Diwali mithai spans an enormous range of flavours, textures, and preparations. Across different regions of India, jaggery plays a central role in many of the sweets associated with this season, often giving dishes a depth and character that refined sugar does not. Browse the Diwali festival collection to see what is available for the season.
Here is a look at how jaggery appears in festive cooking across different parts of the country.
Maharashtra: Tilgul and Puran Poli
In Maharashtra, the most recognisable jaggery sweet associated with Makar Sankranti is tilgul, a combination of sesame seeds and jaggery formed into small balls or brittle pieces. At Diwali, many households make tilgul alongside other sweets, particularly in regions where sesame is a local crop.
Puran poli, a flatbread stuffed with a mixture of chana dal and jaggery, is another Maharashtra staple that appears during festive seasons including Diwali. The jaggery here provides the sweetness in the stuffing, complementing the dal and spiced with a little cardamom.
Rajasthan and Gujarat: Churma and Ladoos
In Rajasthan, churma is a coarse wheat preparation sweetened with jaggery. Wheat flour is cooked in ghee, then broken and mixed with powdered jaggery and dried fruits. The result is a grainy, rich sweet that is made during festivals and special occasions.
Gujarat has its own version of til ladoo made with sesame, jaggery, and sometimes peanuts. Dry fruit ladoos sweetened with jaggery also appear in many Gujarati households during Diwali.
Bengal: Gur Sandesh and Nolen Gur
Bengal has perhaps the most elaborate jaggery culture of any region in India. Date palm jaggery, called nolen gur or patali gur, is a winter speciality with a distinct flavour that sets it apart from cane jaggery.
Gur sandesh, made by mixing nolen gur with chenna (fresh cottage cheese), is a Diwali sweet in many Bengali households. The nolen gur version has a smokier, more complex flavour than sandesh made with sugar. The jaggery season in Bengal coincides with the cooler winter months, and Diwali often marks its early arrival.
South India: Chakkarai Pongal and Bellam Poli
In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the festive season sees the preparation of chakkarai pongal, rice cooked with jaggery and lentils, flavoured with cardamom and cashews. While pongal is more closely associated with the Pongal harvest festival in January, the sweet version appears in homes during Diwali as well.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, bellam (jaggery) is used in festive sweets including different varieties of poli and ladoo. Bellam pongal and jaggery-based payasam appear on the Diwali menu in many households.
Punjab and Haryana: Gur Ki Pinni
Pinni is a wheat-based sweet made with generous amounts of ghee and jaggery. In Punjab and Haryana, it is associated with winter nourishment and appears prominently during festive seasons. The combination of atta, ghee, and gur is a simple one, but results in a rich, dense sweet that has been made in these regions for generations.
Gajak, a hard brittle sweet made from sesame or peanuts and jaggery, is another North Indian preparation associated with the winter festive season.
Kerala: Ela Ada and Unniyappam
In Kerala, unniyappam, a small round fried sweet made with rice, banana, and jaggery, is a temple offering that also appears in home kitchens during festivals. Ela ada, a steamed rice parcel with a jaggery and coconut filling, is another jaggery-based sweet associated with festive cooking in the state.
What Makes Jaggery Suited to These Preparations?
Jaggery behaves differently from refined sugar in cooking in several practical ways:
тАв┬а It has a lower melting point and can be worked at lower temperatures.
тАв┬а It has a distinct flavour, from the trace minerals and residual molasses left in after processing. This is what gives gur ke ladoo and tilgul their character.
тАв┬а It binds differently in ladoo preparations, particularly when combined with ghee or sesame.
тАв┬а In payasam and pongal, it dissolves to give a caramel tone to the dish that refined sugar does not replicate.
These are not health claims but practical cooking observations. The flavour of jaggery in a sweet is qualitatively different from the same sweet made with refined sugar, and that difference is why it remains the preferred sweetener in many of these preparations.
Two Brothers India Farms Jaggery is available on our product page. Also check our natural sweeteners collection and the Diwali festival collection if you are planning festive sweets this season.
Coming later this month: Jaggery vs Sugar: What Is Different at the Ingredient Level. And if you are looking for other varieties, see our date palm jaggery and jaggery powder.
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