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Soan papdi
Flaky threaded sweet cubes
सोन पापड़ी: hand-pulled sugar folded through ghee-roasted besan and maida into flaky, threaded cubes that melt on the tongue
Long before it came in gift boxes, soan papdi was a halwai's showpiece in the bazaars of western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Hot sugar syrup is pulled like taffy, then worked into a warm paste of gram flour and maida roasted in ghee, and the folding stretches it into hundreds of fine threads. The result is airy, flaky and crumbly, with a toasty, cardamom-sweet flavour, nothing like the stale boxes passed around offices at Diwali. It is genuinely a two-person job at home: one person pulls while the other keeps the flour warm. Wear clean kitchen gloves rubbed with ghee if your hands are sensitive to heat, and keep children away from the syrup. Chef's tip: keep the roasted flour on the lowest possible heat the whole time; the moment it cools, it stops coating the sugar threads and you get dense, chewy lumps.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the flour mix
- 4 ½ oz gheeplus extra for greasing
- 3 ½ oz gram flour (besan)
- 3 ½ oz plain flour (maida)
- 1 tsp ground green cardamom
For the syrup
- 10 ½ oz sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
To finish
- 2 tbsp pistachiosfinely slivered
- 1 tbsp almonds (optional)finely slivered
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Grease a 20 cm square tin with ghee and scatter 2 tbsp pistachios and 1 tbsp almonds over the base.
Step 2: Melt 4 ½ oz ghee in a heavy kadhai over a low heat, add 3 ½ oz gram flour (besan) and 3 ½ oz plain flour (maida) and roast, stirring constantly, for 12–15 minutes until light golden, loose and fragrant. Stir in 1 tsp ground green cardamom and keep it on the lowest heat, stirring now and then.
15 minStep 3: In a heavy pan, boil 10 ½ oz sugar, ¾ cup water and 1 tsp lemon juice over a medium heat. Cook for 12–15 minutes without stirring until it reaches about 250°F, the hard-ball stage: a drop in cold water forms a firm ball that holds its shape when pressed.
15 minStep 4: Pour the syrup onto a greased steel plate or worktop and let it cool for 1–2 minutes, folding the edges in with a greased scraper, until you can just handle it.
Step 5: With greased hands, stretch the sugar and fold it back on itself over and over for 3–5 minutes. It turns from clear amber to opaque and pale gold and becomes pliable. Shape it into a thick ring.
5 minStep 6: Lay the ring in the pan of warm flour. Using two forks or flat spatulas, pull the sugar apart and fold the flour over it, again and again, for 6–8 minutes. Fine threads appear as the sugar stretches. Common mistake: stopping too soon; it must look like flaky strands, not a sticky lump.
8 minStep 7: Tip the mixture into the tin and press lightly into an even layer about 2.5 cm thick. Press too hard and you crush the threads.
2 minStep 8: Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then cut into 24 squares. Store airtight away from humidity for up to 2 weeks.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does soan papdi take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
- What can I use instead of plain flour (maida)?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
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