I love jaggery syrup. Two reasons - it tastes yum and I think it's healthier than sugar or honey. Most breakfasty items that I eat require jaggery syrup. Bella coffee, oats with mixed nuts and jaggery syrup, jaggery syrup on toast. It's very simple to make. Put said jaggery in boiling water till it completely dissolves. Continue boiling till syrup reaches desired consistency. Right?
I had about 3 bottles of jaggery syrup that I had made around 2 weeks back. Made in a hurry, they really didn't really match up to the desired consistency. So this morning, I woke up at 8:30 am - 3 hours before my regular wake-up time. That meant I had more time on my hands than usual, and to do justice to the preciousness that is time, I decided to fix the syrup.
I pulled out the pan, poured my 3 bottles of syrup into it and placed it over low flame even before I had my breakfast. Breakfast was oats with mixed nuts and slightly diluted jaggery syrup with a cup of black coffee, and was had whilst watching the television. I sometimes let the coffee rest for a bit before I drink it. Today was one of those days. From time to time, while the coffee was resting, I'd get a whiff of it and think 'Ooooohhh, the jaggery in there smells so wonderful' and get so excited about eventually drinking the coffee. After about 20 minutes, the coffee was still not drunk and the beautiful whiff got stronger. I looked to my right to see smoke, actual smoke coming in from the hall.
Only then did I realize that the beauty whiff I was smelling was burnt jaggery. My house was filled with smoke. Smoke that reduced visibility to less than 5 feet. Really! I never saw anything like it before. I'm surprised that my neighbours didn't venture out of their house to save me from what could have been a raging fire.
So I enter the kitchen and there is my pan of what should have been lovely, golden jaggery syrup engulfed in flames. I quickly snatched the handle to douse it in water. Each step I took towards the sink was difficult as the wind blew the flame against my hand. It was as if it was seeking retribution for killing the syrup. It was bloody hot! Pan doused, I quickly turned on all the fans. My eyes were stinging, my throat burning and the fans only seemed to be spreading the smoke to every inch of the house, percolating into everything. From the balcony in the other room, I could see smoke billowing out of the hall windows. In all honesty if I had seen it from an outsiders point of view, I would have certainly alerted the fire brigade.
It took about 15 minutes for the smoke to dissipate. It's also likely that it will take another 3 days for the smell to completely disappear; it seems to have sunk deep into everything, my clothes, the furniture, even my books.
If you're wondering what happens to jaggery syrup when it burns, it becomes carbon. Black, porous and mean! Also tough as hell to scrape off the damn pan.
So yes, word of advice while making jaggery syrup. Put said jaggery in boiling water till it completely dissolves. Continue boiling till syrup reaches desired consistency. And set a timer while you're at it!
I had about 3 bottles of jaggery syrup that I had made around 2 weeks back. Made in a hurry, they really didn't really match up to the desired consistency. So this morning, I woke up at 8:30 am - 3 hours before my regular wake-up time. That meant I had more time on my hands than usual, and to do justice to the preciousness that is time, I decided to fix the syrup.
I pulled out the pan, poured my 3 bottles of syrup into it and placed it over low flame even before I had my breakfast. Breakfast was oats with mixed nuts and slightly diluted jaggery syrup with a cup of black coffee, and was had whilst watching the television. I sometimes let the coffee rest for a bit before I drink it. Today was one of those days. From time to time, while the coffee was resting, I'd get a whiff of it and think 'Ooooohhh, the jaggery in there smells so wonderful' and get so excited about eventually drinking the coffee. After about 20 minutes, the coffee was still not drunk and the beautiful whiff got stronger. I looked to my right to see smoke, actual smoke coming in from the hall.
Only then did I realize that the beauty whiff I was smelling was burnt jaggery. My house was filled with smoke. Smoke that reduced visibility to less than 5 feet. Really! I never saw anything like it before. I'm surprised that my neighbours didn't venture out of their house to save me from what could have been a raging fire.
So I enter the kitchen and there is my pan of what should have been lovely, golden jaggery syrup engulfed in flames. I quickly snatched the handle to douse it in water. Each step I took towards the sink was difficult as the wind blew the flame against my hand. It was as if it was seeking retribution for killing the syrup. It was bloody hot! Pan doused, I quickly turned on all the fans. My eyes were stinging, my throat burning and the fans only seemed to be spreading the smoke to every inch of the house, percolating into everything. From the balcony in the other room, I could see smoke billowing out of the hall windows. In all honesty if I had seen it from an outsiders point of view, I would have certainly alerted the fire brigade.
It took about 15 minutes for the smoke to dissipate. It's also likely that it will take another 3 days for the smell to completely disappear; it seems to have sunk deep into everything, my clothes, the furniture, even my books.
If you're wondering what happens to jaggery syrup when it burns, it becomes carbon. Black, porous and mean! Also tough as hell to scrape off the damn pan.
So yes, word of advice while making jaggery syrup. Put said jaggery in boiling water till it completely dissolves. Continue boiling till syrup reaches desired consistency. And set a timer while you're at it!
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