Panjeeri Recipe
Panjeeri is a popular dish made for mothers who are postpartum in India/Pakistan. It consists of nutritious ingredients such as roasted nuts, semolina, and seeds.
Servings 10
Calories 297kcal
Equipment
- Food processor
- Large, heavy bottomed pot.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup ghee or as needed
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup pistachios
- 1/2 cup fox nuts makhanay
- 1/2 cup melon seeds chaar maghaz
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut or coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup edible gum goond
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup semolina sooji
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Roast the Dry Fruit
- In a heavy bottomed pot, start by roasting each dry fruit separately. Keep the heat medium low.
- Almonds: Roast in 1-2 teaspoons of ghee for 1-2 minutes until the color darkens. Set aside.
- Cashews: Roast in 1-2 teaspoons of ghee for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown. Set aside.
- Pistachios: Roast in 1-2 teaspoons of ghee for 1-2 minutes fragrant. Set aside.
- Fox Nuts: Roast in 1/2 tablespoon of ghee for 3-4 minutes until lightly golden. To test if they’re ready, try one. It should be crispy and not hard. Set aside.
- Melon seeds: Roast in 1/2 teaspoon of ghee for 30-45 seconds. These can quickly burn, so don’t leave them in the pot for too long. Set aside.
- Desiccated Coconut: Roast in 1/2 teaspoon of ghee for about 1 minute. This can quickly burn too, so don’t roast them for too long. Set aside.
- 1/4 cup edible gum: Roast in about 1-2 teaspoons of ghee for about 3-4 minutes. They will puff up and change color to white. Set aside.
- Golden Raisins: In 1/2 teaspoon of oil, roast the golden raisins for about 30-45 seconds.
Roast the Semolina (Suji)
- Wipe the same pot clean, and add 2 tablespoons of ghee.
- Add the semolina, and on medium low heat roast for about 10-12 minutes until it changes color and becomes fragrant. Remove from pot, and set aside.
Coarsely Grind the Dry Fruit
- Combine all the dry fruit (except for the desiccated coconut and golden raisins) together in a bowl, and mix well.
- Using a food processor or a mortar & pestle, coarsely grind the almonds, cashews, pistachios, fox nuts, melon seeds, and edible gum in 2 or 3 batches.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add the desiccated coconut, golden raisins, powdered sugar, and roasted semolina to the bowl.
- Mix well until fully combined.
- Store in an airtight jar for up to 1 month.
Notes
Ghee: Use a high quality ghee for the best results. Do not substitute with cooking oil, as the flavour and the nutrients just aren’t the same. However, you can use high quality grass fed butter. For a vegan option, you can use coconut oil.
Roast each dry fruit separately: It may be tempting to roast all the dry fruit together, but they may not roast evenly and even burn. So it’s imperative to roast them separately.
Wheat Flour: Lots of recipes call for wheat flour as well. If you want to add it to your panjiri, use 1 cup of wheat flour and roast it in 1/3 cup of ghee for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Additional nuts: You can use any of your favorite nuts for this recipe. Some good options are walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and even Brazilian nuts.
Edible gum: Edible gum adds more nutrients to the panjiri, however it’s not always easy to find, so you can easily skip it.
Additional Ingredients: You can also add other seeds such as flax seeds and hemp seeds for added nutrients.
Nutrition
Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 264mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 26IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg