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Paper No. 09 Paper Title: Bakery and Technology Module No. 35 Module Title: Overview of popular Indian confections

1. INTRODUCTION

Sweetmeats are very popular in and difficult to resist, either it a scorching summer or a bone smashing winter, Indian mithai is always ready to tempt the tongue. A sumptuous meal in every Indian house is always incomplete without sweet dish like gulabjamun or or gajjar ka halwa. Sweetmeat making earlier was confined to the kitchens of sweet shops and small dealers, but now has come up as a technologically advanced industry because of its enormous popularity and demand in consumers of India and abroad. The Hindustani word used to refer to sweets and confectionery is mithai. The origin of a sweet differs by region. being staple in East India, is the basis for the most sweets. The main distinguishing feature of Indian from the sweets of other lands is that they are not prepared to satisfy a sweet-tooth alone but also intended to provide nutrition. In our land of rich traditions, offering sweets is a sign of lone and affection.

2. HISTORY spirituality is the root for Indian sweets or mithai which is offered by a devotee to please the God or Goddess. Lord defines mithai as the “ of Gods” in the Bhagvata Purana. Mithai are generally served during auspicious occasion and festivals such as , Eid, or Rakhi/raksha bhandan.

People from other lands like the Mughals, Portuguese, British invaded our country and left the stamps of their cuisine on ours. Mughals acquainted us with aromatic culinary tradition, complemented by the Portuguese while the Parsis brought a whiff of along with. The puddings and cakes that form our daily fare are actually foreign stuff introduced to us by the Britishers.

3. IMPORTANCE Indian desserts shares a unique relationship with any good news in our country, like promotion in office, birth of a child, acquisition of a new job, fixing up of someone’s marriage or the examination result of a child, is always heralded with a box of sweets. Indian desserts are

tempting, mouthwatering, simple and easy to make. A striking feature of Indian sweets preparation is that it requires a level of reduction with an essential of powder and kewra, which is speckled on the at the time of serving. Indians are fond of sweets and have a mind-boggling variety of sweets ranging from ice like kulfi in north to the plentiful payasams of the south, the westernized cakes of and paneer based sweets of eastern India.

Table1: List of some traditional Indian sweetmeats

Sweetmeat Composition or method of preparation Apupa A round cake of barley meal or baked in clarified and sweetened with . Samyava fried in and mixed with milk and (brown ); cardamom, pepper and added sometimes. Svastika A cake-like product with barley flour. Modaka Sweet ball prepared with the flour of rice/pulses and sugar; it is popular even to-day (: ). Ghayapunna A cake prepared with fine wheat flour mixed with milk, fried in and coated with sugar. Madhusirsaka A sweet prepared from wheat flour which had honey or clarified or Madhukroda butter. Pupalika A small cake of rice or wheat flour fried in ghee with ghuda or jaggery inside (centre filled). Utkarika Rice flour, milk, clarified butter and jaggery. Gandika Sweet prepared from jaggery and wheat flour. Locika Delicious cakes prepared with wheat flour. Kasara Preparation based on wheat flour, milk, clarified butter, crystal, sugar, cardamom and . Udumbara Preparation from wheat flour stuffed with kasara. Murmura Preparation from wheat flour and jiggery.

Phenaka Cakes from wheat flour coated with sugar. Khajjaka Wheat flour fried in ghee and sweetened. Ksiraprakara Boiled milk precipitated using a sour substance; the solid mixed with rice flour, formed into various shapes, fried and coated with sugar (loke Jamun, Rasagolla). Pahalika Soft cakes of wheat flour fried in oil. Patrika Circular cakes of wheat flour fried in oil. pak or Laddu All based on , sugar and fat. or Basin Laddu Gathe Gram flour, Maida, sugar and fat. (Prabhakar, 1986)

4. POPULAR FLOUR CONFECTIONS

4.1 Puran-poli, a typical Marathi dessert savored at festivities, bears a close resemblance to a stuffed . The popular flour based Indian relish prepared with cooked paste and jaggery which forms the stuffing known as is Puran, while the outer shell termed as Poli comprises , prepared out of refined flour, milk and ghee. The latter is used as a stuffing in the dough balls, rolled and cooked over a hot grill and may be served with ghee or milk.

4.2 A is a sweet very popular in Western and Southern India for the worship of god Ganesh. The soft outer shell made out of rice flour or wheat flour mixed with khava or maida flour has a sweet filling of fresh grated and jaggery. The dumpling can be either fried or steamed.

4.3 refers to a dense confection sweetened with either sugar or honey. Halva is prepared by the flour in oil and then cooking it in sugar syrup. Various types of halva include sooji () halva, aate (wheat) ka halva, moong (mung ) ka halva, gajar (carrot) halva, chana daal () halwa , and Satyanarayan halwa (variation of suji halwa, with the addition of banana pieces ), and kaju (cashew ) halva. Kashi halva, a traditional sweet of is made with winter melon or ash gourd. The recipe for manufacture of Besan Halva is given in Table 2 while flow diagram of its manufacturing process is given in Figure 1.

Table 2 Recipe for Besan Halva

Ingredients Amount Gramflour 1 cup Milk 1 cup Sugar ¾ cup Ghee ½ cup

Fry the flour in ghee to golden colour

Add 2 cups of water, sugar and , cook till it turns thick

Continue cooking by adding milk till all the moisture gets absorbed

Serve hot

(Reejhsinghani, 2001)

Figure 1 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Besan Halva

4.4. Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet made with either besan ( flour), rava (wheat semolina) or atta (whole wheat flour). It is prepared by combining flour with sugar and other flavorings and cooking in ghee followed by molding into a ball shape. The recipe for manufacture of Magad Laddoo is given in Table 3 while flow diagram of its manufacturing process is given in Figure 2.

Table 3 Recipe for Magad Laddoo

Ingredients Amount Wheat flour (atta) 1kg Claried butter (ghee) 750gm Sugar (unrefined) 750gm

Raisins 2 tbsp Chiraunji 2 tbsp (chopped) 2 tbsp

Divide wheat flour into two parts and fry in ghee one at a time till a golden brown color develops

Add sugar, raisins, chiraunji, almonds and remaining ghee to the flour

Make laddu by giving round shape with palm

Cool and store in air tight container

(Mathur, 2000)

Figure 2 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Magad Laddoo

4.5 or Ela is a traditional delicacy, comprising of parcels made with rice flour dough filled with sugar or jaggery and grated coconut steamed in banana leaf.

4.6 : It is a like and is popular in Tamil civilization as an offering to the god. The sweet is made from fermented of rice flour, jaggery, butter and pepper which are deep fried in oil.

4.7 is a Telugu word which means rice. It is a traditional dish made from rice flour, ghee and jaggery or granulated sugar during . The dough is kneaded into chapatti or poori which is further deep-fried in oil.

4.8 Boorelu is the traditional sweet dish prepared in the Telugu festivals. These are small balls made out of rice flour, stuffed with coconut, sugar, and dried fruits. It is served hot with ghee.

4.9 Gavvalu is a famous sweet of . It is made by shaping the dough made with rice flour and water or milk into small rounds further flattened and rolled to the shape of gavvalu (cowrie shells). The resulting shells are fried in oil and transferred into sugar syrup.

4.10 Kakinada , a sweet delicacy of Andhra Pradesh having close resemblance to Gulabjamuns, were introduced to Andhra’s by Muslims. Wheat flour, mawa and oil are altogether mixed to form a paste, which is deep fried until crisp and then soaked in the sugar syrup (known as pak). There are two types of Khajas, madatha khajas being dry from outside and full of sugar syrup on the inside are rolled up into ribbons of pastry, whereas gottam khajas have melt in mouth characteristic and are made of cylinders of pastry.

4.11 a delicacy from the is a sweet dish of Karnataka, served as dessert. It is made with generous amounts of ghee (clarified butter), sugar and gram flour. Pak or Paka in means the sugar.

4.12 Palathalikalu is a sweet prepared by cooking sifted rice flour added with ghee to boiling water. The hot mixture is kneaded to get a dough and divided into small balls which is later shaped into long strings. The strings are cooked in boiling milk added with sugar and cardamom powder 10 minutes. This dish is made during Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh.

4.13 Malapua is a very popular in , Orissa, and and is one of the Chapana Bhoga of Lord Jagannath. Traditionally, it is prepared by crushing ripe bananas in coconut, flour (wheat/rice) and water or thickened milk. The batter is deep fried in oil, and served dipped in hot syrup.

4.14 resembles distinctly to a glazed doughnut having a slightly flaky texture. It is a traditional dessert of northern India, also known as Badushah in . For its preparation wheat flour, ghee and a pinch of baking soda are mixed together to form a stiff dough which are shaped into one inch diameter thick discs followed by frying in ghee or oil and saturating with sugar syrup.

4.15 or Jilawii, served as the "Celebration Sweet of India" is made by deep-frying the batter of wheat flour and formed into circular shapes, which are then dunked in sugar syrup. They have a crisp crystallized sugary exterior coating.

4.16 or Jaangiri (in south India) is a modification of jalebi wherein the batter is prepared with urad flour and formed into compact circular flower shape. These are often served with ().

4.17 or patisa is a square shaped sweet with a crisp and flaky texture, was originated in . It is prepared with sugar, gram flour, wheat flour, ghee, milk, and cardamom.

4.18 , is a sweet dumpling made with suji or maida flour flour and stuffed with khoya. It is a famous cuisine of North India. The recipe for manufacture of Gujia is given in Table 4 while flow diagram of its manufacturing process is given in Figure 3.

Table 4 Recipe for Gujia

Ingredients NEEDED(gm) White flour 500 Suji 400 Khoya 400 Raisins 40 Ghee 450 Sugar 400 Almonds 15 Cardamom 5 Water as required

Fry suji in about 200gm ghee till golden brown

Add khoya and fry for sometime

Remove the vessel from flame, add sugar, sliced almonds, powdered cardamom and coconut powder

Prepare a stiff dough out of white flour using water with an addition of hot oil

Keep the dough covered with a cloth till it becomes soft

Divide the dough into small balls and roll t em into thin puries

Add a teaspoon of the sooji mixture prepared previously , fold it into half (moon shape) and seal the edges with water

Fry the gujhia in ghee on a low flame until crisp and golden brown

Immerse gujhia in hot sugar syrup

(Verma, 2002)

Figure 3 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Gujia

4.19 Shakkarpara is common in North India, also called in . Shakkarpara is a crisp and crunchy product made with refined wheat flour dough that is cut into diamond shape, fried in oil and soaked in sugar syrup.

4.20 : A delicious North Indian dessert, generally given to new mothers, to promote lactation. It is prepared by frying gond crystals, dry fruits, wholemeal flour and semolina in ghee on a medium heat until golden brown followed by adding sugar on cooling. It is normally consumed with warm milk.

4.21 Lavang Latika or Lavang Lata, is a characteristic sweet of Bengal. It is a crispy dish, sealed with clove (Lavang), comprising of refined flour (maida), ghee, semolina or khoya, milk, water, sugar, coconut and cardamom powder. The recipe for manufacture of Lavang Latika is given in Table 5 while flow diagram of its manufacturing process is given in Figure 4.

Table 5 Recipe for Lavang Latika

Ingredients Amounts a) For Lavang Latika’s dough Flour (Maida) 230 gm

Clarified Butter (Ghee) 1 cup Milk, warm 10 mL Baking Powder 5 mg

Water 10 mL b) For filling Coconut, grated 80 gm

Raisins 10-20 Green cardamom 2 Sugar 50 gm

Clarified Butter (Ghee) for frying cloves for securing 10-12 c) For syrup Sugar 1.5 cup Water 2 cup

Make a stiff dough with flour, clarified butter, warm milk, baking powder and water

Lie dough for atleast 2 h

Make filling by mixing filling ingredients

Make the sugar syrup and keep aside

Devide the dough into small rectangular shapes

Put filling mixture in the middle and fold to make small parcels

Secure with a clove and deep-fry over very low heat till golden brown

Drain excess oil and transfer to pan with sugar syrup

Remove with a slotted spoon and refrigerate

Serve chilled

(Verma, 2002)

Figure 4 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Lavang Latika

4.22 Bebinca is a traditional Goan dessert and a must have at any celebration. Preparation process of bebinca takes time since a layer can only be added when the one below it is cooked completely. Traditional Bebinca has 16 layers. The recipe for manufacture of Bebinca is given in Table 6 while flow diagram of its manufacturing process is given in Figure 5.

Table 6 Recipe for Bebinca Ingredients Amounts Flour 1/2kg Eggs 2 dozen

Coconut milk 2 Caraway seeds 1tsp Salt Pinch Ghee For greasing

Add a little water to sugar to get a thick syrup

Remove it from fire and cool

Prepare a batter of coconut milk, egg yolks, flour and add into the mixture of syrup, caraway seeds and salt

Put the batter into a deep greased baking pan forming a thin layer

Cover the pan tightly ,put coal over the lid and bake till the layer gets firm

As the first layer gets brown drop in 1-2 tablespoons ghee, press down gentlysprinkle over castor sugar followed by poring another layer of batter

Bake for another 5-10 min till it gets golen brown

Keep making the layers until all the batter gets over

At last cook all the layers of bebinca together for 5min and then cool it

Take out the bebinca by gently inverting the pan, cut into slices and serve

(Reejhsinghani, 2001)

Figure 5 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Bebinca

References Banerjee, S. (1994).The Book of Indian Sweets. Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd., New , India. Mathur, S. (2000). Indian Sweets. Ocean Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India. Reejhsinghani, A. (2001). Best of Indian Sweets and Desserts. Jaico Publishing House, , India. Sheth, V. (2011). Flavours of India. iUniverse, Inc. Bloomington. Verma, N. (2002). Delicious Indian Sweets. Fusion Books, X-30, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase- 2, New Delhi, India.