Can I add jaggery to hot milk?

Yes, once the milk is off the heat. Jaggery added to milk at a rolling boil can split it. Wait about half a minute after taking the pan off the stove.

How much jaggery for one glass of milk?

One to two teaspoons of jaggery powder, or one cube, for a 250 ml glass.

Why did my turmeric milk curdle with jaggery?

The gur went in while the milk was still boiling. Sweeten it off the heat, and do not boil it again afterwards.

Haldi doodh with gur, the bedtime glass

हल्दी दूध

Milk simmered with turmeric, pepper and cardamom, sweetened with jaggery once it is off the heat. Ten minutes, two glasses, no split milk.

A glass of golden haldi doodh on a wooden table with a small bowl of jaggery powder beside it — Representative image of the dish.

Winter nights · Prep 2 min · Cook 8 min · Total 10 min · Makes 2 glasses · Indian beverage

Turmeric milk is the last warm thing many Indian homes drink before bed in winter. This is the plain home version: milk, haldi, a little pepper and cardamom, sweetened with gur instead of sugar.

With jaggery, the one thing to get right is the order: sweeten it after it leaves the stove, and the milk stays smooth.

Ingredients

2 cups (500 ml) Milk
½ tsp Turmeric powder
A pinch Black pepper, crushed
2, lightly crushed Green cardamom
2 to 3 tsp ShuddhGaon jaggery powder

Method

Simmer the milk with the spices Put the milk, the turmeric, the pepper and the cardamom in a pan. Bring it to a boil, lower the flame and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.
Take it off the heat Move the pan off the stove and wait about half a minute, until the surface has stopped moving.
Stir in the jaggery Add the jaggery powder and stir until it disappears. A cube takes a little longer.
Strain and serve Pour it through a strainer into two glasses and drink it warm.

With our jaggery

Gur and boiling milk do not get along: the milk splits. Off the heat, the powder dissolves in a few seconds without any trouble. Jaggery also turns the drink a deeper, browner gold than sugar does. That is the gur, not too much haldi.

Tips from our kitchen

With fresh turmeric Grate an inch of fresh haldi into the milk in place of the powder. The taste is brighter and less dusty.
Do not reheat it sweetened If you are making it ahead, keep the spiced milk plain and add the gur to each glass as you warm it.
Froth it Pour it from one glass to another from a height, twice, the way a tea stall does.

Questions people ask

Can I add jaggery to hot milk?: Yes, once the milk is off the heat. Jaggery added to milk at a rolling boil can split it. Wait about half a minute after taking the pan off the stove.
How much jaggery for one glass of milk?: One to two teaspoons of jaggery powder, or one cube, for a 250 ml glass.
Why did my turmeric milk curdle with jaggery?: The gur went in while the milk was still boiling. Sweeten it off the heat, and do not boil it again afterwards.

Worth reading alongside this

The jaggery this recipe is made with

ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder Pouch — The same fine gud powder in resealable 500 g and 1 kg zip pouches
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Cubes — Pure sugarcane jaggery, cut into ready-to-use cubes
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Powder — Fine gur shakkar that melts into tea, coffee and milk
ShuddhGaon Jaggery Combo — Cubes for the cup, powder for the kitchen

More recipes with gur

All jaggery recipes