Shakkar Para

Shakkar Para is a popular sweet snack of Rajasthan. Shakkar means sugar in Hindi and para is a piece of pastry. They are square or diamond shaped pastry squares, coated in sugar syrup. This is one of the most traditional Diwali and Holi sweet snack. It is served as prasad in some temples also. Enjoy this diwali with yummy and tasty SHAKKAR PARAS.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup sooji
2 tbsps oil or ghee
pinch of salt
1/2 cup warm water to make dough
oil or ghee for deep frying

For Syrup:

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Method:

1: Mix flour, sooji, salt, oil or ghee in a bowl and make a stiff dough adding water slowly as needed. Knead it well.

2: Cover the dough and set aside for 15-20 minutes

3: Divide dough in two equal parts. Take each part of the dough and make a flat ball shape. Roll them into 8-inch circles and 1/2 centimetre thickness.

4: Prick them with a fork all over the rolled dough, so the paras do not puff when frying.

5: Using an knife  make diagonal linear cuts all the way across the circle, roughly 2 cm. apart. Now make diagonal cuts in opposite direction. You will now have diamond or square shaped ‘pare' of approximately 1 1/2 cm. size each. Lift them off on to a plate, using a flat spatula.

6: Heat the oil or ghee in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 ½ inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, just put a small piece of dough in the oil. The dough should make the oil sizzle and come up slowly.

7: Make sure to place just enough  paras to cover top of the oil in frying pan. Fry the  paras until both sides are a light golden-brown.

8: Let the shakkar paras comes to the room temperature and they should be crisp.

Making Sugar Syrup:

1: Make Sugar syrup by boiling water and sugar in a panon medium-high heat, until you have a syrup of 3 wires. To check this, dip the spatula in the syrup, lift it out and touch with your forefinger, taking care not to burn your finger. Now touch the forefinger with the thumb and separate slowly. You should get 3 wires stretching between the finger & thumb. 

2: Put all the paras to the syrup and mix it quickly, making sure all the paras are coated with syrup.

3: Take out and allow to cool on a tray or plate, making sure that they are not clumped together. If a few stick together, they can be separated when cold.

4: Shakkar paras can be stored for several weeks in airtight container.

Note:

The syrup must be 3 wire consistency or the shakar-paras will get soggy.

Sending this to
Srav's "CC- Festive Food”
Love lock with sweets event  

Meet you all again with another interesting recipe, till then it is bye from Archana.