Shakarpara (Shakkar Pare, Khurma, Meetha Para, Toshe) is a North Indian sweet snack. It is crispy, deep-fried all-purpose flour cookies coated with thick sugar syrup. Use my perfect recipe to make it for your teatime snack or for festivals like Diwali, Holi, or Rakshabandhan.

About Shakarpara

Shakarpara (Sakkar Pare, Khurma, Meetha Para, Toshe, Sweet Tukdi) is a North Indian sweet snack that is made by deep-frying flour dough and then coating it with thick sugar syrup. It is fried sweet maida biscuits.

Shakkarpare (plural) are crispy and flaky in texture with a sweet caramelized sugar coating on top.

These are mostly made for weddings or festivals like Diwali, Holi, or Rakshabandhan. You can also serve them as your tea-time snack or pack them as school snacks for your kids.

The savory version of this delicious snack is called Namak Para. I have a detailed Namak Para recipe on the blog, too. Do check it out.

This sweet shakarpara recipe can be easily doubled or tripled, so make a big batch if you are making these for a gathering. If scaling the recipe, make sure to fry them in batches.

Once the Shakarpara has cooled down properly, store them in an airtight container. At room temperature, they will last for a month.

Here are some more Indian snack recipes that you might like

• Cornflakes Namkeen
• Nimki
• Cornflakes Chivda
• Namak Para
• Honey Roasted Nuts
• Methi Mathri
• Bajra Methi Dhebra

Is Shakar Para And Shankarpali The Same?

No, don’t confuse Shakarpara with Sweet Shankarpali.

Shankarpali is a Maharashtrian sweet snack made using the same ingredients but very different from shakarpare.

Shakarpara is made with non-sweetened dough and dunked into sugar syrup after deep frying, whereas the shankarpali recipe is made with sweetened dough, and no sugar syrup coating is done.

Ingredients

Flour – Shakar pare is traditionally made using all-purpose flour (maida, plain flour). For a healthy version, you can also use equal parts all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour (gehu ka atta).

Ghee – Ghee is added to the flour to make the shakarpara crispy and flaky. Stick to the quantity for the best result.

Water – Use lukewarm water to knead the dough.

Sugar Syrup – Make it with granulated white sugar and water.

You can replace sugar with jaggery (gud). Jaggery-coated cookies are called gudpara.

You can add some white sesame seeds (til) to the dough to make these sweet diamond biscuits even more delicious.

Add a little cardamom powder to the dough for added flavor.

How To Make Shakarpara

Make The Dough

Add 2 cups (250 g, 8.5 oz) all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoon room temperature ghee to a large mixing bowl or parat (large shallow plate) and mix well with your hands.

The ghee should be at room temperature and semi-solid. If it’s very warm where you live, and the ghee is melted at room temperature, refrigerate it for a few minutes.

Tip – You can replace ghee with oil, but the texture of the shakarpara will change slightly.

Add lukewarm water (approx ½ cup) little by little and knead to make a tight dough.

Cover the dough with a dishcloth and keep it aside for 15 minutes.

Knead the dough again for 20-30 seconds and divide into 2 parts.

Roll The Dough

Roll one part of the dough using a rolling pin to make a circle. The thickness of the circle should be approximately ¼ inch. Do not roll it thin; otherwise, the shakarpara will be hard.

Do not use dry flour to roll. Since the dough is hard and has fat, it will not stick to the surface.

Note: If your dough is still sticking to the surface while rolling, use very little dry flour.

Keep the remaining dough covered with a cloth to avoid drying.

Cut the circle into small square or diamond shapes using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.

Fry The Shakkarpara

Just before beginning to roll the dough, heat 3 cups of ghee or oil for frying in a pan over medium flame.

Once the ghee is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low.

To check if the ghee is hot, drop a small piece of dough into the hot ghee. It should rise on top in 5-8 seconds.

If not, then heat the ghee a little more.

If the ghee is too hot, the dough ball will come to the top immediately. In this case, switch off the heat and let the ghee cool down for 5 minutes before switching on the heat again.

Add the shakar pare to the hot ghee and fry on medium-low heat until they turn golden brown. Stir frequently while frying.

Do not get tempted and increase the heat. Each batch will take 20-25 minutes to fry properly.

Fry only until the shakarpara are light brown. They will not look and taste good if the color changes to dark brown.

Drain on a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon and let them cool completely.

Roll, cut, and fry the other part of the dough similarly.

Make The Sugar Syrup

While the shakarpara are cooling down, make the sugar syrup.

Add 1 cup of granulated white sugar and ½ cup of water to a pan and heat on medium heat for 10-12 minutes to make 2-3 thread syrup.

The consistency of the sugar syrup is very important for it to crystallize properly over the shakarpara.

To check if it has reached the 2-3 thread consistency, take some syrup on a spoon.

Let it cool for 4-5 seconds. Be careful because it is very hot at this stage.

Now take a little syrup on one of your fingers and press it with your thumb. Pull the finger away from the thumb. You should see 2-3 threads forming between the finger and the thumb.

If you have a candy thermometer, the syrup’s temperature should be 242° F–248° F (116° C–120° C).

Once the right consistency of the sugar syrup is reached, remove the pan from heat.

Coat The Shakarpara

Add the cooled shakarpare to the pan with sugar syrup immediately and mix gently to coat them with the syrup.

The syrup will start to crystallize almost immediately after removing the pan from the heat, so be a little quick with this step.

Separate the shakarpara using your fingers and let them rest for 10 minutes. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.

Pro Tips By Neha

Make sure the dough is tight and not soft.

Fry the shakarpara on medium-low heat. They will not fry from the inside if the heat is high and remain raw.

Do not over-fry the shakarpara. They should be very light brown. The residual heat will continue to brown them even after they are removed from the pan.

Do not overload the pan while frying. If you are scaling up the recipe, fry them in batches.

The consistency of sugar syrup is very important. It should be 2-3 threads to crystallize over the shakarpara as soon as they are coated with it.

Serving Suggestions

Sweet Shakkaprpara is a great tea-time snack. Serve it with Adrak Wali Chai, Masala Chai, or Lemongrass Tea. It also pairs well with Indian Beaten Coffee.

It is also made for festive occasions like Diwali and Holi. Most Indian homes make it for special occasions like family get-togethers and weddings.

This tasty snack is also great to pack for school or office lunch boxes.

Sweet Shakkar para is a perfect all-day munching snack for the entire house.

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