Shakkarpara or shakkar pare are diamond-shaped sweet snack of crispy, flaky, fried flour cookies coated with crystallized sugar. Try my authentic Punjabi recipe to make these delish snack that you can munch upon any time!
What is Shakkarpara
Shakkarpara (plural shakkar pare) is one of the popular sweets from the North Indian cuisine. These sweet snack is also made during weddings.
During the Diwali festive season, usually I make shankarpali, where the method is different than that of preparing shakkar pare.
Shakkarpara is different from shankarpali which is from the Maharashtrian cuisine. The difference being that shankarpali is made with a sweet dough and it is not coated with any sugar syrup.
Whereas shakkarpara is made with an unsweetened dough and later coated in sugar syrup. So the taste and texture of both are completely different.
Making any sweet or savory for Diwali is a time taking task. So make sure all your work is over and then you can dedicate some time in making these sweets or savories.
The initial part of making the dough for shakkar para and frying is easy. However, you need to pay attention when making the sugar syrup.
It should be the right consistency, which is of 2 or 3 threads. I did try hard to take photos of 2 to 3 threads, but was not able to.
This shakkarpara recipe can be doubled or tripled. From 240 grams (2 cups) of whole wheat flour, I got 450 grams of shakkarpare. A little less than ½ a kilogram.
The recipe uses sugar, but you can also use jaggery and make gudpare. The same amount of jaggery can be added.
How to make Shakkarpara
Make this special sweet easily in your kitchen with my step-by-step photos and detailed instructions.
Making dough
1. Take 2 cups whole wheat flour or atta (240 grams) in a mixing bowl or pan. Add 2 tbsp ghee. The ghee should be at room temperature and in a semi solid state. Instead of atta you can also take all purpose flour (maida). Instead of ghee you can use oil.
2. With your fingertips, mix the ghee with the flour very well.
3. When you press the flour+ghee mixture in your palm, you should get a flour lump like shown in the picture below. The mixture should be able to hold itself together without falling apart.
4. Now add water in parts. Depending on the quality of flour, you can add less or more water. I added ½ cup water.
5. Begin to knead the dough. Add water as required. If you use all purpose flour (maida), you will need less water.
6. Knead to a firm semi soft dough. Neither too soft nor too hard. The dough should be not soft like the dough we make for chapatis.
7. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Cover with a lid.
8. Take one part and roll into a thick paratha of 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
9. With a knife make squares or diamond shapes on the rolled dough, by slicing criss cross or vertically-horizontally.
Frying
10. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Test the oil temperature by adding a small piece of the dough in the pan. This small piece of dough should come up gradually and quickly on the surface.
If it comes slowly, the oil has a lower temperature and if it comes up too quickly, the oil has high temperature. I fried on medium flame. You can regulate the flame while frying by increasing or decreasing it.
11. Gently slid the cut diamond shaped dough in the medium hot oil.
12. Depending on the pan size, you can add more or less. But do make sure that there is some space while frying them.
13. When the shakkarpara are crisp and light golden, turn over and fry.
14. Keep on frying them and turning as and when needed for even frying.
15. Fry till all of them turn golden.
16. Remove with a slotted spoon and place shakkar pare on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
17. Continue to prepare the shakkar pare and fry them as mentioned in the above steps. When you are begin frying the last batch, you can start preparing the sugar syrup.
Let all the shakkar pare come to room temperature, before you add them in the sugar syrup.
Making sugar syrup
18. Take 1 cup sugar (150 grams) in another kadai or pan.
19. Add ½ cup water.
20. Keep the pan on a low to medium flame. Stir so that the sugar dissolves.
21. Continue cooking the sugar syrup till it starts bubbling and getting sticky. A suggestion here is to add some saffron strands in the sugar syrup, to get orange or yellow colored shakkarpara.
22. Simmer till you get a 2 to 3 thread consistency in the syrup. To check the consistency, take a bit of the syrup in a spoon. Let it become warm and then take the syrup between your forefinger and thumb.
Press and separate the fingers. You should see two to three thread consistency in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup is quite hot and can burn your fingers. So let it become warm or cool down, before you test.
Making shakkarpara
23. Switch off the flame as soon as two to three thread consistency is reached in the sugar syrup. Quickly add all the shakkar pare in the syrup.
The sugar syrup has to reach 2 to 3 thread consistency, otherwise the shakkarpara will become soggy as they will absorb the sugar syrup.
24. Briskly stir and toss well, so that all the shakkarpara are coated with the sugar syrup.
25. The sugar syrup crystallizes soon.
26. So mix very well and be quick.
27. Take all the shakkarpara in a plate and allow them to come at room temperature. The sugar syrup will crystallize on cooling.
28. Once all of them cool down, store shakkarpara in an air-tight box or jar. These stay good for a few months.
29. Serve shakkarpara with tea or have them as a snack any time of day.
Some More Indian Sweets!
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Shakkarpara Recipe
Ingredients
for the dough
- 240 grams whole wheat flour (atta) or 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoon Ghee
- ½ cup water or add as required
for sugar syrup
- 1 cup sugar or 150 grams sugar – can also use 1 cup grated or powdered jaggery
- ½ cup water
- a few saffron strands (kesar) – optional
other ingredients
- oil for deep frying – as required
Instructions
Making dough
- Take 2 cups whole wheat flour or atta (240 grams) in a mixing bowl or pan. Add 2 tbsp ghee. The ghee should be at room temperature and in a semi solid state. Instead of atta you can also take all purpose flour or maida and oil instead of ghee.
- With your fingertips, mix the ghee with the flour very well.
- When you press the flour+ghee mixture in your palm, you should get a flour lump like shown in the picture below. The mixture should be able to hold itself together without falling apart.
- Now add water in parts. Depending on the quality of flour, you can add less or more water. I added ½ cup water.
- Begin to knead the dough. Add water as required. If you use all purpose flour, you will need less water.
- Knead to a firm semi soft dough. Neither too soft nor too hard. The dough should be not soft like the dough we make for chapatis.
- Divide the dough into three equal parts. Cover with a lid.
- Take one part and roll into a thick paratha of 7 to 8 inches in diameter.
- With a knife make squares or diamond shapes on the rolled dough, by slicing criss cross or vertically-horizontally.
Frying
- Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Test the oil temperature by adding a small piece of the dough in the pan. This small piece of the dough should come up gradually and quickly on the surface. If it comes slowly, the oil has a lower temperature and if it comes up too quickly, the oil has high temperature. I fried on medium flame. You can regulate the flame while frying by increasing or decreasing it.
- Slid the cut diamond shaped dough in the medium hot oil.
- Depending on the pan size, you can add more or less. But do make sure that there is some space while frying them.
- When the shakkarpara are crisp and light golden, turn over and fry.
- Keep on frying them and turning as and when needed for even frying.
- Fry till all of them turn golden.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and drain shakkar pare on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil.
- Continue to prepare the shakkarpara and fry them as mentioned in the above steps. When you are begin frying the last batch, you can start preparing the sugar syrup. Let all the shakkarpara come to room temperature, before you add them in the sugar syrup.
Making sugar syrup
- Take 1 cup sugar (150 grams) in another kadai or pan. Add ½ cup water.
- Keep the pan on a low to medium flame. Stir so that the sugar dissolves.
- Continue cooking the sugar syrup till it starts bubbling and getting sticky. A suggestion here is to add some saffron strands in sugar syrup to get orange or yellow colored shakkarpara.
- Simmer till you get a 2 to 3 thread consistency in the syrup. To check the consistency, take a bit of the syrup in a spoon. Let it become warm and then take the syrup between your forefinger and thumb. Press and separate the fingers. You should see two to three threads in the sugar syrup.
- Once the two to three thread consistency is reached, quickly add all the shakkarpara in the syrup.
- Briskly stir and toss well, so that all the shakkarpara are coated with the sugar syrup.
- The sugar syrup crystallizes soon, so mix very well and be quick.
- Now take all the shakkarpara in a plate and allow them to come at room temperature. The sugar syrup will crystallize on cooling.
- Once all of them cool down, store shakkarpara in an air-tight box or jar. These stay good for a few months.
I loved this recipe!What beautiful pictures!Really appreciate this blog!:) Namaste