How our jangiri is piped to order

Jangiri is the one sweet on our counter that we never make in advance. It tastes best within a few hours of frying, and after a day it loses its crisp edge. So it is piped to order, and here is what happens between your order and the box.

The batter is made from whole urad dal, soaked for four hours and ground in a stone wet grinder with very little water until it is light and fluffy. A pinch of rice flour helps the shape hold. The batter is coloured with a little saffron-orange food colour, as is traditional, but we keep it pale. The sugar syrup, flavoured with cardamom and a few drops of rose water, is kept warm at one-string consistency.

Saravanan, who has piped jangiri for us for twelve years, fills a thick cotton cloth with a small hole at the centre, and squeezes the batter in a ring of small loops straight into hot ghee in a flat pan. Each jangiri takes about six seconds to pipe. They are fried on a medium flame until crisp but still pale, then dropped into the warm syrup for about a minute, and lifted out to drain.

Order jangiri by phone or at the counter and it is ready in about forty minutes. For a function, we can pipe up to 20 kg in a morning. Store it in a single layer if you can, and eat it the same day or the next. Never refrigerate jangiri; the syrup crystallises and the texture turns chewy.