Rewri Sesame Jaggery Candy UP Winter

Method

1. 1

   Roast the sesame seeds: Place sesame seeds in a dry pan on medium heat. Roast stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant. Remove and keep on a plate ready.

2. 2

   Grease everything: Grease a flat marble surface or baking sheet generously with ghee. Grease a rolling pin or the bottom of a flat bowl. Work quickly — rewri must be spread very thin while the syrup is hot.

3. 3

   Make the jaggery syrup: In a heavy pan combine jaggery and 2 tbsp water. Heat on medium stirring until jaggery dissolves. Bring to a boil.

4. 4

   Cook to hard crack: Cook the boiling syrup without stirring for 4 to 5 minutes until it reaches hard crack stage — a drop in cold water forms a hard, brittle, snapping thread.

5. 5

   Add cardamom: Add cardamom powder immediately. Stir briefly.

6. 6

   Add roasted sesame seeds: Pour all the roasted sesame seeds into the syrup at once. Stir rapidly for 15 seconds.

7. 7

   Pour immediately onto greased surface: Pour the sesame-syrup mixture onto the greased surface immediately. Work fast.

8. 8

   Spread extremely thin: Using the greased rolling pin or bottom of a bowl, press and spread the mixture outward immediately — rolling and pressing to a paper-thin sheet, 2 to 3 mm thick. Work very quickly as it sets in 1 minute.

9. 9

   Score into pieces: After 1 minute, score into pieces using a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

10. 10

    Cool and break: Let cool 5 minutes until completely hard. Break along the scored lines. Store in an airtight container.

11. 11

    Note: Rewri is the traditional winter fair sweet of UP, Haryana and Punjab — sold at every mela (fair) during the winter months. The paper-thin spreading is what distinguishes rewri from til barfi — rewri is meant to be so thin it almost breaks by itself. Sold in twist-paper cones at fairs and roadside stalls from November to February. The crunch-and-melt texture is the appeal — the very thin sheet shatters like glass at the first bite.