Gur Makhana (Caramelized Jaggery Fox nuts)

You can think of Gur Makhana or Caramelized Jaggery Fox nuts as the Indian version of caramelized popcorn! So what is Gur Makhana you may ask. 

Gur–

Gur called jaggery in English is an unrefined sugar product made mainly in India. It is a natural product of sugar cane and is generally considered to be more nutritious than sugar. Raw, concentrated sugarcane juice is boiled until it becomes solid and can be formed into blocks. It has the slight bitterness of molasses and the richness of caramel.

Gur can be bought at any Indian store or online. In this recipe I have used powdered form of gur. But you can easily take a block or gur, cut it with a serrated knife and use it in the recipe. 

Makhana–

Makhana or Phool Makhana are called fox nuts or lotus seeds in English. I personally relate Makhana to Popcorn but with a lot more nutritional value. Makhanas are low in cholesterol, sodium and saturated fats and are a good source of magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorous and protein. This high nutrition value of makhanas makes them a perfect and healthy snack.

In India Makhanas are used in sweet as well savory preparations like kheer and curries and recently have gained popularity as an evening snack roasted with various seasonings. Makhana can be bought at any Indian store or online.

For this recipe we are going to make a caramel sauce of the gur and then coat toasted makhanas in it. It tastes very close to caramel popcorn but with a deeper and richer flavor of the gur. 

Pro Tips:

• It is important to roast the makhanas of low flame. This will ensure that they get cooked from the inside and become crunchy before burning from the outside. 
• Since we are adding 2 tablespoons of water to make the jaggery syrup, it is important to cook it long enough for the water to evaporate and make a one string consistency syrup. One easy way to check this is if the syrup coats the back of a spoon, it is ready. If the syrup is too liquid, the makhanas with shrink in size from the moisture. 
• I use Ghee (clarified butter) to roast the makhanas, but you can use unsalted butter also. For vegan version you can substitute it for any plant based butter.
• If you desire additional texture and flavor, you can add ½ cup of roasted unsalted peanuts to it. Reduce the makhanas quantity by 4-41/2 cups and add ½ cups of peanuts. 

Gur Makhana or Caramelized jaggery Fox nuts make a great snack anytime of the day. A few pieces of it after meals and it satisfies my craving for something sweet. Since it only takes less than 20 minutes to make and is so delicious, I see myself making it often these days. 

If you are looking for more healthy and easy snacks to make, here are some other suggestions:

Sweet and Spicy Maple Roasted Nuts

Home Made Granola

Once you try this recipe, leave us a comment and a star rating and take a picture and tag it @livinginfused on Instagram! We would love to see what you come up with!

Gur Makhana

Easy to make and healthy caramelized Jaggery fox nuts

Pin

Print

Recipe by Divya Jhaveri

5 from 1 vote

Course: Snacks

Servings

10

servings

Prep timeminutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 5 cups Makhana (fox nuts)

• 2 tablespoons Ghee or Unsalted butter

• 1 cup Jaggery (Gur) powder

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 tablespoons Sesame Seeds

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

• Heat ghee is a wide stainless steel or nonstick pan. Roast the makhana on low-medium flame for 7-10 minutes, stirring intermittently. Take care not to burn the makhana. The smaller makhana should change color and all the makhanas should be toasted. You can take a bigger makhana and pinch it between your fingers. It should crackle. Remove the makhana from heat and transfer to a plate.
• If using the same pan, cool it down for 5 minutes. Line a cookie sheet or pan with parchment paper.
• Add powdered jaggery powder and water to the wide pan. Melt the jaggery on medium heat and let it come to a boil. Once it starts boiling let it boil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. The syrup should thicken. Check for one string consistency. Take a tiny bit of syrup in between your thumb and finger and check to see if it makes a string.
• Add salt and stir. Add the roasted makhana to the gur syrup and stir to coat. Keep stirring and cooking till all the makhana are coated. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the makhana and stir.
• Empty the gur coated makhana on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Cool completely for an hour before storing in an airtight container for 1 week.

  • 

Tips

• It can be made vegan by using any plant based butter to roast the makhana.