What Punjabis Love: Gurh te Ganne (Jaggery sugar)

Jaggery is a beloved and tasty part of Punjabi cuisine. Also called “gurh," a delicious sweet chunk of jaggery is savored by allowing it to slowly melt on the tongue. Gurh is not only a delicious dessert, it also helps in digestion and cleanses the blood. In this video we see how gurh is made from sugarcane and learn about its benefits for our health.
The steps for making gurh are simple but require consistent hard work and care:
1) Fine quality sugarcane is cut into three- or four-foot sections then passed through a machine that squeezes the juice out of it.
2) The juice is poured into a large container atop a firepit. The fuel for the fire is usually the husk that is left over from the sugarcane itself.
3) As the juice is slowly heated a residue of impurities rises to the top and is continuously removed.
4) A little baking soda is added to the boiling juice. This helps to remove impurities from the juice and also aids digestion.
5) A small amount of mustard oil is also added to the boiling juice. The oil ensures that the gurh is not sticky like gum, but breaks easily by hand. 
6) Once the boiling juice starts to thicken and turn brownish it is poured into a flat wooden box.
7) A hand spade is used to aerate the paste to keep it from becoming rigid.
8) Small pieces of the gurh are shaped into forms that can be easily transported and sold or used at home. 
9) Often ingredients like fennel seeds or slivered almonds and cashews are sprinkled atop the gurh just before cutting it into shapes.

As the jaggery experts Sardar Kuldeep Singh and Sardar Sukhdev Singh inform us, the quality of gurh is best judged by popping a small amount in the mouth and savoring it. It should break easily and the texture should be evident on the tongue. The sweetness is a given! Gurh is great natural product. Unlike sugar which is also produced from sugarcane, jaggery has many positive benefits for our health. It contains more calcium than refined sugar and has protein (which is lacking in refined sugar) Gurh is an excellent after-dinner delicacy which also aids digestion!
Enjoy this great and simple gift!

Alleged uses:
Purifies blood
Filled with minerals
Aids digestive process
Rich in iron
Used for beauty treatments
Improves metabolism
Water retention

Nutritional value of similar amount of jaggery (1st number) vs refined sugar (2nd number)
Calories: 383 Kcal vs 387 Kcal
Calcium: 80 mg v 1 mg
Protein 280 mg vs 0 mg
Carbohydrates: 98.96 g vs 100 g

Interviewer
S. Sarbjeet Singh Dev

Interviewees
S. Kuldeep Singh
S. Sukhdev Singh

Produced by Prof. Jasprit Singh & Teresa M Singh Family Trust
Edit & GFX Nav Dadyal
DOP Jeet Ramgarhia & Harman Singh
Pre & Post Work Studio Jeet Recordz
Special Thanks Jatinder Singh Jeet
Directed by Sarbjeet Singh Dev

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