Gur ka Pua or gulgula is a deep-fried, easy-to-make North Indian sweet and savory snack recipe made with wheat flour and jaggery.
About Gur ka Pua Recipe?
Gur ka Pua is a traditional recipe from the state of Bihar, especially made during the Holi Festival. These dumplings are slightly crispy from the outside and soft from the inside.
Gur ka pua is a very easy recipe to prepare and the ingredients required are also basic and are, therefore, the perfect dish for the occasion. You can fry pua in oil but as with most Indian sweets, to get the real authentic taste, it is better when they are fried in ghee.
I have grown up seeing my Mom preparing pua along with malpua during Holi. So for us Holi Festival without pua and malpua is similar to Holi without Colors.
During the Holi festival, we use to have special thali which included malpua, pua, dahi vada, puri, kathal aloo sabzi, and mawa gujia along with some accompaniment.
Back then when we were small, we used to wait for Holi Festival to come, to have pua and malpua.
People get confused between gur ka pua and malpua.
So let me explain here.
Gur ka pua is made of whole wheat flour and jaggery, whereas malpua is made with all-purpose flour and sugar.
And guess what?
Just like Tisi Pitha and khichdi, I love having gur ka pua the next day of preparation. So it’s my secret to enjoy pua.
At times it sounds so funny when you and somebody from the other side of your country are discussing food and both of you start talking about one of those favorites of yours, only to find out after about 15 minutes of discussion that the two are the same except that they are called by different names.
That is what happened with “Pua”, which is one of my favorite sweet dishes. Come Holi (the festival of colors) and Pua is a must as a part of the celebration, especially in Bihar.
I was in a casual discussion with my sister-in-law about this recipe, its taste and the method of preparation. After about 10 minutes of discussion we realized that this is very similar to “Unniappam” and “Neiyappam” both of which are specialties of South India.
And this is true for a lot of other recipes in India, which you would have seen in some of my earlier posts as well. While we refer to it as diversity, there is so much that is similar. I am sure, I am still at the early stages of exploration and there will be many more that will come.
With that let us get onto today’s recipe – GUR KA PUA…
Basic Ingredients used to make Gur ka Pua Recipe
Whole Wheat Flour: Traditionally pua is made with whole wheat flour, but if you want you can use maida also.
Rice Flour: I have used little rice flour to bring the little crispiness from outside in pua. But if you want you can skip also.
Jaggery: Some people use sugar for this recipe, but to get the original taste of pua, I would suggest to use jaggery.
Milk: I have added little milk to bring the softness, but milk can be avoided and you can use only water also to mix the batter.
Coconut: I love the coconut bite in pua, so I have used fresh chopped coconut here, but if you want you can also use chopped dried coconut for this recipe. Or you can skip also if you don’t have coconut available.
Dryfruits: Addition of dry fruits are optional, generally cashewnuts and raisins are added to the recipe. So I have used some raisins and some chopped cashew nuts.
Fennel Seeds: One of the key ingredient, I would say. So I don’t miss out on that.
Cardamom powder: to add fresh flavor and aroma to the recipe.
Gur Ka Pua – How to Make Gulgula Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Wheat Flour
- 1 tbsp Rice flour
- Water just enough to combine the ingredients to form a batter
- 1/4 cup Milk optional
- 1/2 cup Crushed Jaggery/gud
- 2 tbsp Dry fruits, cashewnuts & raisins finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Dry or fresh coconut finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
- Oil/Ghee for deep frying
Instructions
- Dissolve jaggery in minimum quantity of hot water and set aside.
- Strain them to remove any impurities and let it cool down.
- Now in a mixing bowl combine the wheat flour and rice flour.
- Stir in the jaggery water, milk and mix.
- Add a little water again if needed, till the time the batter reaches dropping consistency.
- The mixture for pua has to be thick like the one used for pakoda or pan cake.
- Cover the mixture and let it rest for 4-5 hours.
- Now add dry fruits, fennel seeds, chopped coconut, cardamom powder and mix well.
- Now in a wok or kadhai, heat enough oil for deep frying.
- Using a ladle, pour the batter carefully in circular motion with each circle being a little bigger than the earlier one.
- Do it until the Pua is about 3 inch in diameter. Take care not to redo it over the earlier layer again and again.
- As it fries, the batter will (on its own) flatten out into disk shape and the edges will start to crisp up.
- After a minute or so, when the pua has browned from the bottom, turn it over and fry on the other side.
- Once the pua is fried, use the spatula to press the pua on the side of the kadhai to release its excess oil.
- Take the fried pua out of the pan and place it on absorbent paper. Repeat the same process for the next pua.
Notes
Nutrition
- Safest cookware range made with premium food grade stainless steel
- Longer Heat Retention
- Stainless Steel is hygienic and adds no ‘metallic taste to the food
- Evenly spread heating results in faster and better cooking results
- Compatible across most heating platforms (Induction, Gas, Halogen, Electric and Vitro-ceramic)
Frequently Asked Questions about Gur ka Pua Recipe
Can we use powdered Jaggery?
of course, you can. In fact, I would advise you to use good quality powdered jaggery. Because that jaggery will be dirt-free and you skip that straining process and all.
Can we skip Fennel Seeds?
Fennel seeds are essential and cannot be skipped.
Is it necessary to use baking soda or baking powder?
Personally, I don’t use either of them and I have never seen my Mom using that. Better to avoid as it’s not needed in this recipe.
What kind of Kadai should we use to fry?
If you are using a wider kadai with a bigger base, you can fry two to three at a time, or else if it’s a smaller kadai with smaller base then it is advisable to fry one at a time.
Can we use Banana?
Yes, you can use ripe banana for this recipe. Just before you’re about to fry the puas, mash a ripe banana and add it to the batter. For 1 cup wheat flour you can use 1/2 ripe banana.
You Might Also Want to Try:
How to make Gujiya – Mawa Gujia Recipe
Tisi Pitha Recipe
Sattu Ladoo
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