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Ghevar – How to make Ghevar

By Manali Singh

5 from 2 votes

Aug 05, 2016, Updated Jul 27, 2018

Ghevar in traditional Indian sweet made of flour and soaked in sugar syrup and garnished with nuts and rabri (thickened milk)!

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Traditional Indian sweet, ghevar is made with flour and soaked in sugar syrup. The crispy deep fried discs are soaked in sugar syrup and garnished with nuts and edible silver leaves to make a special treat!

Writing a blog post is not easy. Sometimes you are just blank and don’t know what to write and sometimes you have so much to say that you don’t know where to start. Today’s post falls in the latter category. This Indian sweet, Ghevar brings back so many memories that I really don’t know what to say first. 🙂

Ghevar is a traditional Indian sweet, which is mostly popular in state of Rajasthan and also in Northern India, especially Delhi and surrounding regions. This sweet is interesting in a way that you do not get it all through the year, you only get during the month of August to celebrate festivals like Teej and Rakhi.

This month also has a very important Indian festival, Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi. On this festival, sisters tie a sacred thread on their brother’s wrist as a symbol of their love and the brothers in turn promise to love and protect their sisters forever. Not to forget, sisters also get a lot of gifts on this day.

Yeah no wonder I used to wait for Rakhi all year along. It’s like your brothers can’t do a thing to trouble you on Rakhi! Brothers and sisters also feed each other a lot of sweets on this day, it’s like there’s sweets overload all around.

This festival is very close to my heart, it has always been. This year Rakhi falls on 18th August and as usual I will be missing it being away from home. Of course I have already sent my rakhi to my brothers but the feeling of not being there to actually tie the rakhi on their hands makes me sad. I really get emotional on Rakhi, especially because I miss someone a lot, my little brother, Prabhav whom I lost some 7 years ago. He was 16 then and was the most loving child I had ever known. It’s been 7 years and there isn’t a day when I don’t think about him. He was so lively, so fun and so full of energy.

Prabhav used to be super excited for Rakhi, he would wake me up at 7 am and ask me to tie him rakhi. He was the biggest foodie I knew, he was obsessed with food however he wasn’t very fond of sweets but if there was one sweet that he loved, it was Ghevar. I remember as soon as August would start, he would be after mom to get ghevar for him.

While making this sweet, I really missed him. I mean I miss him everyday but while making this I missed him more. I wish I had the opportunity to make this sweet for him when he was there. I dedicate this recipe to my sweet little brother, who I love and miss so much. I never talk about such things on blog, after all this blog is my happy space but somehow this recipe felt incomplete without talking about him.

This is for you Prabhav and your didi loves you so much, always!

Anyway now on to the ghevar recipe. Is making ghevar easy? I would say yes and no. Basically the batter is made of flour and ghee (clarified butter) and it’s then dropped from a height into piping hot oil to get the classic web like pattern.

The ingredients are basic and making the batter is super easy but the trick lies in frying it perfectly. There are several versions of ghevar, one is made with mawa (dried milk solids) but the version I am sharing is the simplest and most popular one and made with flour only. So few things to keep in mind while making ghevar.

Ghevar Recipe – How To Make Ghevar Sweet – Tips & Tricks

1. Use a deep pan to make ghevar. The batter comes up as you drop it from a height, the oil is super hot and so there is every chance of an accident if you don’t use a deep pan. The one I used was the deepest I had. It’s best to use a deep pan with tall sides.

2. The pan should be more than half filled with oil or ghee. Traditionally ghee is used to fry ghevar but I used a mix of oil and ghee.

3. To make the batter, use cold milk and cold water. This will ensure that your ghevar turns out crispy, which is what you want before you soak it in sugar syrup.

4. The batter for the ghevar should be of pouring consistency. It should drop easily and freely from the ladle. You may need to add more cold water if your batter isn’t of pouring consistency.

5. Ghevar needs to be fried in hot oil. However you are the best person to decide if the oil is way too hot. I say this because the intensity of gas here in my house in US is pretty high and when I put the gas on high heat, the ghevar just burnt straight away or it got too dark for my liking.

So medium-high worked best for me, so see accordingly. But of course the bottom line is, oil needs to be really hot else the pattern won’t form.

6. Wear gloves while dropping the batter into the oil. I really recommend it. The oil is so hot, the gas is on high and you have to drop the batter in the center of the pan all the time. The heat reaches your hand and it can get uncomfortable. So wearing a glove makes things easier.

7. Use a container with a pointed tip to drop the batter into the hot oil. You may use a ladle but the pattern will be more prominent and nice if you use a pointed tip. I used a small milk jug which had a nice pouring tip.

8. Drop the batter into the pan from a height of around 6-7 inches. The height is important to get that typical web like pattern.

9. Always drop/pour the batter into the center of the pan, at the same spot. This way batter will distribute evenly each time. Drop the batter, little by little in a constant flow.

10. Drop one ladle of batter, then wait for a minute and then drop the next ladle. How many ladles of batter you would need per ghevar really depends on the size of the container and also how thick you want your ghevar to be. My pan was big, so I used around 4 ladles of batter to make 1 ghevar, a small pan would probably be fine with only 2 ladles.

11. Once fried, ghevar is delicate. You have to be super careful while handling it, especially when you drop it in the sugar syrup. Use a chopstick or butter knife to hold in from the center carefully else it might break and crush into pieces.

So keeping that lost list of pointers in mind, let’s see how we make this Indian sweet, ghevar.

Method

First make the sugar syrup. To make the sugar syrup add sugar to a pan on medium heat.

Now add water and mix till sugar dissolves.

After 4-5 minutes the syrup will develop a one string consistency which means that if you put a drop of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and move the fingers apart, you will notice the syrup forming one string/thread (see picture below for reference). Set aside while you make the ghevar.

Now make the ghevar batter. To a bowl add ghee. Now add 1 tablespoon of cold milk and 1 tablespoon of ice cold water to it. We are going to add the milk, flour and water in parts and not in one go.

Start beating it all together using your stand or hand mixer.

Once it’s all nice and combined, add 1/4 cup of flour and mix to combine.

Add 1-2 tablespoons more of milk and water and combined. Add cardamom powder and mix.

Add 1/4 cup flour again and mix. Also add in saffron strands. Now add the remaining 1/2 cup flour

Keep adding water and milk little by little and mix till you get a completely smooth and pouring consistency batter. You may need to add more water to the batter than what is mentioned in the recipe if your batter isn’t pouring consistency. You may also add yellow food color if desired.

Now heat ghee/oil in a deep pan on high heat. I used a combination of oil and ghee.

This picture is show you the container I used for pouring the batter. See the pointed tip, that helps in forming the perfect pattern.

Once the ghee is super hot, pour batter from a height of at least 6-7 inches. Pour batter, little by little in a constant flow into center of the pan. The batter will sizzle up and spread immediately. Wait for a minute and then pour another ladle full from top in the center of the pan. Wait few seconds and then using a chopstick or any  other elongated utensil, remove some batter from the center.

Pour 2 more ladles of batter, repeating the same steps again. You may add more batter if you want a thicker ghevar. Once you are done with all the layers, take a stick and press ghevar slightly inside the oil so that the top gets evenly cooked.

Once it’s all nice and brow, very carefully insert the stick in the center of the ghevar and take it out of the pan.

Place on serving plate and drizzle evenly with warm sugar syrup. You may dip the ghevar in the sugar syrup too, either way is fine. Make sure sugar syrup is warm when you dip the ghevar in it.

Garnish ghevar with nuts, rabdi (thickened milk) and enjoy!

* I got 3 large ghevar out of this batter. If you are using a smaller pan, you will get more ghevars.

* Remember to be super careful while frying the ghevar. Remember your oil should be hot and batter dropped from a height for that pattern.

* If you don’t get the concept on one string consistency, simply mix water and sugar and heat till it gets sticky. It will work fine.

* Please read all the tips on how to make ghevar before you begin.

Ghevar

5 from 2 votes

By Manali Singh

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 4 ghevar

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Ghevar in traditional Indian sweet made of flour and soaked in sugar syrup and garnished with nuts and rabri (thickened milk)!

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1/2 cup ghee also known as clarified butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup whole milk cold
• ▢ 1 cup ice cold water may need more
• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• ▢ few saffron strands
• ▢ chopped nuts to garnish
• ▢ yellow food color optional
• ▢ ghee or oil for deep frying

sugar syrup

• ▢ 1.5 cups sugar
• ▢ 1 cup water

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Instructions 

Sugar syrup

• First make the sugar syrup. To make the sugar syrup add sugar to a pan on medium heat. Now add water and mix till sugar dissolves.
• After 4-5 minutes the syrup will develop a one string consistency which means that if you put a drop of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and move the fingers apart, you will notice the syrup forming one string/thread. Set aside while you make the ghevar.

Ghevar

• To a bowl add ghee. Now add 1 tablespoon of cold milk and 1 tablespoon of ice cold water to it. We are going to add the milk, flour and water in parts and not in one go.
• Start beating it all together using your stand or hand mixer. Once it's all nice and combined, add 1/4 cup of flour and mix to combine.
• Add 1-2 tablespoons more of milk and water and combined. Add cardamom powder and mix.
• Add 1/4 cup flour again and mix. Also add in saffron strands. Now add the remaining 1/2 cup flour
• Keep adding water and milk little by little and mix till you get a completely smooth and pouring consistency batter. You may need to add more water to the batter than what is mentioned in the recipe if your batter isn't pouring consistency. You may also add yellow food color if desired.
• Now heat ghee/oil in a deep pan on high heat. I used a combination of oil and ghee.
• Once the ghee is super hot, pour batter from a height of at least 6-7 inches. Pour batter little by little in a constant flow into center of the pan The batter will sizzle up and spread immediately.
• Wait for a minute and then pour another ladle full from top in the center of the pan. Wait few seconds and then using a chopstick or any other elongated utensil, remove some batter from the center so what you get a hole in the center to lift the ghevar once it's done.
• Pour 2 more ladles of batter, repeating the same steps again. You may add more batter if you want a thicker ghevar. Once you are done with all the layers, take a stick and press ghevar slightly inside the oil so that the top gets evenly cooked.
• Once it's all nice and brow, very carefully insert the stick in the center of the ghevar and take it out of the pan.
• Place on serving plate and drizzle evenly with warm sugar syrup. You may dip the ghevar in the sugar syrup too, either way is fine. Make sure sugar syrup is warm when you dip the ghevar in it.
• Garnish ghevar with nuts, rabdi (thickened milk) and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 620kcal, Carbohydrates: 100g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 21mg, Potassium: 73mg, Sugar: 76g, Vitamin A: 50IU, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 1.5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Indian Sweet

Cuisine: Indian

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Ghevar – Indian Sweet