Hello all !! We all love to indulge ,when it comes to food! It is relished more if it is nutritious and energizing too. “Panjiri” or “Kasaar” or “Saandha” is the famous Indian sweet mix of nuts, flour and clarified butter(ghee). It is prepared differently in different parts of India. In U.P., where I first learnt what “Sandha” is , people prepare it for New-mothers (post-partum) ,since their bones and bodies need recovery after delivery. It is prepared with Bura(sugar) or Tagaar. I , however, re-invented the old recipe following cues and recipe of my dear friend Shipra Gupta.

I had enjoyed this Panjiri at my home in the form of “laddoo” or as a mixture since I was a kid. After my post-partum, I was fortunate enough to receive the same love from my Mother-in-law and my mother, who prepared these laddoos or mixture for me in ample amount and fed me daily with a bowl full of Panjiri. 😀 . Today , I fondly remember those days and feel satisfied.

Going back to the recipe, I have added jaggery (raw sugar) to this and believe me , it tastes different but good enough as per my daughter. You may also go on to add dry ginger powder(soonth),Pistachios(pista), Cashewnuts(kaju), Dry dates(Chhuware), Pine nuts(chilgoje) and coconut flakes(khopra) which I didn’t. Adjust the sweetness level ,as you prefer. If you are preparing for new mothers, dry ginger powder is a must, because it helps in aiding the digestive system in women at that time. I omitted the kaju -pista because of their high calories and low nutritional value. So let’s go to the recipe now…

INGREDIENTS:
1. Whole wheat Flour (Multi-grain or plain atta) – 2 cups
2. Jaggery (gur) – 1 and ¹⁄₄ to 1 and ¹⁄₂ cups
3. Silvered almonds(badam) – ¹⁄₂ cup
4. Foxnuts/lotus-seeds (makahne) halved or coarsely ground – ¹⁄₂ cup
5. Gum acacia (Gond/Dink) – ¹⁄₄ cup
6. Melon seeds (kharbuje giri) – ¹⁄₄ cup
7. Poppy seeds(khuskhus/poshak) – 2 tbsp
8. Walnuts halved (akhrot) – 3 tbsp
9. Clarified butter (ghee) – 1 cup
10. Cardamom powder (Elaichi) – 2 tsp
11. Dry coconut flakes(khopre slices) – 4 tbsp (optional)
12. Dry Ginger powder (soonth) – 4 tbsp (optional)

METHOD:
| Preparation time : 15 mins | Cooking time: 40 to 45 mins | Makes almost 5 cups of Panjiri |

1. For making Panjiri , we start with prepping the nuts. If you don’t have silvered or sliced almonds, you can start by chopping them. I silvered almonds, roughly chopped lotus seeds and walnuts, ground cardamom and grated jaggery. Grated or shredded or chopped jaggery dissolves and melts faster than the lumps. It is always good to save our time at the front. (A stitch in time saves nine.). If you are adding cashews and pistachios , chop them finely too.
   

grated jaggery

silvered almonds

chopped lotus seeds

1. Take a heavy wok(kadhai). Heat it at medium, add the poppy seeds(khuskhus) into it. Dry roast them at low to medium heat for 4 to 5 mins till they change color. Don’t wait for turning them black. Just a slight change in color is enough. 😉
   

2. Add 2 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter ) into the same wok and heat it at medium. Start with roasting the gond(gum). The gum will swell up after a minute and when it changes color slightly , take it out with a slotted spoon ,draining the excess ghee back in the wok. A perfectly roasted and cooked gond will crumble in between both the fingers and turn into powder. This will take around 2 to 3 mins. I roasted them in two parts cause they have to be taken out as soon as they swell. To avoid burning in haste , you can use this tip too.
   

3. In the same ghee, now roast the almonds and walnuts at medium heat. Toss them a few times in the wok and then draining the excess ghee ,take them out in a dry plate.This will take about a minute.
   

4. Add more ghee (about 1 tbsp) if needed and similarly roast the lotus seeds at medium heat. The chopped makhane will roast faster and also easy to chew . This will take about a minute again.
   

5. In the end, add more ghee if needed, and add the melon seeds. We roast them always at the end, because they tend to sputter and darken the ghee. The trick to roast them safely is to use a cover for the wok in one hand and keep stirring them with the other hand. So while partially covering the wok, we can roast them perfectly without any splattering. Take them out as soon as you hear the popping sound, and turn off the heat.
   

6. Now in the same wok, add the remaining ghee . Let it melt. Then add the flour and stir it till all the ghee gets absorbed in the flour . Continue roasting flour till it changes color. You need to stir after every 3 seconds,so that the flour doesn’t burn. Also if you feel the mixture is too dry, you can add more ghee here.
   

7. When the flour has changed color,turned brown and smells aromatic, it is time to add all the nuts into it. Mix them instantly into the mixture and take the wok off the heat. Pour this mixture in a bowl to help it cool.
   

8. In the meanwhile , heat 2 tbsp of ghee in the same wok at medium. When the ghee is melted, add the grated or chopped jaggery into it. Stir it and try to break with the spatula. When the jaggery is melted and turned into a thick syrup, turn off the heat and pour this thick syrup in the flour-nuts mixture.
   

9. Immediately stir and mix them such that the jaggery is scattered all over the mixture. Also add the cardamom powder while mixing. When it is still warm, start making laddoos from it. Since on cooling the jaggery would set the laddoo. I was able to make just 15 to 16 laddos and then the mixture cooled and stopped coming together. Another trick is to add the jaggery in the flour while the flour is roasting and quickly add the nuts too. Then quickly turn the mixture into an already greased thali to form a burfi(fudge) kind of sweet.( Just like we prepare Sukhdi.) Mark the lines with a knife in the thali ,so that after setting you can easily remove the burfi from the thali.
   

10. If you don’t wish to make laddoos, just mix the roasted flour, nuts and melted jaggery together and the panjiri is ready to serve. This panjiri stays good for 3 months on the shelf.
    

As discussed above, the Panjiri is good for strengthening bones, muscles and in relieving the back pain. It is kind of home remedy for any physical pain. It contains ghee, which although is a saturated fat, but is better than the fat of butter. The jaggery, which is raw sugar, is better than white sugar. The almonds, walnuts help in improving eyesight and activated brain. In all it is a nutritious and delicious package.

Please share your reviews on this post! Hope you stay fit and steady!
Till then keep cooking…
🙂