Gur Wali Roti Recipe
The winter jaggery-stuffed roti done properly, with the roasted atta trick that stops the gur leaking, tawa temperature guidance and a ghee finish off the heat.
Gur wali roti is a winter sweet roti stuffed with grated jaggery, rolled like a paratha and cooked slowly on a tawa. The jaggery melts into a thin caramel layer inside. The trick is mixing the gur with a little roasted atta so it cannot run, and keeping the flame low enough for the dough to set first.
Gur ki roti belongs to the cold months across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, eaten at breakfast with ghee on top. It is a two-ingredient dish in essence, atta and gur, which is why it exposes both.
What is gur wali roti and when is it eaten?
Gur wali roti is a stuffed wholewheat roti with grated jaggery inside, cooked on a tawa on low heat and finished with ghee. It is eaten hot, in winter, usually at breakfast. Unlike puran poli it needs no cooked filling, so it takes about 30 minutes.
What ingredients do you need for gur ki roti?
The list is short, and only two items decide the outcome: the gur and the roasted atta that goes in with it. Quantities below make 6 rotis of about 15 cm.
| Ingredient | Indian measure | Grams / ml |
|---|---|---|
| CressPure Premium Atta | 2 cups | 250 g |
| Warm water | about 3/4 cup | 150 ml |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | 1.5 g |
| Ghee for the dough | 1 tsp | 5 g |
| Grated jaggery | 3/4 cup packed | 150 g |
| Roasted atta | 2 tbsp | 20 g |
| Grated dry coconut | 2 tbsp | 12 g |
| Cardamom powder | 1/2 tsp | 1.5 g |
| Ghee to finish | 3 tbsp | 45 g |
Buy gur by specification, not colour. India's cane jaggery standard sets minimum 70 per cent sucrose and 90 per cent total sugars, moisture capped at 7 per cent and extraneous plus water-insoluble matter at 1.5 per cent, per the FSSAI notification on cane jaggery. Very soft, sticky gur carries extra moisture and runs the moment it meets heat. Rock-hard gur grates poorly and leaves lumps that tear the roti from inside.
How do you make gur wali roti step by step?
The sequence matters more than the ingredients. Make the stuffing first so it can firm up, then knead the dough, and roll only when both are ready.
- Dry-roast 20 g atta on low for 3 to 4 minutes, until it smells nutty and turns a shade darker. Cool completely.
- Grate 150 g jaggery on the small holes of a grater. Mix in the cooled roasted atta, 12 g dry coconut and 1.5 g cardamom, then chill 15 minutes so it firms up.
- Knead 250 g atta with 1.5 g salt, 5 g ghee and about 150 ml warm water into a soft, pliable dough. Rest covered 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls of about 65 g and the stuffing into 6 portions of about 30 g, each pressed into a flat disc rather than a ball.
- Roll one ball to 8 cm, place the stuffing disc in the centre, gather the edges over it and pinch closed. Flatten with your palm first, not the rolling pin.
- Dust lightly and roll to about 15 cm and 5 mm thick from the centre outward, turning a quarter every two strokes so it thins evenly.
- Cook on a medium-low tawa. Give the first side 45 to 60 seconds, until the surface loses its wet shine, and flip.
- Cook the second side 60 to 90 seconds, pressing the edges with a cloth, until light brown spots appear and the centre puffs slightly.
- Flip once more for 20 seconds, take it off the tawa and spread 1 tsp ghee on top off the heat. Serve immediately.
Why does the jaggery leak out, and how do you stop it?
Jaggery leaks because it liquefies well below the temperature at which the dough sets, and melted gur finds any weak point: a thin patch, an unsealed pinch, a torn edge. The fix is not more dough. It is a stuffing that cannot flow, and a flame low enough to let the roti cook first.
| What you see | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Gur bursts through while rolling | Lumps of ungrated jaggery | Grate fine, sieve out chips |
| Dark wet patch appears before cooking | Stuffing too moist | Add 20 g roasted atta, chill 15 min |
| Syrup runs onto the tawa | Flame too high | Medium-low, 45 to 90 seconds a side |
The roasted atta is the single most effective change: it absorbs the first flush of melted gur and holds it as a paste, the principle that controls a wet stuffing in our mooli paratha recipe. Roast it first, because raw flour tastes chalky in a sweet filling.
How hot should the tawa be?
Medium-low, lower than for a plain roti. A plain roti wants a hot tawa so it puffs fast. A gur roti wants a moderate one, so the dough cooks through in about two minutes while the jaggery softens rather than boils.
Test with a pinch of dry atta: it should brown lightly in about 8 seconds. Sooner and the outside scorches while the inside stays raw. Later and the roti dries before it colours, the problem explained in why rotis go hard within two hours.
Why is the ghee added after cooking and not on the tawa?
Because jaggery and ghee together on a hot tawa caramelise fast and burn. Any gur that has seeped to the surface catches in the fat, blackens and turns bitter within 30 seconds. Cook the roti dry, then add ghee off the heat.
Use about 5 g per roti, spread while the roti is hot. The FSSAI dairy standards define ghee as minimum 99.5 per cent milk fat and maximum 0.5 per cent moisture, and that near-zero water is why real ghee soaks in instead of sitting on top.
Which atta suits a stuffed sweet roti?
The ICAR Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research defines good chapati wheat as hard grain with 10 to 13 per cent protein and medium, extensible gluten. CressPure Premium Atta tests at 11.7 g protein per 100 g and 11.46 per cent moisture against a 14.0 per cent ceiling, so the dough takes up the water you add rather than water it brought. That is what lets you knead the same soft dough every time, covered in how to knead atta for soft rotis. For the same technique with a cooked dal filling, see the puran poli recipe.
The difference test: what to watch for
Watch the roti as you roll it past 12 cm. With good atta the surface stays matt and even, and the jaggery inside stays invisible. Weak flour shows dark wet patches pushing through the skin and often splits at one edge before you finish. The second cue comes on the tawa at the 60-second mark: the roti should lift into a soft dome across the centre rather than staying flat and leaking syrup at the rim.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make gur ki roti without stuffing it?
Yes. Dissolve 100 g grated jaggery in 120 ml warm water, cool it, and knead 250 g atta with that liquid. You get a flat, evenly sweet roti that is easier for beginners. It browns faster than plain dough, so keep the tawa medium-low throughout.
How long does gur wali roti stay soft?
About 4 to 5 hours in a cloth-lined box. The jaggery holds moisture, so it stays softer than a plain roti, but it firms once the melted gur cools and sets. Reheat on a dry tawa for 20 seconds a side rather than in a microwave, which makes the filling watery.
Can I use sugar instead of jaggery?
You can, but it behaves differently. Sugar melts to a thin syrup faster and leaks more readily, so raise the roasted atta from 20 g to 30 g. The flavour is cleaner and sweeter, without the mineral, caramel note that makes gur ki roti a winter dish.
Why did my roti turn hard after cooling?
Usually a stiff dough or too long on the tawa. Knead soft and slightly tacky, rest 15 minutes, and keep total cooking near two minutes. Overcooking drives out moisture and the set jaggery hardens the centre. The same handling rules as an aloo paratha apply.
Where to buy CressPure Premium Atta
CressPure Premium Atta is 100% Sharbati wheat from the black-soil belt of Sehore, stone chakki ground and sealed at the mill. It comes in a transparent-window pack, so you can see the flour before you buy it. Live on Blinkit across Mumbai in the 2 kg pack.