Cooking with desi gur in winter: 7 village recipes

When the fog settles over Multan, the gur box moves to the front of every village kitchen. These are seven things we make with it every winter, each with the small trick that makes it work.

1. Gur wali chai that does not split

Boil the leaves in water until the colour is deep, add milk and let it come up once. Now switch off the heat and wait about a minute before you stir in one and a half to two teaspoons of crushed gur or shakkar per cup. Gur is slightly acidic, and dropping it into milk at a rolling boil is the usual reason the tea curdles. Shakkar dissolves fastest, which is why many families keep it just for tea.

2. Gajar ka halwa with gur

Cook grated carrots in milk until the milk has dried out, then fry them in desi ghee until they glisten. Add the gur at the very end and cook until the halwa leaves the sides of the karahi. Gur added while the milk is still wet can split it, and it also makes the colour muddy. For a kilo of carrots, start with 250 to 300 g of gur and taste.

3. Til ke laddu

Roast white sesame on a low flame until it smells nutty and turns light gold. Melt gur with a spoon or two of water. To test the paak, drop a little into cold water: if it forms a soft ball you can press between your fingers, it is ready. Stir in the sesame, grease your palms with a little ghee and shape the laddu while the mixture is still warm. Once it cools it sets hard.

4. Gur wale chawal

Dissolve the gur in water first and strain it through a fine sieve; village gur can carry a bit of cane fibre. Par-boil the rice, then finish it in the gur water with fennel or cardamom fried in ghee and a handful of coconut, and leave it on dum until the grains are dry and glossy.

5. Gur ki roti and meethi tikkiyan

Knead wheat flour with thick gur water and a spoon of ghee, then cook thick rotis or small tikkiyan slowly on the tawa. They keep for a day or two and are an old favourite for school tiffins and long journeys.

6. Roti with ghee and shakkar

The simplest winter breakfast in Punjab: a hot roti, a spoon of desi ghee and shakkar sprinkled on top. Shakkar works better than gur here because it sinks straight into the ghee.

7. Gur in lassi or sattu

Sweeten sweet lassi or a sattu drink with powdered gur or shakkar. Shakkar dissolves cold; gur is easier if you first melt it in a little warm water.

Gur or shakkar?

Both come from the same cane juice. Reach for shakkar where it must dissolve quickly (tea, lassi, sprinkling) and gur where it melts into a syrup (halwa, laddu, chawal). Our guide to gur, shakkar and sugar explains how each is made.

Keeping gur through winter

• Store it in an airtight box, away from steam and damp.
• Always use a clean, dry spoon.
• Gur hardens in the cold. Grate it, or warm it in a pan with a spoon of water.

These recipes are about taste. Gur is still mostly sugar, so enjoy it in moderation. You can find our desi gur and desi shakkar in the village range, or order on WhatsApp.