Shakkar Pare

Shakkar Pare also known as Shakkarpara is sweet, crunchy, flaky and melt in mouth festive sweet snack. Shakkarpare are mostly made during Diwali, Holi and other Indian festivals. Made with just 4 easily available ingredients, these shakkar pare are deliciously addictive munching snack.

About This Recipe

Being a food blogger, shakkar and namak pare are no new to me, but I never tasted or thought of trying these at home. My friend Rimi makes awesomely delicious pare and she makes these often during festivals. One Diwali, before lockdown (Oh God! It is sounding like Before Christ (BC) and After Christ (AC)) she made and bought pare along with other festive treats. We at home just loved these crunchy and sweet little bites. Don’t know why, but I always thought making pare is a huge task, but my friend gave me this very simple and easy recipe.

Of many things I learnt during lockdown, making and storing up of jar snacks is one of them. Before lockdown, I rarely use to make jar snacks. Sandwiches, sundals, cut fruits, chips, cakes, puffs, etc; use to be our evening snacks. When we started depending on online stores for daily needs, the need for necessary items was priority. In the process, I cut down all these extras and then started making snacks at home.

In my quest to find easy, simple and long shelf-life snacks, I started making namak pare, namkeen kaju pare, shakkar pare, chakkali, ribbon murukku, khajoor, boondi, chivda, etc; You may be wondering, the list of savory jar snacks is more than that of sweet ones.  We at home normally prefer savory snack with our evening chai. You can always find a jar of savory snacks at my home. As lil’M has grown fonder for these shakkar pare, I started making a batch of these along with namak pare.

Shakkarpare | Shakarpara | Khurma

Whether you’re a seasoned chef looking to perfect your recipe or a newcomer eager to explore the world of Indian sweets, Shakarpare offers a delightful fusion of taste and tradition. Discover the timeless delight of Shakarpare, a beloved Indian sweet snack that transcends generations and occasions. Shakarpare offers a delightful fusion of taste and tradition. Explore the enchanting world of Shakarpare and unlock the secrets to creating this sweet, crispy treat that’s perfect for celebrations, festivals, or simply satisfying your sweet tooth. These are typically made with basic ingredients that you can find in most Indian kitchens.

What is Shakkar Para?

As I said, shakkarpara or shakkar pare is a delicious crunchy sugar-coated mini diamond shaped bites made with flour. These are traditionally made with all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, ghee and pinch of salt. These deep-fried sweet bites are highly addictive and a make a great jar sweet snack recipe. Shakkarpare are also best homemade edible gift your loved ones.

Other Names of Shakkar Pare

You will be amazed to know, these humble, sweet and cute looking diamond shaped nimki or bites are called by different names in different parts of India. Thanks to our Indian diaspora, shakkarpare are world famous Diwali Treats these days.

Shakkarpara – Gujrati

Shankarpali – Marathi | Andhra

Shankarapoli – Kannada

Shakerpara – Bengali

Shakarpare – Urdu | Hindi

Khurma – Nepali

Khurma or Laktho – Bihar, Jharkhand & Uttar Pradesh

Shakkar Pare Recipe Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour | Maida: This is the main ingredient in making these shakkarpare. I have seen on internet; people substitute all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or atta. Shakkarpare made with atta are called atta shakkarpare.

Ghee: Use pure ghee to make shakkarpare. I used desi ghee in making these pare. You can use oil too, but surely there will be difference in taste. Some people use dalda (vanaspati) too.

Granulated Sugar: This is nothing but normal sugar (cheeni). Some people use gur (jaggery) instead of sugar. Shakkarpare made with gur are called gur pare.

Cardamom Powder: Brings in nice aroma in sugar syrup and flavours shakkarpare.

Tips To Make Crunchy & Flaky Shakkarpare

About the Dough:

Do not knead the dough more, it should be hard, not soft like roti dough.

Resting the dough for 20-30 minutes will make the dough softer. So, don’t knead the dough soft in the first step.

Shape of Shakkarpare:

Traditional and authentic shape of shakkarpare is diamond shape. Some people cut these into squares, rectangles, flowers, leaves, etc.

About the Oil:

If the oil is very hot, the shakkarpare will not get cooked from inside and they turn soggy on cooling.

If the oil is not hot enough, then shakkarpare will absorb the oil and will turn oily on cooling.

Always remember, oil should be of medium hot while frying pare.

About Sugar Syrup:

Sugar syrup should be of one string consistency. Measuring one string consistency is very easy.

Carefully take a drop of sugar syrup between your forefinger and thumb.

Single thread (ek taar) is formed when forefinger and thumb are pulled apart, then it is called one string consistency.

Variations in Shakkar Pare Recipe

Like many different names, there are many different variations in making shakkarpara recipe. Few of them are,

Some knead dough with milk instead of water.

Powdered sugar or granulated sugar is directly added while kneading the dough.

In one more variation, pare or nimki are tossed by adding powdered sugar and cardamom powder. This variation is mildly sweet.

For 1 cup of flour, 1-2 tbsp. of Soji or fine Bombay rava is also added to the flour before kneading it.

You can see in my pictures, there are two different varieties of shakar pare on plate. One I have tossed in white granulated sugar and other I have tossed in organic brown sugar.