<p>The versatile, unrefined sugar — gud, gur, vellum, bellam, bella, sharkara or jaggery — is an age-old natural sweetener.</p>.<p>From indigenous medicine to a household sweetener, gur carries centuries of traditions. It is also gaining much relevance in modern, healthier cooking by replacing white sugar. Gur (jaggery) is made from sugarcane juice and the sap of date palm, palmyra palm and coconut palm. </p>.<p>In winter, gur (jaggery) based traditional sweets and snacks find their way into home kitchens. It has a warming effect on the body, and is integral to festivals. </p>.<p>After the rainy season, sugarcane is harvested in several parts of India. The canes are crushed to extract juice, which is boiled and concentrated to obtain gur in villages. It retains the natural goodness of sugarcane. It is rich in nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins; unlike white sugar, which has been processed with chemicals in mills. A healthier sweetener is still loaded with sucrose, so consume it in moderation.</p>.Malvani cuisine, in the main.<p>Combine gur with seeds or cereals and you have til laddoo or gur pitha. Bake cakes and cookies; the nutty, earthy flavours of rustic gur bring you closer to nature. Jaggery-coated peanuts and dry-fruits chikkis make for a crunchy, protein-rich snack. </p>.<p>Maharashtra’s puran poli, Tamil Nadu’s sweet Pongal, Punjab’s gur-ke-chawal during Baisakhi and Zarda pulao in Ramzan Eid are festive meals with gur. Ukadiche modak in Ganesh Chaturthi to Unniyappam in Onam, gur reigns supreme. Some regional specialities are southern appams, northern gur ke gulgule, eastern pua (pancakes), Goa’s Nevri, Telangana’s Kajjikayalu and Gujarat’s sukhdi. </p>.<p>Some seasonal preparations like patoli, prepared in the Konkan coast, have medicinal properties. During the monsoon, gur in rice-based rolls or dumplings, wrapped in fresh turmeric leaves, is steamed.</p>.<p><strong>Varieties of gur</strong></p>.<p>In Bengal, winter heralds khejurer gur or nolen gur: nolen means new, prepared from fresh sap of the date palm. It is the time to indulge in traditional treats like sandesh and mishti doi. However, collecting the date palm sap is arduous. The shiulis (climbers) climb the tall palm tree with a rope tied to their body, hanging an earthen pot below an incision in the trunk, to collect the dripping sap overnight. The sap must be collected in the morning, lest it ferments. It is boiled to a thick consistency and sold in small earthen pots.</p>.<p>Other forms of gur, like the coconut palm gur, made from neera, the sap of coconut palm flowers, and the palmyrah palm (toddy palm) gur made from its sap, are highly nutritious.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In olden times, a visitor was welcomed with a small amount of gur and water. It is supposed to replenish electrolytes in the body and reenergize the person, especially when travelling long distances.</p>
<p>The versatile, unrefined sugar — gud, gur, vellum, bellam, bella, sharkara or jaggery — is an age-old natural sweetener.</p>.<p>From indigenous medicine to a household sweetener, gur carries centuries of traditions. It is also gaining much relevance in modern, healthier cooking by replacing white sugar. Gur (jaggery) is made from sugarcane juice and the sap of date palm, palmyra palm and coconut palm. </p>.<p>In winter, gur (jaggery) based traditional sweets and snacks find their way into home kitchens. It has a warming effect on the body, and is integral to festivals. </p>.<p>After the rainy season, sugarcane is harvested in several parts of India. The canes are crushed to extract juice, which is boiled and concentrated to obtain gur in villages. It retains the natural goodness of sugarcane. It is rich in nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins; unlike white sugar, which has been processed with chemicals in mills. A healthier sweetener is still loaded with sucrose, so consume it in moderation.</p>.Malvani cuisine, in the main.<p>Combine gur with seeds or cereals and you have til laddoo or gur pitha. Bake cakes and cookies; the nutty, earthy flavours of rustic gur bring you closer to nature. Jaggery-coated peanuts and dry-fruits chikkis make for a crunchy, protein-rich snack. </p>.<p>Maharashtra’s puran poli, Tamil Nadu’s sweet Pongal, Punjab’s gur-ke-chawal during Baisakhi and Zarda pulao in Ramzan Eid are festive meals with gur. Ukadiche modak in Ganesh Chaturthi to Unniyappam in Onam, gur reigns supreme. Some regional specialities are southern appams, northern gur ke gulgule, eastern pua (pancakes), Goa’s Nevri, Telangana’s Kajjikayalu and Gujarat’s sukhdi. </p>.<p>Some seasonal preparations like patoli, prepared in the Konkan coast, have medicinal properties. During the monsoon, gur in rice-based rolls or dumplings, wrapped in fresh turmeric leaves, is steamed.</p>.<p><strong>Varieties of gur</strong></p>.<p>In Bengal, winter heralds khejurer gur or nolen gur: nolen means new, prepared from fresh sap of the date palm. It is the time to indulge in traditional treats like sandesh and mishti doi. However, collecting the date palm sap is arduous. The shiulis (climbers) climb the tall palm tree with a rope tied to their body, hanging an earthen pot below an incision in the trunk, to collect the dripping sap overnight. The sap must be collected in the morning, lest it ferments. It is boiled to a thick consistency and sold in small earthen pots.</p>.<p>Other forms of gur, like the coconut palm gur, made from neera, the sap of coconut palm flowers, and the palmyrah palm (toddy palm) gur made from its sap, are highly nutritious.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In olden times, a visitor was welcomed with a small amount of gur and water. It is supposed to replenish electrolytes in the body and reenergize the person, especially when travelling long distances.</p>