Singori Recipe, The Unique Leaf-Wrapped Sweet From Uttarakhand

Anybody who has ever travelled through the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand would have come across a unique sweet at the marketplaces and streets. Shaped like a cone, stuffed with khoya and tasting, strangely enough, of coconut of all things, Singori is a traditional sweet found across the state—and especially in Kumaoni towns like Almora. At first glance, Singori will remind you of a green ice cream thanks to the shape of the cone, which is made of Maalo leaves found only in this Himalayan region. To Bengalis, however, Singori is reminiscent of a Bhapa Sandesh or steamed chhena sweetmeat which are also traditionally wrapped in sal leaves before steaming. 

Singori, which is also known as Singauri or Singodi, is not just found in the bylanes of Kumaon though. The sweet dish is prepared across all Uttarakhand homes in other parts of India—though the hard-to-get Maalu leaves are brought from Uttarakhand hometowns or replaced with turmeric leaves from time to time. As per most people from Uttarakhand as well as food historians, Singori was first created in Almora. The method of leaf-wrapping has existed in India for centuries, which means that guessing Singori’s exact age and provenance is quite difficult. 

Video courtesy: YouTube/Krazy Cravings

However, everyone can agree that quite like the Bengali Sandesh, the Uttarakhandi Singori is also very healthy despite being a sweet dish. This is primary due to the fact that unlike Gulab Jamuns and Jalebis, this sweet dish is steamed, not fried. The dessert is made with khoya and cane sugar and flavoured with grated coconut and rose petals. This addition of coconut and rose petals provides a unique flowery, sweet taste to the sweetmeat.  

Although the process of making Singori is very simple, making it at home has one major challenge—the availability of the traditional Maalo leaves. In case you can’t find these uniquely Kumaoni leaves anywhere, you can use haldi or turmeric leaves to make them. Here is the traditional recipe for Singori you can try out at home. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup unsweetened khoya or mawa 

1 cup cane sugar, powdered 

2 tbsp coconut, grated 

2 tsp rose petals, chopped 

10 Maalo leaves 

Method: 

1. Place the khoya in a pan and turn the heat on at low. 

2. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. 

3. Continue stirring and cooking the khoya and sugar until the former melts. 

4. Now, add the grated coconut and continue stirring. 

5. Cook the mixture for another 10-15 minutes or until it forms a thick batter. 

6. Switch off the heat and let the Singori mix cool down. 

7. Meanwhile, fold the Maalu leaves into cones and use a toothpick or cooking thread to secure each cone. 

8. Once the Singori mix is cool, divide the batter into equal-sized balls. 

9. Place each Singori ball in the cones and press down to fill the cone properly.  

10. Take some rose petals and press them down on the filled Singori cones. 

11. Serve the Singori with a spoon.