Panjeeri Recipe

Panjeeri is a traditional cold weather snack made by roasting a mixture of whole wheat flour (atta) and semolina in pure ghee. A variety of nuts, seeds, and spices are added along with powdered jaggery to give this panjeeri recipe a very unique nutty and sweet taste.

A healing and warming food

• I like to think of panjeeri or panjiri as a kind of desi granola. You just have to take a look at the ingredients to see that not only does it have an excellent nutritional profile, it is also pretty darn addictive. Trust me, it's easy to make your way through a bowl of this tasty, crunchy stuff! That being said, a whole bowl of panjeeri is a lot! Do try and have it in moderation as it is quite rich and dense.

• Taste aside, panjeeri is typically eaten by new mothers due to its fortifying and strengthening nature. Women from the subcontinent actually look forward to having it in their postpartum days since it provides a lot of energy and nourishment and also helps heal the body after the stress of childbirth.

• Of course, it's not only new moms who can enjoy panjeeri. Anyone can make and eat it, especially in the winter months when it's very cold. Panjeeri is a warming food thanks to the unique combination of ingredients like ghee, nuts, jaggery and spices (ginger and cardamom). North American winters, are you listening?

Where to source the ingredients

If you're wondering where to get the ingredients from, your best bet is your local Indian or Pakistani grocery store. You will find all the ingredients needed for making panjiri in one go. If, however, making the trip to the store is not possible, you will still be able to source most of them online.

Besides, the recipe for panjiri is very flexible. You can add and subtract ingredients according to your taste and availability. As long as you have the whole wheat flour (even the semolina can be omitted), ghee, a sweetener, and a few nuts, you're good to go.

Ingredients

• Exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.

• The ingredients in the picture below have been roasted in ghee already. That is why the wheat flour and semolina appear brown.

Equipment

• A small but heavy stainless steel karahi or wok (for roasting the ingredients in ghee)
• A slotted spoon
• A mortar and pestle OR a food processor (for breaking up the roasted nuts)
• A big bowl for mixing the roasted goodies.

Method

Time needed: 40 minutes

How to make panjeeri

Step 1: Roast the whole wheat flour in ghee

• Take half a cup ghee in the karahi and heat it gently on low-medium heat.
• Add two cups whole wheat flour (atta) and stir it continuously with a spoon. Keep stirring it in a to and fro motion until the flour turns brown (see picture below).
• This slow roasting in ghee will take around 20-25 minutes and is the most time consuming step in the recipe. The other ingredients do not take as much time.
• Once the flour is roasted, transfer it to a big bowl and wipe off the karahi with some kitchen paper so that it is ready for the next ingredient.

Step 2: Roast the semolina (sooji) in ghee

• Add one tablespoon ghee to the karahi and heat it on low-medium heat.
• Add the semolina and stir it gently and continuously with a spoon until it is golden brown in color.
• It will take around 8-10 minutes for the semolina to be roasted properly.
• Transfer the roasted semolina to the same bowl in which you added the whole wheat flour.

As in the previous step, wipe off the karahi with a clean paper towel before adding the next ingredient.

Step 3: Roast the other ingredients in ghee one by one until they are a light golden brown in color

Remember to keep the hob on low-medium heat, keep stirring the ingredient with a slotted spoon, and wipe off the karahi with a paper towel before adding a new ingredient. Here's a list of the ingredients, the amount of ghee needed, and the time it takes to roast them:

• Cashews - ½ teaspoon ghee - 1 minute.
• Almonds - ½ teaspoon ghee - 1 minute.
• Coconut flakes - ½ teaspoon ghee - 30 seconds.
• Melon seeds - ½ teaspoon ghee - 30 seconds.
• Edible gum crystals (gond) - 1 teaspoon ghee - 30 seconds. The crystals will swell and turn opaque white in the hot ghee within seconds. You don't need to brown these crystals or they will become too hard. As soon as they swell and turn white, take them out with the spoon.
• Fox nuts (phool makhane) - 1 tablespoon ghee - 2 minutes.

Step 4: Crush the nuts once cool

• Put the cashews, almonds, coconut flakes, edible gum, and fox nuts in a mortar and pestle and crush them into small pieces. Or use a food processor to pulse the ingredients into rough bits.
• Take care not to over process because you want some texture in your panjeeri. You don't want everything to turn to a powder!
• Add these crushed nuts to the big bowl.

Step 5: Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl

• Tip in the melon seeds, powdered jaggery, cardamom and ginger powders to the bowl.
• Take a large spoon and combine all the ingredients until well mixed.

Your panjeeri is now ready to be eaten 🙂

Top tips

• Use good quality whole wheat flour, the same flour (atta) that you use to make roti or Indian flatbread. Some good options are Pilsbury Chakki Fresh Atta and Aashirwad Atta.
• Do NOT use cooking oil in place of ghee to make panjeeri. Seed oils like canola or sunflower will turn this healthy and wholesome recipe into an oily mess. Ghee, on the other hand, is a 'good' fat which is said to reduce inflammation and promote gut health, in addition to other benefits. If you're interested, read about the benefits of ghee here. The only other fat that you may use instead of ghee is virgin coconut oil. This will suit you if you are vegan.
• While roasting the wheat flour, semolina and other ingredients, don't be tempted to increase the heat to speed up the process. The panjeeri will have a bitter taste if the ingredients get over-browned. Plus, the flour and semolina may get browned quickly if you roast them on high heat, but they will still have a 'raw' taste that is not very appealing. That is why, go low and slow while roasting them.
• On a similar note, don't try and roast the different nuts and seeds all together to save time. Most of them brown at very different temperatures from each other, so if you dump them in the ghee together, you will get very uneven results and may even end up with burnt bits.
• Stir continuously in a to and fro motion while roasting the ingredients. This is to achieve even browning, especially with the whole wheat flour and semolina.
• Do wipe off the karahi before roasting each new ingredient. This way, the karahi will remain clean and free of burnt bits.

Substitutions

• I used powdered jaggery in this recipe. If you can't get hold of this ingredient, go ahead and use coconut sugar or even brown sugar. If you don't have any of these, white sugar would work too, although if you ask me, this is the least preferred of all the sweeteners as it is completely devoid of nutrients.
• Omit the semolina if you don't have it. Panjeeri is completely acceptable with just wheat flour too.

How to store panjeeri

Panjeeri can be stored in a clean and dry glass bottle at room temperature for several weeks. Do take care not to let any moisture get in by putting a wet spoon in the bottle, for instance. That's all you need to do, really. If you make a large batch, this tasty snack will last for a few weeks at least.

More traditional Indian sweets and snacks

• Nankhatai - soft and flaky eggless cookies that will melt in your mouth.
• Khaman dhokla - steamed gramflour cakes perfect for a light tea time snack.
• Sheera - a moist halwa made of semolina, ghee, sugar, cardamom, and nuts.
• Besan halwa - another soft and aromatic halwa made with chickpea flour.