Jaggery Powder

Jaggery (Gur) Powder

Gur or Jaggery powder is a traditional sweetener being used in every household sometimes as a substitute to sugar or for better health benefits. The process of making gur powder and block is common in the initial stages. The gur powder is more crystalline in nature than the regular gur blocks. This crystallinity comes from extra stirring involved in the process of making gur from boiling the sugar cane juice. Gur powder is more stable and stays in its form as compared to the solid gur blocks.  It contains good quantity of minerals like calcium, iron and phosphorus necessary for growth and maintenance of body processes.  It gets digested more quickly as compared to other foods thereby giving instant boost to our energy levels. It is produced in South India from Coconut and Sago tree.

Cooking and use:

Powdered gur can be consumed directly moreover it can be added as a seasoning over many recipes unlike the solid gur blocks. Along with cashew nut, coconut, almonds, ground nut, sabu dana, etc it is a key ingredient in some of the popular sweet dishes like gur pitha of the eastern part of the country and til-pitha of Assam. It can also be used as sweetener for tea and milk. Even milkshakes are made delicious if the sugar is substituted with gur powder because of its unique taste.  It is also used as a traditional home medicine against many health problems due to irregular diet and lifestyle. It has a high shelf life than the regular gur block hence, storing and keeping a gur in an air tight container can keep it usable for much longer.

Health benefits of Gur Powder:

• It is very much useful for boosting immunity preventing seasonal ailments like cold and cough and improves metabolism. Jaggery regulates body temperature.
• Eating jaggery after a meal digests food well and helps prevent constipation. The sucrose present in it helps in being refresh (improved Bowel Movements).
• It’s beneficial for women during menstruation.  It keeps digestion right and relieves abdominal pain.  The presence of iron also helps in the formation of hemoglobin and recovers easily.
• Due to its anti-allergic properties, its intake is very beneficial for asthma patients.
• Presence of necessary minerals like zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium, it is beneficial in curing Anaemia which is caused by the deficiency of zinc.