This Jaggery rice is a traditional Punjabi sweet rice dish made with jaggery (Indian unrefined cane sugar), rice and spices. There are some variations of jaggery rice in Indian cuisine and this recipe comes from Punjabi cuisine. A vegan and gluten-free rice dish that can be made for any festive occasion.
This jaggery rice is a favorite of everyone at home. The recipe is easy and quick to make and taste too good. This recipe is especially loved by kids or people who have a sweet tooth.
This recipe Is my mom-in-law’s specialty. She learned this recipe from her mother-in-law. My mom-in-law’s mother-in-law belonged to the families who migrated from Pakistan, during the partition. This explains the original source of this recipe.
Whilst googling, I found out that this jaggery rice is a Pakistani Punjabi recipe. My in-laws are Punjabis who migrated from Pakistan and perhaps this is where they learnt how to make gur wale chawal. I am glad, I know about this recipe now and am writing about it in my blog. Otherwise, it would have been a loss to me as well as to all those who are reading this blog.
I think, had I not learnt this recipe, it may had been lost and perhaps may be never tried or revived. I think that there are absolutely wonderful recipes, that have been lost or are in the process of becoming obsolete.
At home, we call this recipe as “gur wale chawal”. In English, the simple translation would mean jaggery rice, where jaggery is known as Gud, gur and rice is called as Chawal.
This orangish amber colored rice recipe is a sweet and delectable one. Generally, you just have it plain. But it also tastes nice, when you take a little milk, mix it with the warm jaggery rice and eat it.
How to make Jaggery Rice
1. In a bowl or vessel, take 120 grams of jaggery (grated or powdered or whole jaggery). Then soak it in ¾ cup water for 30 to 45 minutes. If there are impurities, then filter the jaggery syrup using a fine mesh strainer and keep aside.
2. I have used organic jaggery powder. Alternatively, whole jaggery can also be crumbled or chopped, but its a little tedious and slightly takes more time.
In this technique of keeping the jaggery in water, the jaggery dissolves in water. It is easy, non-messy and simple. You could use this technique if you are making any other jaggery recipe that involves the use of water.
This is a super helpful tip that my mom-in-law shared with me. Otherwise, you would always spend a lot of time chopping or crumbling jaggery with the knife.
3. Pick, clean and wash ¾ cup rice a couple of times in water. You can use basmati rice or any variety of long grained rice.
4. Soak the rice for 15 to 20 minutes in water. Later drain all the water and set the rice aside.
5. Meanwhile roast 1 tablespoon peanuts on a pan till they are crunchy and you see some black spots on the skins. But if you already have roasted peanuts then skip this step.
The addition of peanuts is optional and they can be skipped.
6. Measure and keep all the remaining ingredients ready.
Making jaggery rice
7. In a stovetop pressure cooker add the soaked rice and ¾ cup water. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.
5. When the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, then only open the cooker lid. The rice should be half cooked.
7. Fluff the rice in the cooker itself. I have used a fork to fluff the rice but you can use a spoon as well.
8. Add the jaggery water that was made earlier. Also add 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of any neutral flavored oil. You can also use ghee instead of oil.
9. Stir and mix gently the jaggery water and oil with the half-cooked rice.
10. Now add 4 green cardamoms, 4 cloves and 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf).
11. Next add 15 to 20 raisins (kishmish) and 1 tablespoons of the roasted peanuts. You can add your choice of dry fruits and nuts.
12. Stir and mix these ingredients gently with the rice mixture.
13. Now close the cooker with the lid and pressure cook again for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat.
14. When the pressure falls down on its own then only open the lid. You will get to smell the fragrant aroma of jaggery rice 🙂 in fact when pressure cooking, your whole kitchen will have the typical sweet aroma of jaggery.
15. Garnish the cooked rice with dry fruits of your choice. It tastes nice even without garnishing.
16. Serve jaggery rice hot or warm as it is or with some milk.
Tips for jaggery rice
- My mom-in-law’s decision of adding peanuts to the recipe was a novel idea. She actually never adds peanuts to it. The peanuts added a beautiful crunchy taste along with the sweetness of the rice.
- You could also add your choice of dry fruits and nuts to the rice and then lightly garnish it with the remaining dry fruits.
- Jaggery burns quickly, so cook the rice at medium heat.
- I always use rice and water in the proportion of 1:2. If you want a slightly mushy rice texture, you could increase the water proportion. For ¾ cup of rice, we used 1.5 cups of water. Instead of 1.5 cups water, you could add 2 cups of water.
- Use a good quality jaggery as it is the hero ingredient in the recipe.
- This dish taste best with aged basmati rice. But you can also make it with long grained rice or any non-sticky medium grained rice.
More Rice recipes
- Ghee rice
- Curd rice
- Zarda rice (meethe chawal)
- Semiya biryani
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Jaggery Rice
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- ¾ cup rice preferably basmati rice
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoon oil
- ¾ cups water
- 4 green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- 15 to 20 raisins
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf) – optional
- 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts – optional
For soaking jaggery
- 120 grams jaggery
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- First, take the jaggery and soak it in ¾ cup water for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Pick, clean and wash the rice. Soak the rice for 15 to 20 minutes.
- In a stovetop pressure cooker add the rice and ¾ cup water.
- Pressure cook for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to medium high heat. The rice should be half cooked. Once the pressure settles down on its own, then only open the cooker lid.
- Fluff the rice in the cooker itself with a fork.
- Add the jaggery dissolved in water plus the oil. Stir it gently with the half cooked rice.
- Now add the cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, raisins and peanuts.
- Stir this too gently with the rice mixture.
- Now close the cooker with the lid and pressure cook again for 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat.
- When the pressure falls down on its own in the pressure cooker then only open the lid.
- Garnish the cooked jaggery rice with dry fruits and nuts of your choice.
- Serve jaggery rice hot or warm, as it is or with some milk.
Notes
- The recipe can be scaled to make a big batch of the jaggery rice.
- Use a good quality and fresh jaggery which is in its shelf life. Don’t use jaggery which has become rancid or has moulds or insects.
- Preferably use aged basmati rice.
- You can add your choice of nuts and dry fruits. The addition of peanuts is optional and can be skipped.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Jaggery Rice post from the archives (July 2010) has been republished and updated on 22 September 2021.
Jaggery rice-This recipe also has originated from Kutch district, gujarat called as “matha bhaat”, usually made on Kutch New year that is ashadhi beej
thanks for the info.
Loved the recipe. It’s actually a Sindhi Dish called TAARI from the Sindh Province in what is now Pakistan. I had written the recipe down from my mum but misplaced it And your recipe gave me the proportion of ingredients. Only thing I added was saffron water which mum had used to give fragrance to the rice. We Sindhis usually eat our TAARI with Saibaji or Methi Fish.
Thanks again
thanks bhavna for sharing this info. saffron can be added. i was not aware that taari is eaten with sai bhaji. i have had sai bhaji but with phulkas and i must say it is awesome.
Can i use sigarcane juice to cook rice instead of jaggery?
If yes, plz tell me quantity.
I just asked u coz my nani used to make this on the occasion of chhath puja as prasad & it tastes really yum..
But she is no more now.
I have the juice but little confused about the ratio of rice and juice
Plzz help me mam.
WAITING…..
shona, use the same ratio of 1:2 for rice and sugar cane juice. you can soak rice for 20 minutes before cooking.
Thank you for the recipe. Next time you make this try adding some Chana ki daal, you will love it. On the side note it a Punjabi recipe, but the Pakistan side Punjab. Thanks again
Welcome Mehnaz. Thanks for sharing this suggestion. It correlates with the information I have mentioned in the post. Next time I will try with chana dal also.
Thanks for recipe. Havent had this in ages. My grandmother used to make for us because we liked to eat with Dhal instead of plain rice. Nice sweet spicy taste.
Welcome Ruby. Nice to know this.
Hello Gayathri
Good job in describing the recipe in detail with pictures. It is very commonly cooked in rural areas of Indian Punjab and also seen it served as prasad in few Gurdwaras and langar . It doesn’t seems to be exclusively of Pakistani origin.
Hi Dasanna,
Your presentation of this recipe is very nice. But I don’t think this is this is unique to Pakistan/Punjab,
We have very similar recipe in Kerala from ages. It is called sharkara payasam (jaggery rice kheer) or nei payasam (ghee rice kheer). It is not liquid like kheer, just a solid rice jaggery mix. Only difference is we don’t add peanuts or bayleaf. Instead we add ghee, dry ginger powder and cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee. Sometimes we add coconut pieces fried in ghee as well.
The nei payasam is traditionally served as prasadam in temples and the Aravana payasam from Sabarimala temple is a famous example.
hi gayathri, thanks for sharing this info. i was aware of the dal payasams but not of the payasams you have mentioned, when i wrote this post. of course now i know 🙂
Hi Dassana,
It was nice reading the recipe of gur wale chawal. However, i am not sure if it orginated in Pakistan, since we have so many Indian variants. Even in Eastern UP we have a practice of eating gur wale chawal or we call it ‘Bakheer’ and it is cooked with water in an open pan like boiled water, though water is in ratio of 1:2.5 besides we add grated ginger,clove, tez Patta, grounded kali mirch and proportionately some saunf alongwith Gur. Finally it is served with Malai or fresh curd. Can be eaten either steaming hot or cold from the fridge…
hi vikas. actually there are some north indian recipes that are common with pakistan. just a few variations here and there. in fact, i just got myself a book on pakistani indian cuisine and saw many recipes which are common like rajma, chole and some chicken gravies. i know about bakheer. thanks for sharing info on bakheer and the ingredients as well a proportions. but i always thought it has a kheer like consistency. the gud wale chawal posted here has a pulao like consistency or slightly mushy. will be trying to make bakheer soon 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe. I have to mention that being from a Tamil Brahmin family, this recipe is very similar to shakkare pongal. My own innovation with the recipe is to add walnut pieces instead of peanuts. The rice is pressue cooked with milk and water. and then added to a gently simmering molten jaggery mixed with powdered cloves/nutmeg. The walnut garnishing is for the last.
i know shakkare pongal. now that you have mentioned it, i have to try it soon. thanks maya for all the helpful suggestions.
Hi Dassana, this recipe of gur wale chawal looks very interesting and mouthwatering. It remembers me of my grandma’s Gur wale chawal back home as I live in Australia. Thanks for this gr8 recipe. I’ll try it very soon. Cheers, Monika.
thanks monika and do try the recipe.
Hi,
Just loved your tip of soaking jaggery in water for 40 mins or so… workload reduced so much. I made it today and must say it turned out gr8.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Monik
thanks monika… the tip of soaking jaggery is mil’s tip and i am thankful to her for that.
I just love jaggery rice, but cloves and groundnuts added in this recepie make it unique. Really nice
Hi,
I really liked the recipe and it turned out really good.. Thank you..
Amit
thanks amit….