Gur - The Indian Sweetener

Gur or jaggery (panela is a better-known word for it) is a natural food sweetener that accounts for more than 50% of the sugar intake in India. Made from thick and concentrated sugarcane juice, these coarse cakes have a distinctive, nutty flavor and a characteristic brown color that makes it easy to identify them.

Tasty eating

Exceptionally rich in iron, minerals and natural vitamins, gur is a natural part of the cooking process in India. For instance, a delightful blending of tastes is a distinguishing feature of Gujarati cooking. Gujaratis spice up their vegetarian curries and chutneys with generous portions of gur. Nibble on some traditional mango chutneys from Gujarat and your palate will take a double-turn! An amazing mixture of flavors hit you immediately and the most exceptional taste is the sweet lingering feel of gur.

In the South, a sliver of gur finds its way secretively into the sambhars (a thin vegetable curry) of Tamilnadu and Karnataka. In the heartland of India, gur is added to chutneys. These chutneys are then used to season crisp ‘chaats’ (snacks), samosas (triangular pastry stuffed with spicy potatoes and vegetables) and the famous doughnut-shaped vadas (deep-fried balls of dal). Here again, you have a riotous mix of tastes as sweet vies with salt and battles with the sour for supremacy.

However, the most popular use of gur is in desserts. Gur is added to rich, brown puddings – called payasums - made from rice, wheat or dal. These delicious desserts are enriched with spices like cardamom and dried fruits, coconut milk and whole nuts.

Gur also finds it way to a number of homemade confectionaries like the Chikki (hardened balls made of nuts), the appams (small deep-fried rice dumplings) and the famous sweet banana chips of Kerala.

The widespread use of gur in recipes from India is hardly surprising. The people here have a mouthful of sweet teeth and the use of gur was the only way in which they could indulge themselves before refined sugar made its way to the shores of India.