Sweet shakarpare

Shakkar  pare are sweet snack of crispy, flaky, fried flour cookies coated with crystallized sugar. It is one of the popular sweet of North indian cuisine which  is made during weddings and festive season. It can be stored in a container and can lasts up to 2-3 weeks. Shakkar paara is made with an unsweetened dough and later coated in sugar syrup. They can be made of different shapes like round, diamond. The initial part of making the unsweetened dough and frying is easy however you need to pay attention while making the sugar syrup.

Preparation time :  30 mins

Cooking time : 45 mins

Servings : 1/2 kg

Ingredients required :

For dough :

1.) All purpose flour/Maida : 250 gms (can also use whole wheat flour)

2.) Desi ghee/Oil : 2 tbsp

3.) Water : 1/2 cup of as required

4.) Oil - For deep frying

For sugar syrup:

1.) Sugar : 150 gms

2.) Water : 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation :

1.) Take Maida in a mixing bowl/pan. Add 2 tbsp of ghee. The ghee should be at room temperature and semi solid state. Instead of Maida you can also use atta and oil instead of ghee. With your fingertips, mix the ghee with the flour very well.

2.) Now add water in parts. Depending on the quality of flour, you can add more or less water. I added 1/2 cup of water. Begin to knead the dough to a firm semi soft dough. It should neither be too soft nor too hard. Divide the dough into small pieces. 

3.) Make the dough pieces into a small ball shape and press it gently in the middle.

4.) Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Test the oil temperature by adding a small piece of the dough in the pan. The piece should come up gradually and quickly on the surface. I fried on medium flame. You can regulate the flame while frying by increasing or decreasing it.

5.) Slid the round shaped shakkar para in medium hot oil. Depending on the pan size you can add more or less Shakkar pare but make sure that there is some space while frying them.

6.) When the Shakkar para are crisp and light brown in colour, turn over and fry.

7.) Keep on frying them and turning as and when needed for even frying. Fry till all of them turn golden. Drain Shakkar pare on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil and place it on a plate.

 Making Sugar syrup :

1.) Take 150 gm of sugar in a pan and add 1/2 cup of water. Keep the pan on a low to medium hot flame. Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking the sugar syrup till it starts bubbling and getting sticky. 

2.) Simmer till you get 2 to 3 thread consistency in the syrup. To check the consistency, take a bit of the syrup in a spoon. Let it become warm and then take the syrup between your forefinger and thumb. Press and separate the fingers. You should see two to three threads in the sugar syrup.

3.) Once the two to three thread consistency is achieved, quickly add all the Shakkar para in the sugar syrup. Briskly stir and toss well, so that all the Shakkar para are coated well with the syrup. The sugar syrup crystallizes soon so mix very well and be quick.

4.) Now take all the Shakkar para in a plate and allow it to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy more recipes on my blog and please comment below each recipes for feedback or suggestions. Till then happy cooking 😀.