

Along with a number of spices jaggery is also an important ingredient in our cooking. We add a little of it in everything we make. Maybe it is all in the mind, but when I forget to add jaggery my husband feels something is missing. 😊
We get cube shaped , bucket shaped or square shaped blocks of jaggery. I make jaggery syrup at home by adding water to the some pieces and boiling it into one thread consistency. Jaggery is also available in liquid form. We recently bought a bottle of it and it and tastes delicious with dosas.

My father-in-law remembers that jaggery was prepared in his home till 1944. Sugarcane was planted in June and harvested in March. Every year it was planted in different fields. A wooden mill was used to extract its juice. An ox was tied to the handle and as it moved round and round the mill, the juice was squeezed out into a vessel. We saw this many years ago by the side of sugarcane fields in Aurangabad. The liquid was boiled for many hours in a huge vessel and when it reached a certain consistency, it was poured into moulds. When it was cool and solidified , the product was stored in air tight containers.

Writing this I remember a disturbing story we read in the papers. The southern parts of our state are famous for sugar factories. We read chemicals were added to whiten the jaggery. Unfortunately many believe the white jaggery is better than the dark one,
The memory of sugarcane factories is tied to Hospet, where my father lived his childhood. There was a sugar factory outside the town and farmers grew cane to feed the factory. But they prepared jaggery for their daily use in their own fields. The boiled liquid was poured into the moulds. When it started drying cream formed on the surface. My father and his friends knew when this happened and presented themselves in the fields. The farmers took a sugarcane and rolled it on the surface of the drying jaggery. It was like a lollipop and was called ‘kene- bella’ in Kannada. Kene ( pronounced like the name Rene) is cream and Bella is jaggery. Read what my father writes, ” Taste it. If you have not done it so far you have missed the greatest event of your life. It is not just pleasure but something far greater than that.” 😊
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/glossary-of-legumes-lentils-in-english-and-hindi/
https://www.deccanherald.com/specials/insight/the-bitter-truth-of-karnatakas-jaggery-961724.html
I found this post fascinating, Lakshmi. You will know I am a great fan of Indian food, but I had never heard of jaggery.
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We used to buy jaggery a lot in south India, especially in the Ooty market. It is delicious but almost painfully sweet I find. I know what you mean about the flavour. We don’t get much in the north east, no sugar cane and so it’s expensive. I do miss it. Thanks for your family history of it!
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Where were you in South India? Thank you.
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From 1995 to 2004
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The kene bella sounds like a real treat!
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I learned something new today! Your retelling, research, and personal stories behind it made it a fascinating stop on my Sunday morning.
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Simple pleasures of life !
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It’s strange, Mauritius grows sugar cane, but I had not come across jaggery until I saw it in Indian grocery shops in the UK. Cheers
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I like your glimpse into the past and the description of the milling process. Your father’s words add a special touch to this piece.
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I’m so glad you explained what jaggery was because I thought it was pepper! How interesting all your blog posts have been this month! I love reading about your cuisine and your life there and the history behind everything.
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These days jaggery is also available in the powdered form.
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It is interesting, the commonalities in cultural cuisines…in Mexico (and therefore here, in Texas), one can find cones of sugar called piloncillo that is used in the same way your cubes are. And I vaguely remember chewing bits of sugarcane during my time in Thailand, sucking the sweet juices and then spitting out the fibers before taking the next bite. Sweet memories, pun intended!
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Thanks for your slice. I’m sure there is a form of jaggery in Ghana as sugarcane is planted here. I need to find out. We peel the sugarcane and suck it as a snack, leaving the fibrous part. It is a whole job peeling sugarcane as the husk is very tough.
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I really love this glimpse into your life! I like sugary things so I’ll have to look for jaggery in recipes. The lollipop reminds me of the maple taffy that’s popular around here!
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Jaggery, I’ve heard of before. Now, having read your up-close slice, I feel like my understanding has deepened considerably.
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Hmmm, I’ve never heard of Jaggery and have no idea what it tastes like. Interesting…
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It is sweet in taste. We use it in our desserts too. In our cooking to give a slight sweetish taste we use jaggery instead of sugar. In our cooking there is a slight flavour of sour, spicy using red chillies or green chillies or black pepper and of sweetness.
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Thanks. It is nice to learn about things I know nothing about.
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