The rich heritage of Indian sweets and desserts is utterly varied and, often, closely revolves around sugar. It has worked its way from the syrupy sweetness of gulab jamun to the delicate crystals atop the traditional laddoos-all the way that sugar in Indian cuisine goes far beyond simple table sugar. Indian kitchens make use of different kinds of sugar or sweeteners. According to the coarseness or fineness, flavour, and the amount of sweetness imparted, jaggery is selected for certain dishes while castor sugar is preferred for others. Whether it is the coarseness of jaggery or the fine, powdery sweetness of castor sugar, the type of sugar used in the dish makes all the difference. Let's start off now and explore these sweet varieties, understanding the magic behind the sweets from India.
Jaggery or Gur
Jaggery could well be regarded as the oldest and most sacred form of sugar in India. Unrefined and all-natural, jaggery is a sweetener prepared from the concentrated juice of sugarcane or palm sap, ranging from golden brown to dark brown colour. Being unprocessed as compared with white sugar, many nutrients, such as iron, potassium, and calcium, are retained in jaggery, which is why health-conscious cooks opt for it.
It is an essential component of payasam, a traditional rice pudding; tilgul, a sweet made from sesame; and puran poli, a stuffed flatbread. Sweet and full-bodied, it contains flavours of caramel and molasses, adding depth to dishes and is used traditionally in making syrups, sauces, or even chutneys.
Demerara Sugar
Demerara sugar is a variety of raw sugars, containing large grainy texture and light brown colour, has lesser refinement than white sugar and some retention of natural molasses from sugarcane will provide it with a subtle, toffee-like flavour. Demerara sugar is often used to garnish Indian desserts like kheer (rice pudding) or sprinkled over baked goods such as nankhatai (Indian shortbread) to add a crunchy texture.
At times, it is also used in tea or coffee to impart a slightly more developed sweetness. Though less frequently used than white sugar or jaggery, demerara sugar finds its place in more modern Indian recipes that need some sophisticated touch of sweetness.
Mishri
Mishri, or rock sugar, is a crystallized form of sugar that is commonly employed in India both as medicine and in cooking. Prepared by boiling sugarcane juice until it crystallizes, mishri has a distinct texture-hard and crystalline-and a mild clean sweetness. The use of mishri is widespread and most practiced when serving to the lord as an offering; it is also given as prasad after any praying session or served after meals to aid the stomach in digestion.
It is added to laddoos or used for decoration on specific desserts in Indian sweets. Also, it is great for sweetening hot beverages, such as tea, without overpowering the flavour of the beverage.
Castor Sugar
Castor sugar is also known as superfine sugar, ground to a very fine texture and dissolves quickly. It is wonderful in Indian sweets that are smooth-textured, such as halwa or shrikhand. Being fine in texture, it may be mixed very well into batters and doughs to help in achieving an evenly sweet confection.
Castor sugar is used commonly in Indian desserts, particularly for airy, light confections that require whipping or beating, such as preparing the meringues in fusion desserts or as the rich base of traditional mithai.
Brown Sugar
Another very common sugar is brown sugar. It is a mixture of white sugar and molasses, which gives it a rich, caramel-like taste. Brown sugar is often used as a substitute for jaggery. This may be used when jaggery is not available but still adds to the same depth in the sweets. This sugar can be added to any dessert, such as barfi or milk-based sweets, and even added to spiced drinks, such as masala chai, for that extra complexity.
Brown sugar's moisture content makes it suitable for recipes requiring a softer, moister texture like malpua, for instance, or thick kesari, the traditional semolina dessert.