Yugadi, the New Year celebrated in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh is a festival of new beginnings - of new life. Nothing symbolizes this more than the fresh sprigs of bitter neem and freshly made jaggery (bella - Kannada, gur - Hindi). In fact, jaggery assumes a prime place in the scheme of things. The popular form of jaggery is a brownish solid made by boiling sugarcane (Sachcharum) extract. But, what is not very well-known is that there are various other varieties of jaggery, made similarly from the sap of different trees like toddy palm, palmyra palm (borassus flabellifer), sugar date palm (arenga pinnata), date palm (phoenix sylvestris), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) and Indian sago palm (Caryota urens). Based on the sap or extract used and the extent of processing, various forms of jaggery and sugarcandy are made. In contrast to sugar, jaggery is unrefined, but, not flat in its sweet taste, because of the richer undertones of the many vitamins and minerals (especially Calcium) that it manages to retain. Besides, it contains some soluble fibre and generally releases sugar into the bloodstream at a much slower rate compared to white sugar (lower Glycemic index). Traditional methods of jaggery-making have always been chemical-free and completely organic. Sugar is chemical-laden, particularly if it is refined and bleached.
Sugarcane jaggery (to the left, in the picture) also comes in many forms. Bangalore, itself, given its close proximity to the sugarcane belt of Mandya, boasts of quite a few varieties. Jaggery has no colour barriers and scans the whole spectrum from the whitish, to varying shades of brown to dark, chocolate brown types in hard, soft and flaky forms. The scum that forms while making jaggery is separated out and sold as a soft, whitish variant called “norae bella” (foam jaggery). There is also a semi-solid, dark liquid form called “joni bella” (a.k.a molasses) which is sought after not only as a critical ingredient of some traditional jaggery delicacies, but also as a mineral rich, tasty accompaniment for everyday foods like idli, dosa, roti. In fact the famed jaggery “aalaemane”s – places where jaggery is processed from sugarcane extract – evoke a strong sense of nostalgia and longing for the multi-sensory experience that is jaggery. Sometimes, if you are lucky you may be able to source variants perked up with roasted channa dal, peanuts, sesame, dry coconut, ginger, etc. – directly from the aalemanes. Navadarshanam jaggery, Kolhapur jaggery are some examples of organic sugarcane jaggery which can be sourced in Bangalore through the regional food stores (Mangalore, Malenadu, North Karnataka), organic/ health food stores and traditional stores (grandhigae shops).
Palm jaggery (to the right, in the pic above) is quite popular in the Southern states of Tamil Nadu (called Karupatti vellam or pana vellam), Karnataka (thaati bella), Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. It is processed from the toddy palm or palmyra palm and used for its medicinal properties as much as it is valued for its intense,
earthy taste. But, Mangalore produces the best Palm jaggery (ole bella- in the picture on the left) - dark brown discs ringed by thin palm hoops, reminiscent of chocolates in its taste.
The Bengalis swear by their nolen gur/ notun gur / khajurer gur / patali gur, which is fresh date palm (Phoenix sylvestris) jaggery. Just close your eyes and think of all the pleasant memories of your life - suffice to say that this liquid ambrosia tastes just like that! It is made at the crack of dawn, by boiling the sap collected overnight from the sugar date palms and is available only in the winter months of November to Jan. Guess this seasonality is because during the other months, the temperatures are so high that the liquid sap just ferments in a few hours, rendering it fit for consumption only as an alcohol! Talk of another high! Various mouth-watering delicacies like sandesh, rossogolla, jol bhara (liquid-filled sandesh) and paayesh are made with this "liquid gold". My Bengali friends tell me that these delicacies are available in namma Bengaloooru at select Bengali sweet shops. I can promise you one thing - you try once and you'll be hooked for life to these melt-in-the-mouth delicacies. For all those unfortunate ones who haven't yet cut their teeth on this - the nearest approximation to this is probably the celebrated American Maple Syrup!
Whatever the source, whatever the form, jaggery enjoys a special place in the Indian milieu – so much that it is offered both as jaggery and in the form of foods made with jaggery to the Gods. It should come as no surprise for us that we have a full-length feature film called Saudagar (old) on the process of making jaggery (nolen gur), starring - hold your breath - none other than Amitabh Bachchan! And for the discerning shopper, even the common man, the unsung, hole-in-the-wall shops can definitely afford us a peek at all these varieties even now - well almost. So, go ahead and grab some gud before its too late and you lament “gud was too good to be true!”.
