Winter and Diwali coincide making this Aate ki Pinni a shoo-in for recipes I want to try. This traditional Punjabi sweet is loaded with ingredients that will warm and nourish your body.
Atta Pinni is a traditional Punjabi winter delicacy made with wheat flour, ghee, and loads of dry fruits. Either Jaggery or sugar can be used as the sweetener, and the result is a wholesome sweet that is truly meant for the harsh winters of North India.
I first tasted Aate ki Pinni when Gurpreet got it to work (our work place is a foodie’s paradise) and then Gomathi and I pestered her for the recipe till she got us one. That was many years ago, and I finally made the Pinni this week. The reason it took me so long was that I always baulked at the amount of ghee I would have to use. But then lockdown has changed many things and one of the mind blocks I have overcome is my “fear” of deep-frying and using loads of ghee. Is that good or bad? Well, time will tell. 😀
Pinni can also be made with udad dal and I will post that recipe in a few days.
Given the richness of this dish, I would recommend you exercise moderation in enjoying Atte ki Pinni. I am warning you though, it is very very addictive and tough to resist.
Do also try my recipes for:
- Minapa Sunni Undalu | Sunnundalu | Andhra Udad Dal Laddu
- Quick and Easy Rava Laddu | Suji Ladoo (Without Milk and Coconut)
- Andhra Kobbari Louz | Bengali Narkel Naru | Easy Coconut Jaggery Laddu
- Pesara Sunni Undalu | Andhra Style Moong Dal Laddu
How to Make Atte ki Pinni
- Getting the Gond (Edible Gum) Ready
- In a heavy bottomed pan, over low to medium flame, heat 2 tsp ghee.
- Add 50 gms edible gum (gond) and stir-fry till all crystals puff up.
- Transfer to a plate and let the puffed up crystals cool.
- Powder the Gond and set aside. This is best done in a mortar and pestle. If you use an electric grinder, pulse the crystals to powder them. If you grind at high-speed, the heat of the grinder may cause some of the gum to melt.
- Powder the Sugar
- Grind the sugar to a fine powder and set aside. Do not grind the sugar in the same grinder in which you ground the gond without washing and drying the grinder thoroughly.
- Grind the sugar to a fine powder and set aside. Do not grind the sugar in the same grinder in which you ground the gond without washing and drying the grinder thoroughly.
- Making the Pinni Dough
- In a large heavy bottomed pan or kadhai, over medium flame, melt 225 gms of ghee. I prefer to use a pan because the frying of the atta is more even and easier.
- Now, add 2 cups of wheat flour to the melted ghee and mix well. Be very careful of the splatters and the mix will be very hot.
- Stir-fry the wheat flour in the ghee till it turns golden brown and grainy. At this stage, the ghee starts to leaves the sides. Stir constantly and do this over medium flame to get an aromatic fried dough. The atta tends to become very hot so be very careful not to touch it or mix too vigorously because any splatter will be painful. It takes a while (about 35 minutes for me).
- Carefully, transfer the fried atta to a plate and spread it a bit to let it cool. It will take a while to cool (about 20 minutes). I mixed the atta at regular intervals to help it cool.
- When the atta is warm, add 1/2 tbsp cardamom powder and 1 tsp dried ginger powder, and mix well.
- Next add the powdered gond/gum and mix well.
- Finally, add the dry fruits and powdered sugar, and mix well.
- Making the Atte ki Pinni
- Take a handful of the Pinni mix and make a tight fist to shape the dough into a oblong-shaped Pinni. Keep pressing till you have a Pinni that holds shape. The best pinni are said to have the indents made by the fingers on them. 🙂
- Repeat the process to make all Pinni.
- Take a handful of the Pinni mix and make a tight fist to shape the dough into a oblong-shaped Pinni. Keep pressing till you have a Pinni that holds shape. The best pinni are said to have the indents made by the fingers on them. 🙂
- Storing Instruction
- Store in an air-tight dabba.
Recipe for The Traditional Punjabi Aate ki Pinni | Atta Pinni
Tips:
- Use gehu ka atta that is fresh out of the Chakki; aka freshly milled, coarse-ground wheat flour. This gives the Pinni a lot of body and a lovely texture.
- You could add up to 2 tsp dry ginger powder; especially if like the spicy flavour.
- Shape the Pinnis as soon as you make the dough or the ghee in it will dry our the dough. If this happens, dry roast for a couple of minutes over low flame to help the ghee melt.
- Do not add sugar or gond powder to hot atta as they will crystallize and the dough will become solid-ish because of this and very difficult to shape.
Punjabi Aate ki Pinni | Atta Pinni
Aate ki Pinni is a traditional Punjabi winter delicacy made with freshly-milled wheat flour, ghee, dry-fruits and sugar (or jaggery). It is loaded with nutrients, fibre and warms the body, a much needed quality in the severe North Indian winters.
Equipment
- Large Heavy-bottomed Wok or Pan
- Mixing Bowl or Large Plate
- Heavy Spatula
- Air-tight Container
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Freshly-milled Wheat Flour (200 gms)
- 3/4 Cup Ghee (225 gms)
- 1/4 Cup Gond, Edible Gum, Dink (50 gms)
- 1 Cup Sugar (200 gms)
Dry Fruits
- 2 tbsp Cashews or Kaju Pieces (15 gms)
- 2 tbsp Walnuts or Akhrot Pieces (15 gms)
- 2 tbsp Almond or Badam Slivers (15 gms)
- 2 tbsp Raisins or Kishmish (15 gms)
- 1 tbsp Melon Seeds (10 gms)
Other Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp Cardamom Powder
- 1 tsp Dry Ginger Powder, Soonth
Instructions
Prepping the Gond (Edible Gum)
- In a heavy bottomed pan, over low to medium flame, heat 2 tsp ghee.
- Add 50 gms Gond and stir-fry till all crystals puff up.
- Transfer to a plate and let the crystals cool.
- Powder the Gond and set aside.
Powder the Sugar
- Grind the sugar to a fine powder and set aside.
Making the Pinni Dough
- In a large heavy bottomed pan or kadhai, over medium flame, melt 225 gms of ghee. I prefer to use a pan because the frying of the atta is more even and easier.
- Add 2 cups of wheat flour and mix well. Be very careful of the splatters.
- Stir-fry the wheat flour in the ghee till it turns golden brown and the ghee starts to leaves the sides. Stir constantly and do this over medium flame to get an aromatic fried dough. The atta tends to become very hot so be very careful not to touch it or mix too vigorously because any splatter will be painful.
- Transfer to a plate and spread the fried atta a bit to let it cool. It will take a while to cool. I mixed the atta at regular intervals to help it cool.
- When the atta has cooled to being warm, add 1/2 tbsp cardamom powder and 1 tsp dried ginger powder, and mix well.
- Next add the ground gond/gum and mix well.
- Finally, add the dry fruits and powdered sugar and mix well.
Shaping the Pinni
- Take a handful of the mix and make a tight fist to shape the dough into a oblong-shaped Pinni. Keep pressing till you have a Pinni that holds shape.
- Repeat the process to make all Pinni.
Storing Instruction
- Store in an air-tight dabba.
Notes
- Pinnis are best made with gehu ka atta that is fresh out of the Chakki; aka freshly milled, coarse-ground wheat flour.
- You could add up to 2 tsp dry ginger powder; especially if like its flavour. Chef Kunal Kapoor uses a generous pinch of black cardamom powder instead of dry ginger powder.
- Shape the Pinnis as soon as you make the dough or the ghee in it will dry our the dough. If this happens, dry roast over a low flame to help the ghee melt.
Nutrition
Serving: 38 gCalories: 174 kcalCarbohydrates: 23 gProtein: 2 gFat: 9 gSaturated Fat: 4 gCholesterol: 17 mgSodium: 2 mgPotassium: 81 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 11 gVitamin C: 1 mgCalcium: 10 mgIron: 1 mg
Absolutely delicious and no amount of warning can stop anyone from having a couple of extra pieces. Happy Diwali Aruna.
Thank you, Vidya. Happy Diwali to you too. 🙂
I added little more ghee in it. Thank you for all the recipes.
This recipe came out really well… Loved it.
Thanks for sharing!!