea leaves, and bring to boil. Add milk. Once the mix starts boiling, put jaggery in a tea pot and strain in the prepare tea mixture. Stir till jaggery melts. Serve hot.

GURER SHONDESH

A light delicacy from Bengal made with curdled milk. It is an art to make this sweetmeat which requires various ingredients and practice.

Ingredients

8 cups milk

¼ cup gur (jaggery)

¼ cup lemon juice

10 pistachios, blanched and chopped

Method

Bring the milk to a boil in a deep, thick bottomed, non-stick pan. Add the lemon juice and stir till the milk curdles. Strain and immediately refresh the 'chhana' in chilled water. Put the chhana in a piece of cotton cloth and squeeze till all the water is drained out.

Knead the chhana well with the heel of your hand. Add jaggery and knead again. Cook in a non-stick pan on medium heat for 6-8 minutes.

Remove from heat and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape them with moulds or roll each portion into a ball and slightly press on the top. When cooled, place a pistachio in the top and serve.

JAGGERY MALPUA

Malpua is sweet dessert widely popular in North India. Although generally prepared using sugar, this recipe is bound to surprise your taste buds.  

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup jaggery

1 cup mawa

1 pinch of saffron

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp green cardamoms powder

5-6 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp chopped mixed nuts

Rabri to serve

Method

Heat 1 cup of water in a pan. Add jaggery, mix and cook till jaggery melts. Remove from heat and strain in a bowl. Allow it to cool down. Add mawa, saffron, ¼ cup mixed nuts and flour to the bowl, and mix well. Add milk, mix and set aside. Heat ghee in another non-stick pan. Put a ladleful of batter in it, spread into a medium disc and shallow-fry till golden. Garnish with the remaining nuts. Serve hot with rabri.

JAGGERY ROSHOGOLLA

Ingredients

1 cup chhana

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1½ cup jaggery

3 cups water

½ cup sugar

Method

First, rub the chhana for 10 minutes. Then add all-purpose flour and again rub it well. Now make even sized balls with the mixture and set aside. Take 3 cups of water and add jaggery and sugar. Let it boil for 10 minutes.

Add the cheese balls. They will eventually swell, so do not put too many at a time. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat. Keep checking the consistency of the syrup. If it gets too thick, add some water and continue to cook the roshogollas. Once they are almost double in size, remove from heat. Serve hot or cold.

GULGULA

Gulgula is made out of wheat flour and then fried in clarified butter or ghee. In Western Uttar Pradesh, this is the first dish that a new bride cooks in her new home. Gulgula is also prepared on pujas and other religious occasions.

Ingredients

250g jaggery

2 cups atta

Water, as needed

3 tbsp ghee

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ cup finely cut dry coconut pieces

¼ cup chopped cashew

¼ tsp fennel seeds

Oil for deep frying

Method

In a bowl, add grated jaggery and warm water. Make sure the water just barely covers the jaggery. Once it has softened, mix it till it is a smooth, non-lumpy paste. In another bowl, add atta, ghee, salt, and baking powder. Mix well and add the jaggery water to make a thick batter. Add coconut, cashews and fennel seeds to this batter.

Heat oil in a pan. With a wet hand, take a golf ball sized batter from the bowl. Shape it into a cylinder and drop it into the oil from the side of the pan — just like pakoras. They will float to the surface.

Stir gently. Cook until the gulgulas turn golden brown and serve.

KHEJUR GUR ER CHUTNEY

Ingredients

500g tomato

200g date palm

250g aam shotto

50g raisin

1 tsp ginger

200g jaggery

1 tsp achari masala

½ tsp turmeric powder

3-4 dry red chilli

½ tsp chat masala

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp mustard oil

Method

Chop the tomatoes into 6-8 pieces. Chop dates into thin slices after removing seeds. Cut aam shotto into small squares cube. Heat oil in a big pan and temper the oil with dried chilli and achari masala. Add ginger paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes along with turmeric powder and salt. Cook on low heat till tomatoes are soften and release lots of water. Add chopped dates, aam shotto and raisin, and cook for 10 minutes. Now add jaggery and cook till it dissolves completely. Take the chutney out of heat and sprinkle chat masala. Chutney is ready to serve.

GUR ER DUDH LAU (BOTTLE GOURD IN MILK)

Ingredients

1 small bottle gourd

2 litre milk, boiled and reduced to half

2 tbsp ghee

½ cup jaggery

2 stick cinnamon

2 green cardamom

Chopped pistachios to garnish

Method

Scrape the skin off the lau (bottle gourd), cut into chunks. Using a grater shred the bottle gourd into very thin slices. Cook the shredded gourd for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. Cool it down and wring out the excess water. In a pan, add ghee, cardamom, cinnamon and the boiled gourd and stir for 6-8 minutes. Now add milk and stir until it thickens. When the milk has thickened, add jaggery. Stir slowly and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour into a dish and set aside to cool. When cooled, put the dish in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or two. Serve the cold 'dudh lau' with chopped pistachios.

MURIR MOA (PUFFED RICE LADDU)

Ingredients

250g puffed rice

700g jaggery

2 cups water

Method

Dry roast the puffed rice in a cast iron skillet for about a minute. Take them out form the skillet and keep aside. Place jaggery and water in a pan, and dissolve the jaggery over low heat. Once the jaggery dissolves, increase the heat and bring it to boil and cook over full flame till a two-thread consistency is reached. Mix in the puffed rice quickly into the mixture. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a while. Make round balls by moistening the hands if the mixture is too sticky. Leave it to cool and serve.

Photo: LS Archive/Sazzad Ibne Sayed