Jaggery (gur): unrefined cane sugar and how to use it

Jaggery (gur in Hindi, often spelt goor on packs) is unrefined sugar made by boiling down sugar cane juice. It is sold in blocks, cubes or as a powder, and it is golden brown with a taste of caramel and molasses. In India it sweetens desserts, tea and chutneys, and also some savoury dishes such as sambar and dal.

What jaggery is

Jaggery is simple to make. Juice pressed from sugar cane is boiled in large, shallow pans until most of the water has gone. The thick mass is poured into moulds and left to set. The molasses is not separated from the crystals, as it is when white sugar is made. That is why jaggery is dark and has a strong taste.

A similar product is made from palm sap, for example from the date palm or the coconut palm. In Bengal, nolen gur, jaggery from date palm sap, is popular for winter sweets.

The names you will see on packs:

• jaggery, gur, goor, gud: the same thing, in different languages and spellings;
• Kolhapuri jaggery: jaggery from the area around Kolhapur in Maharashtra;
• shakkar: loose, granular jaggery, popular in Punjab;
• jaggery powder: ground jaggery, easy to measure.

There is no common Polish word for jaggery. Polish shops and labels use "jaggery" or describe it as nierafinowany cukier trzcinowy (unrefined cane sugar). Do not confuse it with ordinary cukier trzcinowy or brązowy cukier in a Polish supermarket: those are crystals with less molasses and a milder taste.

How jaggery tastes

Jaggery tastes of caramel, toffee and molasses, sometimes with a slightly salty or smoky note. The colour ranges from light gold to dark brown. Every batch is a little different, because it is a lightly processed product. It is sweet, but not like white sugar: it gives desserts a deeper, fuller taste.

How to use jaggery

A block of jaggery is hard. There are three ways to use it:

1. Grate it on the coarse side of a grater, or scrape it with a knife.
2. Break it with a pestle inside a bag if you need larger pieces.
3. Melt it in water. Break the jaggery into a pan, add a little water and heat it, stirring, until it melts. Strain the syrup through a sieve, because jaggery can contain small bits of cane.

Typical uses:

• Chikki: roasted peanuts or sesame set in jaggery caramel and cut into squares.
• Laddoo: balls of roasted flour, sesame or coconut bound with jaggery.
• Gajar ka halwa and other halwas: jaggery instead of sugar gives a darker colour and a caramel taste.
• Pongal and payasam: sweet rice or semolina cooked in milk with jaggery.
• Tamarind sauce: jaggery balances the sour tamarind. More in our guide to tamarind sauce and tamarind paste.
• Savoury dishes: in Gujarati and South Indian cooking a little jaggery softens the sour taste of dal, sambar and rasam.

We describe more Indian desserts in Indian sweets: kaju katli, halwa, soan papdi.

How to store jaggery

Jaggery easily absorbs moisture from the air. It then softens, gets sticky and can start to ferment. Keep it in a closed jar or container in a dry, cool place. In a damp kitchen the fridge works well. If the jaggery gets hard, grate it or melt it in water as usual.

What to use instead of jaggery

The closest substitute is muscovado or dark cane sugar. The taste will be similar but weaker. You can also use brown sugar with a teaspoon of molasses. White sugar is just as sweet but gives no caramel taste. In Thai and Indonesian recipes, palm sugar plays a similar role.

Where to buy jaggery in Poland

Little India sells Lakshmi Punjabi Desi Gur 500 g, Lakshmi jaggery cubes, Lakshmi jaggery powder and Swetha Kolhapuri jaggery. Little India has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk and ships orders across Poland.