Paper No.

: 09
Paper Title: Bakery and confectionery technology
Module – 35: Overview of Popular Indian Flour Confections

Paper Coordinator: Dr. P. Narender Raju, Scientist, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal

Content Writer: Ms. Latika Bhandari, Research Scholar, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal

Overview of Popular Indian Flour
Confections
 Outline
 Introduction
 History
 Importance
 Popular Flour Confections
 1. Introduction
 Sweetmeats are very popular in India and difficult to resist.

 A sumptuous meal in every Indian house is always incomplete without sweet dish

 Sweetmeat making earlier was confined to the kitchens of sweet shops and small
dealers, but now has come up as a technologically advanced industry

 The Hindustani word used to refer to sweets and confectionery is mithai

 Milk being staple in East India, is the basis for the most sweets

 The main feature of Indian desserts from the sweets of other lands is that they are not
prepared to satisfy a sweet-tooth alone but also intended to provide nutrition
 2. History
 Hindus spirituality is the root for Indian sweets or mithai which is offered by a
devotee to please the God or Goddess

 Mithai are generally served during auspicious occasion and festivals such as Diwali,
Eid, or Rakhi/raksha bhandan

 People from other lands like the Mughals, Portuguese, British invaded our country
and left the stamps of their cuisine on ours

 Mughals acquainted us with aromatic culinary tradition, Goan cuisine complemented

by the Portuguese while the Parsis brought a whiff of Iran along with
 3. Importance
 Indian desserts shares a unique relationship with any good news in our country

 A striking feature of Indian sweets preparation is that it requires a level of

reduction with an essential of cardamom powder and kewra, which is speckled
on the dessert at the time of serving

 Indians are fond of sweets and have a mind-boggling variety of sweets ranging
from ice cream like kulfi in north to the plentiful payasams of the south, the
westernized cakes of goa and paneer based sweets of eastern India
Table1: List of some traditional Indian sweetmeats
Sweetmeat Composition or method of preparation

Apupa A round cake of barley meal or rice flour baked in clarified butter and
sweetened with honey
Samyava Wheat flour fried in clarified butter and mixed with milk and jaggery
(brown sugar); cardamom, pepper and ginger added sometimes
Svastika A cake-like product with barley flour
Modaka Sweet ball prepared with the flour of rice/pulses and sugar; it is popular
even to-day (Hindi: Laddu)
Ghayapunna A cake prepared with fine wheat flour mixed with milk, fried in ghee and
coated with sugar
Madhusirsaka or A sweet prepared from wheat flour which had honey or clarified butter
Madhukroda
Pupalika A small cake of rice or wheat flour fried in ghee with ghuda or jaggery
inside (centre filled)
Utkarika Rice flour, milk, clarified butter and jaggery
Gandika Sweet prepared from jaggery and wheat flour
Locika Delicious cakes prepared with wheat flour
Kasara Preparation based on wheat flour, milk, clarified butter, crystal, sugar,
cardamom and black pepper
Udumbara Preparation from wheat flour stuffed with kasara
Murmura Preparation from wheat flour and jiggery
Phenaka Cakes from wheat flour coated with sugar
Khajjaka Wheat flour fried in ghee and sweetened
Ksiraprakara Boiled milk precipitated using a sour substance; the solid mixed with
rice flour, formed into various shapes, fried and coated with sugar (loke
Jamun, Rasagolla)
Pahalika Soft cakes of wheat flour fried in oil
Patrika Circular cakes of wheat flour fried in oil
Mysore pak or Laddu or All based on gram flour, sugar and fat
Basin Laddu
Gathe Gram flour, Maida, sugar and fat
(Prabhakar, 1986)
 4. Popular flour confections

 4.1 Puran-poli:
 A typical Marathi dessert savored at festivities, bears a close resemblance to
a stuffed roti. It is prepared with a filling of cooked lentil paste and jaggery
known as Puran while the outer shell termed as Poli comprises dough,
prepared out of refined flour, milk and ghee. The latter is used as a stuffing
in the dough balls, rolled and cooked over a hot grill and may be served
with ghee or milk.

 4.2 Modak:
 A modak is a sweet dumpling very popular in Western and Southern India
for the worship of the Hindu god Ganesh. The dumpling can be either fried
or steamed.
 Continue…

 4.3 Halva:
 It refers to a dense confection sweetened with either sugar or honey. Halva
is prepared by frying the flour in oil and then cooking it in sugar syrup.

Table 2 Recipe for Besan Halva

Ingredients Amount
Gramflour 1 cup
Milk 1 cup
Sugar ¾ cup
Ghee ½ cup
 Fry the flour in ghee to golden colour

Add 2 cups of water, sugar and

cardamoms, cook till it turns thick

Continue cooking by adding milk till

all the moisture gets absorbed

Serve hot

Figure 1 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Besan Halva

(Reejhsinghani, 2001)
 4.4 Laddoo:
 It is a ball-shaped sweet made with either
besan (chickpea flour), rava (wheat semolina) or atta (whole wheat flour).

 Table 3 Recipe for Magad Laddoo

Ingredients Amount
Wheat flour (atta) 1kg
Claried butter (ghee) 750gm
Sugar (unrefined) 750gm
Raisins 2 tbsp
Chiraunji 2 tbsp
Almonds(chopped) 2 tbsp
 Divide wheat flour into Add sugar, raisins,
two parts and fry in ghee chiraunji, almonds and Make laddoo by giving
one at a time till a golden remaining ghee to the round shape with palm
brown color develops flour

Cool and store in air

tight container

Figure 2 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Magad Laddoo

(Mathur, 2000)
 4.5 Ada or Ela:
 It is a traditional Kerala delicacy, comprising of parcels made with rice flour
dough filled with sugar or jaggery and grated coconut steamed in banana
leaf.
 4.6 Adhirasam:
 It is a doughnut like pastry and is popular in Tamil civilization as an offering
to the god.
 4.7 Ariselu:
 It is a Telugu word which means rice. It is a traditional dish made
from rice flour, ghee and jaggery or granulated sugar during Sankranti.
 4.8 Boorelu:
 It is the traditional sweet dish prepared in the Telugu festivals. It is served
hot with ghee.
 4.9 Gavvalu:
 It is a famous sweet of Andhra Pradesh. It is made by shaping the dough
made with rice flour and water or milk into small rounds further flattened
and rolled to the shape of gavvalu (cowrie shells). The resulting shells are
fried in oil and transferred into sugar syrup.
 4.10 Mysore pak:
 It is a delicacy from the Mysore Palace is a sweet dish of Karnataka, served
as dessert.
 4.11 Kakinada Khaja:
 It is a sweet delicacy of Andhra Pradesh having close resemblance to
Gulabjamuns, introduced to Andhra’s by Muslims. There are two types of
Khajas, madatha khajas being dry from outside and full of sugar syrup on
the inside are rolled up into ribbons of pastry, whereas gottam khajas have
melt in mouth characteristic and are made of cylinders of pastry.
 4.15 Balushahi:
 It resembles distinctly to a glazed doughnut having a slightly flaky texture.
It is a traditional dessert of northern India, also known as Badushah in
South India.
 4.16 Jalebi or Jilawii:
 Served as the "Celebration Sweet of India" is made by deep-frying the batter
of wheat flour and yogurt formed into circular shapes, which are then
dunked in sugar syrup. They have a crisp crystallized sugary exterior
coating.
 4.17 Panjiri:

 A delicious North Indian dessert, generally given to new mothers, to

promote lactation. It is normally consumed with warm milk.
 4.18 Imarti or Jaangiri:
 It is a modification of jalebi wherein the batter is prepared with urad
flour and formed into compact circular flower shape. These are often served
with rabri (condensed milk).
 4.19 Soan papdi or patisa:
 It is a square shaped sweet with a crisp and flaky texture, was originated in
Uttar Pradesh.

 4.20 Shakkarpara:

 It is common in North India, also called Shankarpali in Western India.

 4.12 Palathalikalu:
 It is a sweet prepared by cooking sifted rice flour added with ghee to boiling
water. The hot mixture is kneaded to get a dough and divided into small
balls which is later shaped into long strings. The strings are cooked in
boiling milk added with sugar and cardamom powder 10 minutes. This dish
is made during Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh.
 4.13 Malapua:
 It is a pancake very popular in Bangladesh, Orissa, West
Bengal and Maharashtra and is one of the Chapana Bhoga of Lord
Jagannath.
4.21 Gujia: Table 4 Recipe for Gujia

It is a famous cuisine of North India. Ingredients NEEDED(gm)

White flour 500
Suji 400
Khoya 400
Raisins 40
Ghee 450
Sugar 400
Almonds 15
Cardamom 5
Water as required
 Remove the vessel
Prepare a stiff dough
Fry suji in about from flame, add sugar,
Add khoya and fry for out of white flour
200gm ghee till golden sliced almonds,
sometime using water with an
brown powdered cardamom
addition of hot oil
and coconut powder

Add a teaspoon of the

Fry the gujhia in ghee sooji mixture prepared
Divide the dough into Keep the dough
on a low flame until previously , fold it into
small balls and roll t covered with a cloth
crisp and golden half (moon shape) and
em into thin puries till it becomes soft
brown seal the edges with
water

Immerse gujhia in hot

sugar syrup

Figure 3 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Gujia

(Verma, 2002)
 Ingredients Amounts

 4.22 Lavang Latika or Lavang Lata: a) For Lavang Latika’s dough

 It is a characteristic sweet of Flour (Maida) 230 gm

Clarified Butter (Ghee) 1 cup
Bengal. It is a crispy dish, sealed
Milk, warm 10 mL
with clove (Lavang), comprising of Baking Powder 5 mg
refined flour (maida), ghee, Water 10 mL
semolina or khoya, saffron milk, a) For filling
water, sugar, coconut and Coconut, grated 80 gm

cardamom powder. Raisins 10-20

Green cardamom 2
Sugar 50 gm
Clarified Butter (Ghee) for frying 10-12
cloves for securing
a) For syrup

 Table 5 Recipe for Lavang Latika Sugar 1.5 cup

Make a stiff dough
with flour, clarified Make filling by Make the sugar
Lie dough for
butter, warm milk, mixing filling syrup and keep
atleast 2 h
baking powder and ingredients aside
water

Secure with a clove Put filling mixture

Drain excess oil Divide the dough
and deep-fry over in the middle and
and transfer to pan into small
very low heat till fold to make small
with sugar syrup rectangular shapes
golden brown parcels

Remove with a
slotted spoon and Serve chilled
refrigerate

Figure 4 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Lavang Latika

(Verma, 2002)
 4.23 Bebinca:
 It is a traditional Goan dessert and a must have at any celebration.
Traditional Bebinca has 16 layers.

 Table 6 Recipe for Bebinca

Ingredients Amounts
Flour 1/2kg
Eggs 2 dozen
Coconut milk 2 coconuts
Caraway seeds 1tsp
Salt pinch
Ghee For greasing

Add a little water to sugar
to get a thick syrup
Keep making the layers
until all the batter gets over
At last cook all the layers of
bebinca together for 5min
and then cool it
Figure 5 Flow diagram for the manufacture of Bebinca
Remove it from fire and
cool
As the first layer gets brown
Bake for another 5-10 min
till it gets golen brown
followed by poring another
Take out the bebinca by
gently inverting the pan, cut
into slices and serve
Prepare a batter of coconut
milk, egg yolks, flour and Put the batter into a deep
add into the mixture of greased baking pan forming
syrup, caraway seeds and a thin layer
salt
drop in 1-2 tablespoons
Cover the pan tightly ,put
ghee, press down gently
coal over the lid and bake
sprinkle over castor sugar
till the layer gets firm
layer of batter
(Reejhsinghani, 2001)
 Suggested readings

 Banerjee, S. (1994).The Book of Indian Sweets. Rupa Publications India Pvt.

Ltd., New Delhi, India.
 Mathur, S. (2000). Indian Sweets. Ocean Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India.
 Reejhsinghani, A. (2001). Best of Indian Sweets and Desserts. Jaico Publishing
House, Mumbai, India.
 Sheth, V. (2011). Flavours of India. iUniverse, Inc. Bloomington.
 Verma, N. (2002). Delicious Indian Sweets. Fusion Books, X-30, Okhla
Industrial Area, Phase-2, New Delhi, India.