Jaggery or Gur or Gul as it is colloquially known is made by boiling sugarcane juice. Gur has an important place in Indian cuisine and culture, mainly because it is considered pure, unlike sugar where chemicals and bone charcoal are used in refining it. Jaggery, also called Gur or Gud, is used as an ingredient in both sweet and other dishes across India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka....
Jaggery is considered a sacred and healthy food by Indians and many others across the globe. It is sold in different forms – cubes, blocks, sticky lumps, round disk shapes, etc. It’s available in whitish brown, dark brown and blackish brown. In Mangalore, Karnataka round disks known as ‘Volle bela’ is available, packed in dried palm leaves. Kids in jest call it ‘Mangalore Cadbury’ and love to chew it as chocolate.
Jaggery or Gur or Gul as it is colloquially known
is made by boiling sugarcane juice. Gur has an important place in Indian
cuisine and culture, mainly because it is considered pure, unlike sugar where
chemicals and bone charcoal are used in refining it. Jaggery, also called Gur or Gud, is used as an
ingredient in both sweet and dishes across India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. For
example, a pinch of it is sometimes added to sambar, rasam and other staples in
India. Jaggery is also added to lentil soups/dal to add sweetness to balance
the spicy, salty and sour components, particularly in Gujarati cuisine.
Jaggery is made from both sugarcane and the date palm tree. The sugar made
from the sap of the date palm is both more prized and less commonly available
outside of the regions where it is made. The coconut palm is also tapped for
producing jaggery in West Bengal, South India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri
Lanka. In Sri Lanka, syrup extracts from kithul trees are widely used for
jaggery production. This is considered the best quality jaggery available in
local market and is given a higher value than jaggery from other sources. All
types of the jaggery come in blocks or pastes of solidified concentrated sugar
syrup heated to 200°C. Traditionally, the syrup is made by boiling raw
sugarcane juice or palm sap in large, shallow, round-bottom vessels.
Jaggery is considered a sacred and healthy food by Indians and many others across the globe. It is sold in different forms – cubes, blocks, sticky lumps, round disk shapes, etc. It’s available in whitish brown, dark brown and blackish brown. In Mangalore, Karnataka round disks known as ‘Volle bela’ is available, packed in dried palm leaves. Kids in jest call it ‘Mangalore Cadbury’ and love to chew it as chocolate.
Hindus, during religious
ceremonies offer delicacies such as chakkara pongal, obattu and payasam made of
jaggery as Prasad to gods and goddesses. It is considered life-giving and soul-
sustaining. In many parts of India, there is a tradition of eating a piece of
jaggery before setting out on an important assignment , or on hearing good news
or success in a venture, and sharing it with family and friends.
It is also known for its
medicinal properties. In traditional home-cure by elderly folks, gur is used in
the making of ‘kashai’ or ‘kaada’ to cure sore throat and cough. According to
Ayurveda, jaggery is packed with valuable minerals. Being a complex carbohydrate,
it is digested and absorbed into the blood gradually. Eating a piece of jaggery
after a good meal helps in digestion and prevents acidity. It is believed that jaggery
purifies blood, keeps blood pressure under control, prevents and cures pimples
and makes skin and hair healthy. Besides providing relief from
premenstrual-cramps, jaggery is useful in preventing pregnancy-related anaemia.
It also provides relief from migraine, headaches, and acts as an antioxidant
and also cleans the respiratory tract of dust and pollutants.
Maharashtra
is the largest producer and consumer of jaggery; most vegetable dishes, curries,
and dals contain it. In rural Maharashtra and Karnataka, water and a piece of
jaggery is given when someone arrives home from working under a hot sun. Kakvi,
a byproduct of the production of jaggery, is also used in rural Maharashtra and
Karnataka as a sweetener. It contains many minerals not found in ordinary sugar
and is considered beneficial to health in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. It is
used as an ingredient of many sweet delicacies, such as gur ka chawal (jaggery
rice), a traditional Rajasthani dish. In Gujarat, laddus are made from wheat
flour and jaggery.
In Myanmar,
jaggery is harvested from toddy palm syrup. In central Myanmar and around Bagan
(Pagan), toddy syrup is collected solely for the purpose of making jaggery. The
translucent white syrup is boiled until it becomes golden brown, and then made
into bite-sized pieces. It is considered a sweet and is eaten by children and
adults alike, usually in the afternoon along with a pot of green tea. It has
been referred to locally as Burmese chocolate. Toddy palm jaggery is also
sometimes mixed with coconut shreds, jujube puree or sesame, depending on the
area. This type of jaggery is also used in Burmese cooking, usually to add
color and enrich the food.
The Muzaffarnagar District in Uttar
Pradesh has the largest jaggery market in the world, followed by Anakapalli in
the Visakhapatnam District in Andhra Pradesh. The Kolhapur District in western
Maharashtra is also famous for its variety of jaggery, which is yellow and much
sought-after in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Mandya in Karnataka is also known for
its jaggery production. Jaggery in all languages is sweet!
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The
Forgotten Brown Warriors:
The
present generation should know this; a hundred years ago, over 1.5 million
soldiers from British India were fighting the First World War for the British
Empire. Nearly every sixth soldier fighting on behalf of the British Empire was
from the Indian sub-continent – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Gurkhas. And more
than 70,000 men were killed in far away battlefields in different countries.
They are the forgotten warriors of the Indian sub-continent. Nobody talks about
them, their acts of bravery and the sacrifices made for the then British
Empire. May their souls rest in peace.
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| India's popular car till the late seventies |
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very useful really good information thanks for posting such a good information it will hepls the people a lot keep it up , Regards,
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