wellhealthorganic.com Shakarpara: Discover the delight of Shakkarpara or Khurma, these exquisite diamond-shaped, crispy, flaky cookies fried to perfection and coated with crystallized sugar. Dive into the essence of this authentic Punjabi recipe and indulge in the irresistible taste of these Shakkarpare snacks that you can enjoy anytime!
Shakarpara
- Preparation Time: 5 minutes
- Cooking Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Cuisine: North Indian
- Course: Snacks, Sweets
- Diet: Vegetarian
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 240 grams whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons Ghee
- ½ cup water, or as required
For sugar syrup:
- 1 cup sugar (150 grams), alternatively, 1 cup grated or powdered jaggery
- ½ cup water
- 10 to 12 saffron strands (kesar), optional
Other ingredients:
- Oil, as required for deep frying
Also Read: Poriyal
Instructions:
Preparing the Shakarpara Dough:
- In a mixing bowl or pan, take whole wheat flour. Add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Ensure that the ghee is at room temperature and in a semi-solid state. Alternatively, you can use all-purpose flour and oil instead of ghee.
- Mix the ghee thoroughly with the flour using your fingertips.
- The mixture should form a lump when pressed in your palm, holding itself together without crumbling.
- Add water gradually in increments while kneading the dough, adjusting the amount as needed depending on the quality of the flour. For all-purpose flour, less water might be needed.
- Knead the dough into a firm, semi-soft consistency, neither too soft nor too hard, similar to chapati dough.
- Divide the dough into three equal parts and cover with a lid.
- Take one part and roll it into a thick paratha of 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
- Use a knife to cut squares or diamond shapes on the rolled dough by slicing it crisscross or vertically-horizontally.
Frying the Shakkarpare:
- Heat the oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Check the oil temperature by adding a small piece of dough. It should gradually rise to the surface.
- Adjust the heat to medium and slide the cut diamond-shaped dough into the medium-hot oil. Ensure there is enough space in the pan for frying.
- Fry until the shakkarpare turn crisp and light golden, turning them over as needed for even frying.
- Once golden, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain excess oil on kitchen paper towels.
- Repeat the frying process for the remaining batches of dough.
Making the Sugar Syrup:
- In another kadai or pan, combine 1 cup of sugar and ½ cup of water. Warm the mixture gently over a low to medium heat, stirring continuously until the sugar fully dissolves.
- Continue cooking the sugar syrup until it starts bubbling and thickening. Optionally, add saffron strands for color.
- Simmer until the syrup reaches a 2 to 3 thread consistency. To check, take a bit of syrup on a spoon, let it cool slightly, then press it between your fingers to see if two to three threads form.
- Once the desired consistency is reached, quickly add all the fried shakkarpara to the syrup.
- Stir briskly to coat all the shakkarpara evenly with the sugar syrup before it crystallizes.
- Transfer the coated shakkarpara to a plate and allow them to cool to room temperature. The sugar syrup will crystallize upon cooling.
- Once cooled, store the shakkarpara in an airtight container or jar. They will remain fresh for a few months.
Also Read: Muthiya
Notes:
- Ensure the dough is semi-soft, not as soft as roti or naan dough.
- Fry the shakkarpara on medium to medium-high heat to ensure proper cooking without absorbing excess oil.
- Jaggery can be used instead of sugar to make gudpare. Cook the jaggery syrup to a 2 to 3 thread consistency and use 1 cup of jaggery powder or grated/chopped jaggery.
- The recipe can be easily scaled up or down to make a larger or smaller batch of shakkarpare.
- Approximate nutrition information is for the entire batch of shakkarpare made from this recipe.