SUKHADI / GUL-PAPDI with a twist !

Sukhadi or Gul-papdi

Sukhadi - as in Gujarati or Gul-papdi - as in Marathi is a  traditional sweet dish made from all the healthy ingredients. Kids love it and adults adore this rich sweet dish. Even the ingredients are easy to find in an Indian pantry and are easily available in any Indian grocery store.

White specks of poha can be seen

When I was a kid, this was one of the many recipes which my aai used to make for us and we absolutely loved it. Because it is made with ghee, it has a very rich taste and it is quite satisfying and filling ! I remember when I used to come back from school and as I entered the house, a nice aroma used to pull me towards the kitchen and there it was, a big batch of  hot sukhadi sitting on the counter top !! My mother is very innovative and tries to bring a nice twist to the traditional recipes. Traditionally, sukhadi is made with just 3 ingredients - wheat flour, jaggery and ghee. My mom used to add a special ingredient to it, this gave sukhadi a nice crunch in every bite. Today I am revealing that secret ingredient !! It is called poha or flattened rice, it might sound weird but you should try this and trust me it tastes amazing !!! It adds an unusually nice crunch to it.

Also you can make one more variety by adding roasted sesame seeds. I tried them and they came out really nice ! 

Sesame seeds can be seen

Ingredients :-

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup jaggery, grated 
1 cup ghee/clarified butter plus couple more tsp.
Handful of poha or flattened rice  (secret ingredient !!)
OR  3 tbsp of roasted sesame seeds


Process :-

1.  Grease a 2-inch deep pan with ghee. Keep aside.

2.  Heat ghee in a heavy bottom deep pan, once it starts to melt - add wheat flour to it and keep it sauteing on low heat with a spatula. 

Ghee and flour mixture

3. This process might take upto 10-15 mins. till your kitchen fills with a nice aroma and the wheat flour starts turning golden in color. You need to keep moving the flour and ghee mixture constantly, keep a close eye on it. 

Poha - my aai's secret ingredient !

4.  Now add the secret ingredient - poha/flattened rice to it, saute for a about 2 mins. and add jaggery to it. (make sure there are no lumps in the jaggery) Now the jaggery starts to melt, mix properly and dump the whole mixture on the greased pan. Level it with a spatula or back of a flat-bottom bowl. 

5.  Cut the sukhadi into diamonds or any shape you like. Let it cool completely then store the pieces in an air-tight container. In cool weather, it stays fresh on the shelf for around a month. If the weather is too hot, store it in the refrigerator. Microwave it for 10-15 secs. and enjoy !! 

Rich diamonds of Sukhadi !!

               In some temples in Gujarat, they serve sukhadi as a "prasad". They serve it hot and it tastes out of this world !! So it is really up to you  how you want to eat it, it can be eaten hot or cold. Whichever way I choose to eat, one little piece of sukhadi takes me back to my childhood days :)