Chilru can rightly be called Himachali Pancakes. This is a homemade sweet dish from very basic every-day ingredients. This recipe is ideal to be served as prasad for pooja ceremonies at home.

Required Ingredients

• Wheat Flour - 2 Cups
• Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup – crushed
• Oil / Ghee - For Shallow Frying
• Fennel Seeds - 1 cup
• Nuts - 1/2 cup crushed

Method

• Take a mixing pan and add plain water to it. Add crushed jaggery to it and let it stand till it completely dissolves.
• Once the jaggery has completely dissolved in the water, add wheat flour to it and mix well, till no flour lumps are visible and the batter looks consistent.
• Let the batter rest for 2-3 minutes. Fennel seeds can be added to it
• Spread oil on the Tava and heat it on the low-medium flame. Once the Tava is hot, turn the flame to low and carefully spread about 2-3 tbs of batter in the form of a thin flat pancake.
• As the pancake cooks, its color changes to golden, carefully lift Chilru / pancake with a flat ladle and flip the side and let the other side also cook to a golden brown.
• At this stage, the Tava can be covered with a lid, that will retain the heat and moisture inside and help in cooking the Chilru faster.
• Once the Chilru seems to be readily coming off the griddle, carefully transfer it to the serving dish. Repeat the steps for the rest of the batter and prepare other Chilrus.

Ensure the ratio of wheat and jaggery is 1.5:1, as otherwise, jaggery would start sticking uncontrollably to the hot pan. If it so happens, try adding more wheat flour to your batter to improve this ratio.

(Content shared by Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University)

Required Ingredients

• 250 grams Amla/Gooseberries
• 1/2 cup white sesame seeds /til
• 2 tablespoon Coconut powder
• 200 grams jaggery scraped
• 1 tablespoon Almond powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Green cardamom powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ghee (optional)
• 10 saffron strands

Method

• Wash and boil the amlas with 1 glass of water in a pressure cooker for one whistle. When cooled, remove the seeds.
• Dry roast the sesame seeds in a non-stick pan on a medium to low flame for 5 minutes and let it cool down to room temperature.
• Grind the amla in a mixer to a fine paste.
• Now heat a non-stick pan and melt the jaggery on a medium flame.
• Add amla paste to the melted jaggery.
• Mix it well, keep stirring constantly and cook until jaggery infuses completely and the mixture becomes thick. Let it cool down.
• Add the roasted sesame seeds/ til, coconut powder, almond powder, green cardamom powder, saffron strands, and cinnamon powder and mix well.
• Grease your palms with water and take a small portion of the mixture and roll it out into a laddoo.
• Healthy and power-packed laddoos are ready. It can be stored in an air-tight container for 3-4 months.

(Content shared by Akanksha Sharma, Nutritionist, Delhi)

Required Ingredients

• 1½ litre whole milk
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cups of water
• 3 cups of grated jaggery

Method

• Take a layer muslin/cheesecloth in a colander and keep it aside.
• In a deep saucepan, pour the whole milk and bring it to a boil. After boiling, switch off the heat and pour 1 cup of water into the pan.
• Pour the lemon juice into the milk and stir. This will cause the milk to curdle.
• Allow the milk to cool, and then strain the milk through the cheesecloth. Rinse the cheese under running water.
• Tie the ends of the cheesecloth and squeeze off all the excess water. Hang it for just 30 minutes.
• Further, take the cheese out of the cloth and start kneading into soft cheese dough.
• Make dumplings from the dough in a circular shape.
• Make the jaggery syrup by mixing water with jaggery and bring it to a boil. The syrup should be runny.
• Once the syrup is ready, drop the cheese balls into it. Cover the pan with a tight lid and let it cook for 15 minutes at medium heat. Once they are almost double in size, they’re ready.
• Once it's cooled, serve with the syrup.

(Content shared by Akanksha Sharma, Nutritionist, Delhi)

Palm Jaggery is produced from fresh sap of tall fan Palm (Borassus flabellifier) that has chocolate-like taste and is considered a storehouse of nutrients mainly iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and B-complex vitamins. It is a completely natural, unrefined, and low glycemic (GI=35-40) sweetener that tastes, dissolves and melts almost equivalent to refined sugar (GI=60-70). It is a good alternative for refined sugar and extensively used for the preparation of traditional foods and Ayurveda due to its medicinal properties.

Gulab jamun is a popular milk-based sweet made from Mawa or Khoa. It is consumed on large scale during the festive season by all age groups, especially children. The developed functional Gulab jamun is rich in fiber and minerals.

Required Ingredients

• 1½ litre whole milk
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 cups of water
• 3 cups of grated jaggery

Method

The mix is prepared by blending skim milk powder, palmyrah young shoot flour, refined wheat flour, vegetable fat, raising agent, and acidifying agent. Whole milk and butter are added to homogenize the mix until the dough became soft and left for some time which enhances volume raising during frying. At the same time, the palm jaggery syrup is prepared by boiling the jaggery with water until reaches the appropriate Brix level. Cardamom powder is added to the syrup to enhance the aroma and flavour. The dough is portioned into balls and deep-fried in refined oil at low heat till it reaches golden brown color. The fried balls are transferred into hot palm jaggery syrup and soaked for some time before serving.

(Content shared by Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology)