Panjiri is a North Indian sweet and it is mostly made as prashad after pooja and also for new mothers. It can also be made into laddu by adding more ghee to it and binding to make small balls. Here is how to make it in a traditional Punjabi way.
Panjiri is a very healthy, highly nourishing food given to new mothers in Punjab and other states of North India.
The ingredients in the dish are thought to help them heal, increase breast milk and speed up the recovery process. Don’t you agree with me?
It is also treated as a nutritional supplement, given when people are sick or need to gain strength.
It can be eaten just as it is or made into ladoos and stored and is a fantastic evening snack for kids as it is loaded with nutrients from Ghee and Dry fruits.
BTW Moong Dal Halwa is also one of my favorite dishes to have as snack or dessert.
I remember my mom making box full of Panjiri just at the onset of winters and the box was always replenished with new stock through out the 3 months of winters.
When we came back from school, each of us was given a bowl full to snack on.
Panjiri can be made into Panjiri Ladoo as well by adding some more ghee and then binding the mixture into small ladoos.
If you feel difficulty in eating Panjiri, just add some more ghee and bind them to make small bite sized ladoos.
Also called Dabra, it is a calorie high sweet, that is loaded with the goodness of ghee and dry fruits. Drooling right?
Panjiri is also very popular in North Indian Poojas and some people make Panjiri Barfi too for the prasad.
Making it is very easy but slightly time consuming. You should roast edible gum crystals or gond, dry fruits and lotus seed in ghee until golden brown.
Then fry wheat flour in the remaining ghee until light brown. The dry fruits are powdered and all the ingredients are mixed with powdered sugar to make this North Indian recipe.
The dish is similar to Sooji Ka Halwa made with semolina and Aate Ka Halwa.
Ingredients
Where to buy ingredients to make it?
If you stay in India, the ingredients to make Panjiri are easily available in any grocery store.
Sometimes, edible gum is not easily available or is not clean. I like to buy it from here online. You can also buy Makhana and Melon Seeds online.
If you stay in the US, here is where you can buy, Edible Gum, Makhana and Melon Seeds from.
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Step by Step Recipe
Heat some ghee in a pan.
Roast gond in it until puffed up.
Add makhana in the same pan and roast until crisp.
Add some more ghee and roast almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, melon seeds, flax seeds and coconut.
Now roast poppy seeds until slightly browned.
Take out all the ingredients in a plate and let them cool.
Add the roasted ingredients in a blender. Blend to make coarse powder.
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan.
Add flour and sooji to it.
Fry the flour until slightly browned.
Add the ground dry fruits, ginger powder and powdered sugar in the flour. Mix the ingredients well.
Panjiri Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp Semolina
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 3 tsp Dried ginger powder
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 1 and ½ tbsp Gond / Edible Gum
- 2 tbsp Makhane
- 5-6 Almonds
- 5-6 Cashew nuts
- 5-6 Pistachios
- 2 tbsp Dried coconut (Sliced)
- 1 tbsp Musk melon seeds
- ½ tbsp Flaxseeds (Optional)
- 1 tsp Poppy seeds
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan.
- Roast gond until puffed.
- Take out on a plate.
- In the same ghee, roast the makhana until crisp.
- Take out on a plate.
- Add another tsp of ghee in the pan.
- Roast almond, cashew nuts, pistachios, coconut, musk melon seeds and flax seeds.
- Take out on a plate.
- Roast poppy seeds until browned.
- Take out on a plate.
- Let the dry fruits cool down.
- Grind them to make a coarse powder.
- In the remaining ghee, roast whole wheat flour and sooji on medium heat until golden brown. Keep stirring continuously.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool.
- Keep mixing through out the process.
- Once the flour mixture is cooled, add powdered sugar, dry ginger powder and ground dry fruits.
- Mix well.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
