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