If you are exploring sweets made of jaggery, you have landed on the right page. From ancient times our ancestors have innovated many sweets prepared with jaggery to retain their tradition and maintain a healthy physique. Jaggery is a power-packed organic sweetener that has numerous nutrients elements like magnesium, calcium, zinc and iron which boost the immune system and increase bone strength, whereas sugar just provides short-time energy.

Still, in many Asian households, jaggery is the most preferred sweetener and is also especially utilized at festival occasions. Jaggery is regarded as the best food because it provides more health benefits and has low sucrose content compared to white sugar.

Nowadays, people are too health conscious and dodging sugar consumption from their menus. They have started to explore sweets made by jaggery to preserve their health from unwanted components and lead a healthy life. Jaggery is utilized for ayurvedic purposes also and has been used as an organic sweetener for many years. The color of jaggery ranges from dark brown to golden yellow and it is prepared from the extraction of palm trees and coconut trees.

There are various homemade sweets prepared with jaggery; if it is homemade, there is nothing more appetizing than that. It is the time to retire from sugar and begin preparing the best sweets made with jaggery. Here are some famous sweets made from jaggery.

• Kadalamittai

Whenever we get tempted by sweets, our first assumption is that it contains high sugar and harm our body. But there is one traditional sweet prepared by jaggery which not only entices your taste buds but significantly enhances the required nutritional benefits to your body. It is Kadalamittai, one of the most delicious sweets made from jaggery and the best snack for kids and elders. It is a sweet, crunchy, and perfect snack to calm your cravings. The name kadalaimittai is derived from Tamil, where “kadalai” means peanuts and “mittai” means candy. It is a good protein supplement with zero sugar and oil indulged in it, which is an excellent source for growing children. It is usually prepared with roasted peanuts with skin removed and stirred well in boiling jaggery liquid.

• Adhirasam 

Adhirasam is a popular sweet made with jaggery and a delicacy prepared at festivals and auspicious occasions. Its history dates back to the Krishnadevaraya regime, and it is a classic snack made with rice flour mixed with jaggery paagu (a hot liquid substance). It contains iron zinc boosts the immune system and maintains blood pressure. Adhirasam has numerous health benefits since it is prepared in ancient times by our ancestors, which is prominent in other regions of India and identified as different names like kajjaya, ariselu, arisa pitha. It is distributed as gifts to neighbors in festival seasons also.

• Besan Halwa

Besan Halwa is a traditional sweet made by jaggery that suddenly melts in your mouth while you are swallowing it. Besan Halwa will be a perfect dessert to relieve cravings without feeling guilt about health concerns. Surprisingly Besan Halwa has numerous health benefits indulged in it is made out of jaggery, nuts, and chana flour. Chana is an excellent source to cure nasal infections and breathing issues; though it has oxidants and good fats, and can consume it without checking their weight. Cashew contains high protein source and calcium which helps improve bone strength.

• Bellam pootharekulu

It is a delicious delicacy that originated in Andhra Pradesh the thin layered sweet prepared from jaggery has huge cravings and is widely popular in southern India. It is a thin-layered sweet made from natural jaggery, rice paper, ghee, and cashew nuts. Preparing the delicacy requires lots of patience and practice to make the cooking art perfect. Mostly sweet preparations are not allowed to consume by diabetic and cholesterol patients due to it’s high white sugar consumption and lavish ghee, which surges their insulin levels. But Bellam pootharekulu has some significant health benefits due to its ingredients, whereas rice contains calcium and zinc, which is gluten-free; jaggery has iron, calcium, and zinc, which stabilizes the blood pressure and cashew nuts are naturally rich in protein and considered good fats.

• Til Ladoo

Indian sweets are not at all sweets they contain an immense nutritional value that nourishes the human body and prevents harm. Til Ladoo or sesame ladoo is a traditional sweet ball made by jaggery, sesame seeds, desi ghee and cardamom powders. These crunchy ladoos are highly consumed in northern regions, especially in winter. Til Ladoo is not prominent or it’s rich aromatic and taste but it has a nutritional value, which helps in decreasing cholesterol levels, improves digestive issues and a great source of protein. Sesame seeds has the ability to generate heat and energy which helps in the winter season and is loaded with hair benefits.

• Modak

Modak is a sweet made by jaggery, offered at Ganesh Chaturthi, and is famous throughout India. It is a festival sweet that is prepared of shredded coconut, jaggery, rice flour, and ghee it is steam cooked that anyone can consume it without considering their health concerns. Modak can boost your immune system significantly and increases bone power; though it contains jaggery, it helps to control cholesterol and heart health due to coconut presence in it and modak also fights against constipation and helps rebuild intestinal lines. Modak can be prepared both deep fried and steam cooked as per your desire.

• Peanut Ladoo

Peanut ladoos contain rich protein and iron which helps to improve muscle strength and boost the immune system. The recipe base has only two ingredients that are peanuts and jaggery. It is one of the best sweets made out of jaggery and doesn’t require ghee to bind it; the jaggery stickiness is enough to roll out the ladoos. Peanut ladoos are a superb choice to provide snacks for schools kids in their lunch box.

To conclude,

Jaggery has enormous potential health benefits this single blog is not enough to explain due to its rich components indulged in it. In this digital age, children are easily distracted from fast and packaged foods and fetching harmful diseases to their health in return. Making traditional foods might take some patience and knack to make the craft perfect but it produces incredible health benefits. So live healthily and eat healthily!