Shakkarpara (Khurma, Meetha Para, Toshe) is a North Indian sweet snack. It is basically crispy deep fried all purpose flour cookies coated with thick sugar syrup. Make it for your tea time snack or for festivals like Diwali, Holi, or Rakshabandhan using my perfect recipe.
Here are some more Indian snack recipes that you might like – Cornflakes Namkeen, Nimki, Cornflakes Chivda, Namak Para, Honey Roasted Nuts, and Methi Mathri.
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About This Recipe
Shakkarpara (Khurma, Meetha Para, Toshe) is a North Indian sweet snack that is made by deep-frying flour dough and then coating it with thick sugar syrup. It is basically fried sweet maida biscuits.
Shakkarpare (plural) is 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. 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 shakkarpara recipe can be easily doubled or tripled, so make a big batch if you are making these for a gathering. Make sure to fry them in batches if scaling the recipe.
Once the Shakkarpara has cooled down properly, store them in an air-tight container. They will last for a month at room temperature.
Is Shakkar Para And Shankarpali The Same?
No, don’t confuse Shakkarpara with Shankarpali.
Shankarpali is a Maharashtrian sweet snack made using the same ingredients but it is very different from shakkarpare.
Shakkarpara is made with a non-sweetened dough and dunked into sugar syrup after deep frying, whereas Shankarpali recipe is made with sweetened dough and there is no sugar syrup coating done.
Ingredients
Flour – Shakkar pare is traditionally made using all-purpose flour (maida). You can also use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour (atta) for a healthy alternative.
Add a little cardamom powder to the dough for an added flavor.
Ghee – Ghee is added to the flour to make the shakkarpara crispy and flaky. Stick to the quantity for the best result.
Water – Use lukewarm water to knead the dough.
Sugar Syrup – Make it with sugar and water.
You can replace sugar with jaggery (gud). Jaggery-coated cookies are called gudpara.
How To Make Shakkarpara
Make The Dough
Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoon ghee to a large mixing bowl or parat (large shallow plate) and mix well using your hands.
The ghee should be at room temperature and in a semi-solid state. If it’s very warm where you live and ghee is melted at room temperature, then refrigerate it for a few minutes.
Tip – You can replace ghee with vegetable oil but the texture of the shakkarpara 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 once again for 20-30 seconds and divide the dough into 2 parts.
Roll The Dough
Roll one part of the dough to make a circle. The thickness of the circle should be approximately ¼ inch. Do not roll it thin otherwise, the shakkarpara will turn out hard.
Do not use dry flour to roll. Since the dough is hard and has fat in it, it will anyways not stick to the surface.
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
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 shakkar pare to the hot ghee and fry on medium-low heat until they turn golden brown in color. Keep stirring while at regular intervals.
Do not get tempted and increase the heat. Each batch will take 20-25 minutes to fry properly.
Fry only until the shakkarpara are light brown in color. 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 in the same manner.
Make The Sugar Syrup
While the shakkarpara are cooling down, make the sugar syrup.
Add 1 cup granulated sugar and ½ cup 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 shakkarpara.
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 the thumb. You should see 2-3 threads forming in between the finger and the thumb.
If you have a candy thermometer, then the temperature of the syrup 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 Shakkarpara
Add the cooled shakkarpare 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 shakkarpara using your fingers and let them rest for 10 minutes. Store them in an airtight container for up to a month at room temperature.
Pro Tips By Neha
Make sure the dough is tight and not soft.
Fry the shakkarpara on medium-low heat. If the heat is high, they will not fry from inside and will remain raw.
Do not over fry the shakkarpara. They should be very light brown in color. Keep in mind that they will keep browning from the residual heat even after taking it out from the pan.
Do not overload the pan while frying. If you are scaling the recipe, fry them in batches.
The consistency of sugar syrup is very important. It should be 2-3 threads so that it crystallizes over the shakkarpara as soon as they are coated with it.
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Recipe Card
Sweet Shakkarpara Recipe
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
- 2 tablespoons ghee (room temperature)
- lukewarm water
- 3 cups ghee or oil (for frying)
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
Make The Dough
- Add all-purpose flour and ghee in a large mixing bowl or parat (large shallow plate) and mix well using your hands. The ghee should be at room temperature and in a semi-solid state. If it’s very warm where you live and ghee is melted at room temperature, then refrigerate it for a few minutes.
- Add lukewarm water (approx ½ cup) little by little and knead to make a tight dough.
- Cover the dough with a dishcloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.
- Knead the dough once again for 20-30 seconds and divide it into 2 parts.
Roll The Dough
- Roll one part of the dough to make a circle. The thickness of the circle should be approximately ¼ inch. Do not roll it thin otherwise, the shakkarpara will turn out hard.
- Do not use dry flour to roll. Since the dough is hard and has fat in it, it will anyways not stick to the surface.
- Keep the remaining dough covered with a cloth to avoid drying.
- Cut the circle into small square or diamond shapes using a sharp knife.
Fry The Shakkarpara
- 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 ball 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 shakkarpare to the hot ghee and fry on medium-low heat until lightly browned. Keep stirring while at regular intervals.
- Do not get tempted and increase the heat. Each batch will take 20-25 minutes to fry properly. Fry only until the shakkarpara are light brown in color. They will not look and taste good if the color changes to dark brown.
- Drain on a plate lined with paper towels and let them cool completely.
- Roll, cut, and fry the other part of the dough in the same manner.
Make The Sugar Syrup
- While the shakkarpara are cooling down, make the sugar syrup.
- Add granulated sugar and 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 shakkarpara.
- To check if the sugar syrup has reached the 2-3 thread consistency, take some syrup on a spoon. Let it cool for 4-5 seconds. Be careful because the syrup is very hot at this stage. Now take a little syrup on one of your fingers and press it with the thumb. You should see 2-3 threads forming in between the finger and the thumb.
- If you have a candy thermometer, then the temperature of the syrup 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 Shakkarpara
- Add the cooled shakkarpare 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 shakkarpara using your fingers and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Store them in an airtight container for up to a month at room temperature.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!