Katlu Pak Recipe - Traditional Gujarati Winter Sweet with Jaggery & Dry Fruits

Katlu pak is a popular winter sweet across Gujarat. It’s made with roasted wheat flour, ghee, jaggery, fried gond (edible gum), and katlu powder. Katlu powder is a mixture of 32 herbs and spices. 

Then cut it into square pieces and eat it with a glass of hot milk. This recipe makes about 40 pieces and takes about 1 hour to cook, plus overnight soaking of methi powder in ghee.

In many Kathiawadi households, they make a tray of katlu pak once mornings start to feel cold. It is also one of the sweets that is made for a new mother after delivery.

It doesn’t taste like sukhdi or laddu. It is warmer, earthy, and a little bitter from the methi. That bitterness is the entire point. Most people eat this sweet in the winter morning.

What Is Katlu Pak?

Katlu pak is also known as katlu or katlu paak. It is a sweet from Gujarat. It belongs to the same family as adadiya pak, gond pak, and sukhdi.

Katlu powder sets it apart from the others. This powder is also known as batrisu. This is a ready-made blend of 32 dry herbs and spices. 

It contains spices such as gond, fennel, dry ginger, pipramul, jaiphal, javantri, and black pepper, along with several Ayurvedic roots. 

Grinding all 32 ingredients at home isn’t easy for many households, so most families opt for a ready-made powder.

The second primary ingredient is methi (fenugreek) powder, soaked in ghee overnight. 

This soaking step significantly softens the bitterness. If you skip this step and add dry methi powder directly, your pak will taste sharp and linger in your throat.

Why You Will Like This Katlu Pak Recipe

• Soaking the methi overnight in ghee softens the bitterness.

• The entire recipe needs only one heavy kadhai.

• The katlu pak pieces cut cleanly and don’t crumble because the jaggery melts and isn't boiled into a hard syrup.

• It stays good for about a month if stored properly at room temperature.

List of Ingredients

This recipe makes around 40 medium square pieces.

Previous soaking

• ½ cup methi (fenugreek) powder

• ¾ cup ghee

Primary ingredients

• 2½ cups whole wheat flour 

• 1½ cups ghee

• 2 cups grated or powdered jaggery 

• ½ cup gond (edible gum)

• ½ cup katlu powder (batrisu)

Dry fruits and seeds

• 1 cup roughly chopped, mixed almonds, cashews, pista, and walnuts

• ½ cup desiccated coconut

• ¼ cup white poppy seeds

• ¼ cup raisins

To add the winter warmth

• 1 tsp green cardamom powder

• 1 tsp nutmeg powder

• ½ tsp ganthoda powder (optional)

Step-by-Step Katlu Pak Recipe

Step 1: Overnight soak the methi powder in ghee 

Take a bowl, add ½ cup methi powder and ¾ cup ghee. Combine and stir them properly so no dry lumps remain. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave it overnight, or at least 8 hours.

After that, the methi powder will look softer and swollen. It smells mellow rather than sharp. Never skip this step, as it determines whether your katlu tastes pleasant or bitter.

Step 2: Prepare the dry mix first

Take a wide and big thali. Add chopped nuts like almonds, cashews, and pistachios, along with raisins, coconut, poppy seeds, katlu powder, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, and ganthoda powder. 

Mix everything well by hand, then set aside.

Always prepare the mixture first, because after the jaggery goes in, you only get 2-3 minutes to work.

Step 3: Fry the gond (edible gum)

Check the gond first and remove any bark or small stones.

Heat ½ cup ghee in a thick-bottomed kadhai over a medium flame. Never use a non-stick pan to fry the gum and nuts because they will scratch it.

Always test the ghee's temperature before adding everything. Add a small piece of gond in hot ghee. If it swells and comes up within a few seconds, your ghee is ready to use. 

If it sits at the bottom for a long time, the ghee is still cold. If it browns quickly, lower the flame.

Fry the gond in two small batches; never overcrowd the pan. Keep stirring. Within a minute or two, it will puff into light white pieces and soak up most of the ghee. 

Take it out, transfer it to a plate, and let it cool. Once cooled, crush it lightly. Keep small crunchy bits instead of making powder. Add it to the dry mixture.

Step 4: Roast the flour in ghee

Take about ½ cup ghee to the same kadhai and heat it. Once it has melted, add the whole-wheat flour.

Roast the flour over low heat for 12-15 minutes. Keep stirring it continuously. At the beginning, the flour looks pale and dry. 

After it loosens, turns deep golden, and starts to smell like halwa. That smell signals it’s cooked.

Raw flour ruins the pak, so never rush this step.

Step 5: Combine the atta and the soaked methi powder

Turn off the gas. Add the hot roasted flour directly into the thali with the prepared dry mixture, then add the soaked methi ghee mixture immediately when the atta is still hot. 

Mix everything well using a flat spatula.

The residual heat from the atta lightly cooks the soaked methi, removing the raw bitter taste.

Step 6: Melt the jaggery

Grease a wide steel thali or tray with ghee.

Take the remaining ghee (about ½ cup) in the kadhai, heat it over a low flame, and add the grated or powdered jaggery. 

Stir until it melts and turns smooth and glossy. Turn off the flame as soon as it melts. Don’t let it boil, and don’t wait for it to reach a stringy consistency. 

Overcooked jaggery sets like a stone and gives you a pak that won’t cut.

Step 7: Pour, spread, and set

Pour the melted jaggery over the mixture and combine everything quickly with a spatula. Work fast; the mixture starts to set within 2-3 minutes.

Once mixed, transfer to the greased thali and press flat and even with the back of a bowl. Lastly, sprinkle some sliced pista and coconut shreds on top.

Let the mixture cool and set for 10-15 minutes, until it’s warm but not hot, then cut into squares using a sharp knife. 

Make sure you cut it while it is still warm. If you wait until it cools, the pieces will break instead of cutting neatly.

Let the tray sit for another hour, then lift the pieces out and store them.

Katlu Pak Method Variations

Katlu laddu instead of squares

Skip spreading the warm mixture in the tray. Instead, let the mixture cool for a few minutes, then take small portions, press them in your fist, and roll them into laddus.

Sugar variant of katlu pak

You can replace jaggery with about 1½ cups powdered sugar. Add less than you think is needed first, because sugar tastes sweeter than jaggery for the same quantity. 

Let it melt the same way as jaggery does, over low heat.

Milder version for the entire family

If your entire family likes this and prefers a lighter variant, you can reduce the methi powder to ¼ cup and the katlu powder to ⅓ cup. You will get the lighter pak, which is easier for first-time eaters.

Gluten-free variant

If you’re making this sweet for someone who’s watching their gluten intake or avoiding it, use ragi or jowar flour instead of wheat flour. 

These flours are drier than atta, so add 2 extra tbsp of ghee. Roast them over a very low heat, because they burn and turn bitter quickly.

Expert Tips

• Make sure you use enough ghee to roast the gond. Half-fried or underfried gond stays hard and sticks to the teeth every time you eat.

• Always fry the gond in small batches. If you overcrowd a kadhai, a few pieces soak up all the ghee, and some of them stay raw inside.

• Never boil the melted jaggery. Melted is the perfect stage. This is the only reason your katlu turns rock-hard.

• Cut the pak while it’s warm, and store it after it cools. If you cut them while they’re warm, you’ll get clean squares.

• Add elaichi powder, nutmeg powder, and ganthoda powder after turning off the gas. Heat burns off their aroma.

How to Eat and Store Katlu Pak

How to eat: Consume one piece in the morning with a glass of hot or warm milk. This is the usual way to eat this sweet in Gujarati households. 

This sweet keeps you full for longer, so most people eat no more than 1 or 2 pieces a day. Many families also serve it during Makar Sankranti with other winter sweets on the plate.

Storage: Once cooled, transfer the pieces to a dry, airtight steel or glass container. Keep the container at room temperature. 

It stays good for about four weeks. Don’t refrigerate it, as it hardens the ghee and the pieces turn into stones. Always use a dry hand or a dry spoon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the ingredients in batrisu or katlu powder? 

Katlu powder is also known as batrisu. It is a ready-made mixture of 32 dry herbs and spices. 

It usually contains gond, fennel, dry ginger, black pepper, nutmeg, mace, turmeric, pipramul, and several Ayurvedic roots such as ashwagandha and shatavari. 

Is katlu pak only for new mothers? 

No. It’s commonly used for new mothers because it is rich in ghee, jaggery, and dry fruits, but the entire family can enjoy it in winter. 

The herbs this powder contains are strong, so if you are pregnant, on any medication, or have any health condition, consult your doctor before adding it to your everyday diet.

Should we give katlu pak to kids? 

Yes, but only in small quantities, for kids over 5 years old, and not every day. The methi and the herbs are strong for young kids. You can make a milder batch with less methi and half the katlu powder if the kids like it.

Why did my katlu pak turn hard as stone? 

It happens only because the jaggery is cooked for too long. Make sure your jaggery melts only until smooth, then turn off the flame at once. If you cut the pak after it has completely cooled, it will break into hard pieces.

Why is my katlu bitter? 

This happens when the methi isn’t soaked long enough in ghee, or you use too much methi powder. Let the methi powder soak in ghee overnight, then mix it with the hot, roasted flour to soften it further.

Can I make katlu pak without methi powder? 

Yes. It will still taste good, but it won’t be considered an actual katlu. Methi is one of the primary ingredients that gives this sweet its character and warmth. If you don’t like the bitterness, you can reduce the amount instead of removing it completely.

Are katlu pak and adadiya the same? 

No. Adadiya pak contains ingredients such as urad dal flour. Katlu pak contains ingredients such as wheat flour and more katlu powder. Both of these are winter Gujarati sweets, but their flavours and textures differ.

How long does katlu pak last? 

It stays fresh for 4 weeks when stored properly in an airtight container at room temperature. Keep the container away from moisture, direct heat, and steam.

Can I buy ready-made katlu instead of making it? 

Yes. If you don’t have enough time to spend in the kitchen, there are ready-made katlu pak bars available. In the homemade version, you can control the amount of ghee, the sweetness, and the strength of the methi.

Related Recipes You Can Try

Rajgira Laddu · Adadiya Pak · Rajgira Halwa