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Indian Jaggery or Gur
pure and natural sweetener
use jagery in cooking and to make brittles or just by itself
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What is Jaggery?
Jaggery has a wonderful mellow sweet natural taste with a hint of sour taste. Jaggery or gur is an unrefined sugar loved in India since ancient times by itself, in its cooking and served in its temples. Gur or jaggery has wonderful taste, texture ranges from golden brown to dark brown in color and may be called the natural gold from heaven . It is dried sugarcane, date palms, sap of coconut or sago palm juice. This raw juice is boiled down in iron pans and It is then formed into blocks. The joy of jaggery is the simple processing process which yeilds a more natural concentrated sugar with its molasses and crystals and many natural vitamins and minerals intact. The jaggery gains iron from the iron pans heated to 200°C.  It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, moisture content of up to 20%, and the remainder made up of other insoluble matter such as ash, proteins and bagasse fibers

I grew up in the Indian state of Maharashtra which is the largest producer and consumer of jaggery. We would flavor our curries and dals with jaggery. In warm weather a sherbet of lime and jaggery would be served. The Puran poli is a stuffed flat truely heavenly bread with a mix of jaggery and boiled channa dal was a culinary highlight for us.  Makar Sankranti a large Maharashtrian festival favourite is a sweetmeat called tilgul would be served.

Cooking

I would suggest to use jaggery or maple syrup for cooking over sugar.  Add to coffee and tea. If cooking with milk add jaggery at the end as it can curdle the milk if added earlier on.
A popular sweet stuffing in Maharashtra
2 cup grated Gur (Jaggery)
1/4 cup dried shredded Coconut
1/4 cup ground Peanuts
1/2 cup ground Sesame Seeds
1 tbs Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup Besan
1 tsp Cardamom Powder

In Rajasthan it is regularly consumed as a sweetener and is a part of many sweet delicacies such as gur ka chawal (rice with gur).
Jaggery Rice
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice (washed and soaked for half hour.)
1 cup gur (Jaggery) made into crumbs
4 green cardamom pods powdered
3 cloves
1/4 cup ghee
4 cups water
Directions
In a small pot, bring water to a boil; add the drained rice, cloves and cardamom. Bring to a rolling boil, lower heat and simmer 'till rice is soft or cooked. Drain rice well in a colander.
Heat ghee in a skillet; add rice and mix well. Mix in the jaggery and cover pan and heat on low. Stir and serve hot.

Many of the festivals are incomplete without gur as it is offered to the deity during worship. When we would go to the temple we would wait to get the gur and roasted garbanzos that they hand out to us in the end. The combination is magical, simple, natural, healthy and has a wonderful taste and texture.

More Jaggery Recipes are given below the article.

In cooking jaggery can sweeten both sweet and savory dishes.
Savoury Dishes include flavoring steamed, spiced veggies, dal, amati or Maharashtrian dal,  curry or sambar. Jaggery is also added to lentil soups (dal) to add sweetness to balance the spicy, salty and sour components. Jaggery is indespensible to make sweet, sour chutneys. These chutneys are then used to add flaor to meals, ‘chaats’ (snacks), samosas, bhel puri, vadas. In Gujarati cuisine jaggery (gaur) is added in many, many dishes.  In Bengal there are many sweet and sour dishes/curry made with tomato, panchporan and jaggery. In Uttar Pradesh Kaddu or pumpkin is sweetened with jaggery. In Punjab jaggery is added to carrot, cauliflower and tirnip pickle.

The most popular use of gur is in desserts. Gur is added to rich, brown puddings in South India – called payasums - made from jaggery and rice, wheat or dal. These delicious desserts are enriched with spices like cardamom and dried fruits, sesame seeds, shredded coconut, peanuts, coconut milk and whole nuts. In Bengali cuisine it is very common in making sweet dishes. Special sweet dishes are made by mixing jaggery with milk and coconut. Popular sweet dishes like Naru or Patisapta Pitha are made by mixing jaggery with coconut shreddings.

Jaggery is also molded into novelty shapes as a type of candy. Sweets like jaggery brittles  combined with sesame seeds, cashew nuts, pea nuts and jaggery cake made with pumpkin preserve, and spices. ‘Gazak Rolls’ prepared in pure ghee with Jaggary (Gur).

The sugar may be eaten in small slices alone as a dessert.
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Health
Jaggery is a rich source of iron due to the process involved, using iron utensils[citation needed]. It is considered by some to be a particularly wholesome sugar and, unlike refined sugar, it retains more mineral salts. Moreover, the process does not involve chemical agents. Indian Ayurvedic medicine considers jaggery to be beneficial in treating throat and lung infections; Sahu and Saxena[4] found that in rats jaggery can prevent lung damage from particulate matter such as coal and silica dust. Gandhi felt that jaggery was healthier than refined sugar, as it was not introduced into the blood as rapidly.] As such, he used it in his own personal diet and recommended it to use in his invented goat-milk diet.

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Jaggery or Gur Recipes

South Indian Sweet Pongal Recipe
Special Recipe For pongal Festival
Ingredients
• 1 cup Raw Rice
• 1/2 cup Green Gram Dal
• 1 cup Milk
• 3 cups jaggery (powdered)
• 4 tbsp Ghee
• 2 tbsp Cashewnuts
• 2 tbsp Raisins
• 5 no Cardamoms (powdered)
• 2 no Cloves (powdered)
• 1 small piece Nutmeg (grated or powdered)
• A pinch of Saffron
• 2 1/2 cups Water

Method
1. Roast dry the green gram dal for a couple of minutes.
2. Cook the rice and green gram dhal with 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup milk in the microwave and set aside.
3. Dissolve the jaggery in 3/4 cup water and cook on a low heat till the jaggery melts.
4. Strain the jaggery to remove the dirt.
5. Put the syrup once more on the heat and stir till it becomes slightly sticky.
6. Add the cooked rice and dhal.
7. Heat the 4 tbsp ghee.
8. Fry the cashewnuts and raisins and add to the pongal.
9. Add the powdered cardamoms, cloves nutmeg and saffron.
10. Mix well and serve hot.

Jaggery Puttu recipe
Rice - 400 gms
Salt - a pinch
Jaggery - 1/2 kg
Cardomoms - 5-6
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Dry roast 400g of rice and powder it finely.
Heat equal quantity of water to lukewarm, add a pinch of salt.
Pour this water into the powdered rice and mix into a paste.
Steam this paste in a pressure cooker fully until you get 4-5 whistles.
To 50 ml water add jaggery ,cardomoms, and 1/4 cup grated coconut and make syrup out of jaggery .
Break the cooked rice dough into fine pieces, and mix it with the jaggery syrup.
Add roasted cashewnuts.

Chikki Or Maharashtrian Brittle Recipe
Ingredients
100g/3½oz jaggery
50g/2oz cashewnut pieces
Method
1. Place the jaggery into a small pan and heat gently, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
2. Add the cashews and stir to coat.
3. Spread the cashews onto a sheet of baking paper or an oiled plate, working quickly before the jaggery starts to harden - if it does, return to the heat for a few seconds until melted again. Allow to cool completely, then break into pieces.
4. When cold, store in an airtight container until needed. Serve as a snack

Jubin's Jaggery Puffed Rice Recipe Submitted by jubin Makes 15 servings
similar to rice krispies, but made with nuts and piloncillo (jaggery)
Ingredients10 cups rice, puffed
40 g jaggery
1/2 cup peanuts, dry roasted
1/2 cup chickpeas, dry roasted
1 tsp canola oil
Directions
melt jaggery with a little water in a pan add rice, peanuts and chickpeas mix to coat spread in an oiled shallow dish cut into squares when cooled

Peanut Jaggery Chikki (Brittle) Recipe
In India peanut brittle is called Chikki made with Jaggery (Raw sugar-cane sugar) and peanuts
Modern Peanut Brittle recipe
Ingredients
Dry roasted salted Peanuts shelled halves: 2 Cups
Jaggery: 1 Cup
Water: 2 Tablespoons
Ghee: 1 teaspoon
Method
1. Combine Jaggery and water in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Bring it a boil. The experience Halwaii knows from the bubbles on the bottom, when the syrup is ready. Instead we will use a candy thermometer. Heat to 260°F.
2. Combine roasted nuts and Ghee. Heat it to 290°F.
3. Line a baking sheet pan with a parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper with Ghee or Butter.
4. Pour mixture on to the sheet pan. Use the wooden spoon and flatten it out to about ¼" thick slab. You want it done while the mixture is hot.
5. Let it cool completely before breaking in to pieces

Khoa aur Gur Ka Gaajar Halva)
Category: Halva
Makes 4 to 6 servings

   _ cup raw almonds slices
   _ tablespoon Dessert Masala
   _ pound carrots, scraped, washed, and grated
   _  1/2 cup ground/grated jaggery (gur), or to taste
   _ 3/4 cups heavy cream
   _ cups nonfat dry milk
   _ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
   _ tablespoons raw pistachio nuts halves


1. Soak the almonds in water to cover for 30 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, prepare the dessert masala. Drain the almonds.
2. Place the carrots in a large, heavy wok or a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat about 5, minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and cook another 5 minutes. Add the jaggery and cook until melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring as needed, until the jaggery is completely absorbed into the carrots, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. While the carrots are cooking, make the khoa: Combine the cream, dry milk, and ricotta cheese in a large nonstick skillet or saucepan and stir over medium heat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture is almost dry, 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Mix the khoa into the carrots, along with the soaked almonds and the pistachios, and cook over low heat until the halva is completely dry and clumpy, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the silver leaves and dessert masala, and serve hot.
From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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