Soan papdi is a popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent. It is made of gram flour (besan), all-purpose flour, ghee, sugar and milk. It is usually cube-shaped or served as flakes, and has a crisp and flaky texture. Traditionally sold loose in rolled paper cones, modern industrial production has led to it being sold in the form of tightly formed cubes.
Origin
The name of the sweet according to various dictionaries derives from sohan in Hindustani, which is etymologically derived from the Sanskrit word shobhan ("beautiful"). Though soan papdi itself has no confirmed origin.
One hypothesis is that it originated in the western state of Maharashtra, India.
Culinary anthropologist Kurush F. Dalal states that soan papdi is a Persian dish, with the word "soan" being of Persian origin from the desert sohan pashmaki.
Other speculation about its origin ranges from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to West Bengal. San papdi is its name in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, "san" means fibres that the sweet contains.
It bears some resemblance to the Dragon's beard candy in China, Kkul-tarae in Korea, and Persian pashmaki, which gave rise to the Turkish pişmaniye.
Ingredients
Its main ingredients are sugar, gram flour, flour, ghee, almond, milk, and cardamom.
See also
- Sohan (confectionery)
- Sohan halwa
- Pişmaniye, a similar Turkish dessert
- Pashmak, a similar Iranian dessert
- Dragon's beard candy, a similar Chinese dessert
- Kkul-tarae, its Korean variant
References
External links
- Annotated video recipe, illustrates traditional hand-made technique for creating Soan Papdi's crisp multi-layers (filmed at Shreya's Sweets Hampankatta, Mangalore); ·Permaculturetravel· YouTube Channel
- Demonstration of modern mechanized equipment, in the making of pişmaniye, a related Turkish confection
