Golpapadi, a traditionally Gujarati Sweet dish and quite popular amongst young kids, is often a staple sweet dish specially in times of winter. Winter is a kind of rejuvenating period in India. Grandparents often load their kids with lots of iron, calcium and fat based sweets, coming from jaggery sesame seeds and ghee. My childhood was spent eating one Golpapadi everyday during the winter months at my Grandma’s place, and perhaps that is the reason why I am able to adjust without a problem to highly cold temperatures!
Jaggery has a lot of iron and minerals. The benefits of eating jaggery are well listed at https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/other/benefits-of-jaggery.html I can vouch for the respiratory track cleaning as I recently had family visiting me and one of the members suffered from lungs issue, andd we could see improvement in the bodily strength in performing daily routes.
The texture of Golpapadi Wholewheat Dates and Jaggery Bites is firm but soft on bite and I like the brown color- it matches with the fall color in the environment. The softness is how the sukhadi as it is popularly know in Gujarat is supposed to taste, extremely soft on bite, so that people with chewing issues can easily digest. That is why I like this recipe, and the extra softness is from special tips from my dad’s sister! Experience indeed makes things better!
I often think of my father when I make this, and sometimes wonder how at the way the genes transfer tastes, and how much of the people gone away still reside in you!! One just needs to look inward and deep to find the people whom we lost!! I am very happy to share this recipe at family members request on my father’s birthday with a food that he loved and now my in-laws and I enjoy it immensely!
This dish is also served as Prasad in some Jain Temples in India and often pure jaggery is also considered a sign of good luck, often given to people on their way to long journeys or stepping out for important tasks. Jaggery cubes are quintessential part of everyday Gujarati meals!
Enjoy this highly nutritious rejuvenating delicacy of Golpapadi Wholewheat Dates and Jaggery Bites this winter and see your immunity get a huge booster!!
Recipe makes 25-30 pieces
Prep Time : 10 min
Cooking time : 15 min
Ingredients
- 31/2 cups of whole wheat flour
- 2 cups ghee clarified butter unmelted
- 1 1/2 cups of dates chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup jaggery thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp milk
- 5-6 cardamom seeds crushed
- One deep thali or pan dish
Method
- Grease the deep thali or pan dish before starting to make the golpapadi and leave it aside.
- Melt the ghee in a broad pan on medium flame.
- Once the ghee melts, add the whole wheat flour and stir.
- Keep stirring for 12 min approx till the mixture turns caramel brown.
- Wait for fat to separate and shine, which will indicate that the flour is well cooked.
- Reduce the flame and mix in the jaggery and stir.
- After a minute or so, add the dates and mix in.
- Add cardamom powder and milk and stir for 30 sec.
- Transfer the mixture quickly into the greased thali or deep dish.
- Spread it out evenly using the flat back of a mug or a small cup/bowl.
- You can also use a flat ladle to smooth the top.
- Leave it to cool for 3-4 minutes and make cubes
- Using a flat ladle with sharp edge, make 5-6 diagonal lines.
- Then turn the dish anti clockwise a bit and make another 5-6 diagonal lines.
- Cool for another 3-5 minutes and go over the dividing lines again and remove the diagonal pieces and store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy your daily dose of iron, sugar and minerals and feel good piece!
Tips
If you are not using dates, increase the jaggery to 1 1/2 cups jaggery.
Adjust the sweetness to your taste.
Instinct Factor
Optional toppings can include white sesame seeds and dry coconut grated. Both can be mixed in the final stages before transferring the mixture into the deep thali or dish.
Feel Factor
A bond revived through food, childhood memories re visited and a winter best enjoyed with this delicious soft, exteemely biteworthy bit of power packed energy and immunity booster!. The dates are welcome addition to the texture, taste and color to this traditional sweets and its one quick recipe that lasts for a two weeks and more and takes only 20-25 minutes to cook! Pardon the change in lighting of the pictures- winter evenings are tough for true color of food items!
