There is no better comfort + nostalgia than a thali of warm, crumbly and soft sukhadi for any Gujarati. My Nani made the best sukhadi, and one day, under the afternoon sun and a cool breeze hitting our bones, my aunt, my mother and I sat reminiscing about it. Which of course meant, we went into the kitchen to make a thali of this delicious treat, and complaining we could never make it like her. Yet we ate the entire plate. After my aunt left, I made a thali of sukhadi almost every day just to get it right – and my aunt was delivered a fresh, hot batch each time! Let me assure you, nobody complained.
A few tips to getting it right: have all the ingredients and greased thali ready before you start. Ghee proportion is measured of melted ghee – not solid. The key is to ‘seko’ the flour really well before you add the gud – means roasting the ‘roux’ of ghee and flour. This is perfect for cool afternoons, cold nights, or for a hot breakfast!
So here is a recipe that is as close to my grandma’s one – you’ll just have to take my word for it.
- Recipe Serves
1 x 9" thali
- Recipe Ingredients
½ cup + 2 tbsp melted ghee (separated)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup jaggery (grated)
sprinkle of khus on top for garnish (optional)
ghee for greasing thali
Tools:
Thali 9 inch
Knife
Wooden spoon or spatula
- Recipe Instructions
Keep all the ingredients measured and ready
Grease the 9-inch thali and set aside
Take a medium wide pan
Keep flame on low and put the ½ cup ghee in to warm
Once warm, add the flour and whisk continuously – almost 10 minutes to roast the flour and ghee mix
After the flour is incorporated well, and turned golden brown in colour, and the roux feels a bit dry, add the 2 tbsp ghee and stir again, vigorously
Then switch off the heat, and instantly add in the jaggery and vigorously stir to combine
Once well combined, immediately transfer the mix into the greased thali and flatten out, reaching the edges – thickness of the sukhadi is personal, but anywhere between 1.5-2.5 cm is fine
Cut into diamond sizes with a sharp knife while the sukhadi is hot and sprinkle some khus seeds on top
Serve hot! Be careful, the thali will be hot so use a dish towel or mittens to bring onto the table
