Panjiri Recipe ( Winter & Prasad Versions)

Panjiri is a whole wheat flour sweet dish from north india. It is consumed during winter months and prepared on festivals .

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Servings servings

Add 2 tablespoon ghee to a heavy iron pot(I use 10 inch cast iron kadai). Let heat on low flame. Add all the raw nuts(cashews, almonds, walnuts and pistachios) and toast until crispy and lightly golden. Transfer the nuts to a plate using a slotted spoon. Set aside to cool.
To the remaining ghee in the kadai, add the raisins and fry for 10-15 seconds or so until they plump up slightly. Take out in a seperate plate.Set aside.
Add 2 tablespoon of ghee to the kadai, let melt and add the makhana (fox seeds). Toast until lightly golden. Take out and place in the same plate as nuts. Leave to cool.
Melt 2 tablespoon of ghee in the same pot. Keep stove on low-medium heat and add the gond. Fry while stirring continously until its puffy. It takes a 3-5 minutes to fry properly. You will hear crackling sounds.
Make sure that the gum crystals are fully puffed up else they be sticky while eating. Once puffed, transfer puffed gond to a seperate plate and let cool.

Add 2 tablespoons of ghee and let melt. Add semolina and while stirring continuously, roast it for 3-5 minutes until it’s pinkish golden. Add the desiccated coconut, all the seeds (sesame seeds, flax seeds and pumpkin seeds) and toast with semolina for another 2-4 minutes.
Next, add the poppy seeds and fennel seeds and toast for a minute taking care that not to burn.
Transfer everything to a large bowl(large enough to hold all the other ingredients including atta).
Melt remaining ghee in the same pot and add atta to the cooking pot. On low heat, stirring often, roast the atta. It will take anywhere between 15-20 minutes to roast the process. Don't rush or turn on high flame else atta will have raw taste or get burnt.
Once the atta is roasted, transfer it on top of the semolina mixture. Let atta cool down.

To a food processor fitted with metal blade, add half of the toasted nuts and makhana. Crush to a coarse powder.
Add cooled gond to a mortar pestle or a small blender jar and grind to a powder.
Now add all the crushed nuts, whole nuts, gond powder to the roasted atta. By now the atta should be lightly warm to touch.
Add the sugar on top of atta. Sprinkle the ginger powder and cardamom powder.
Start mixing everything with gentle hands. Don’t squeeze or squish. The panjeeri mixture should resemble a crumble. If you feel that the mixture is dry, add extra melted ghee. To check if the right amount of ghee has been added, try to make a ball of the atta, it should bind together loosely into a ball/laddu shape.
Store in an air tight container for 3-5 weeks. Always use clean and dry spoon to serve. Panjiri is best enjoyed with warm milk. You can also serve it with carrot milk or badam milk.

The entire step-by-step process of making this recipe remains the same, with just a few modifications to the ingredients. This version is simplified and uses fewer ingredients, making it more straightforward while still retaining its deliciousness.
In this variation, the following ingredients are omitted:- gond, semolina, ginger powder, fennel seeds, and poppy seeds. Toast the coconut ligthly on low eat like as you toast the other nuts. Hence the preparation process is simpler and result in a lighter panjeeri that focuses on the core flavors of toasted nuts, makhana (fox seeds),desiccated coconut, and roasted atta. You may add some torn tulsi (holy basil) leaves at the end.

Before you begin making panjeeri, gather all your ingredients and have them prepped and measured. With its 10-15 ingredients, having a proper mise en place not only keeps you organized but also makes the cooking process enjoyable.
One thing I won’t recommend is skimping on ghee. Ghee is the heart of panjeeri, lending it a rich flavor and luscious texture. Without enough ghee, the panjeeri may turn out sticky and dry.
When it comes to roasting, use a large heavy-bottomed, wide mouthed kadai or skillet, with iron or cast iron being the best choices. These retain and distribute heat evenly, ensuring that every ingredient roasts to perfection. Roast everything on slow heat while stirring continously. This brings out the nutty flavor of this sweet.
Patience is key when making panjeeri. The process cannot be rushed. Choose a slow day or set aside 1.5 to 2 hours. It’s well worth the effort!
You can also customize the texture. I personally like it with a lot of texture. So I grind only half of the nuts and leave the rest whole. However, you can coarsley grind all the nuts before adding.

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