Varo: A Spiced Sindhi Winter Chikki

Jivanti Chandnani shares a family recipe for this spiced and nutty brittle commonly eaten for festivals, weddings and during the winter season.

Through the winters of the late 1960’s, my great-grandmother would sit beside an open fire, surrounded by her daughters, melting huge batches of sugar till it turned a cookie-brown caramel, then combine it with toasted and chopped nuts. This gooey, loaded mixture would then be placed into small thalis, and allowed to set. This was how they made varo, to then be distributed to family members across the city.

Sindhi varo can be described as a darker version of toasted brittle or a chikki. The addition of spices though, lend varo an aromatic flavour. It is typically eaten as a post-dinner mini dessert, especially on cold winter nights, as the spices help warm you. It is also served at festivals and weddings.

After my grandmother got married, she and her sisters followed the same tradition. Every child in my family grew up eating Sindhi varo at the first sign of winter.

This recipe is a family favourite, passed down from my grandmother, Mrs P Valecha. The ground rule for this recipe is five varieties of dry fruits, five different spices, sugar and clarified butter/ghee. The spices balance the sweetness of the sugar and render the varo its unique taste. It is best to pour in the nuts and spices immediately into the hot caramel mixture. Then you must work fast while pouring the hot mixture over butter paper or into a thali, flattening it before the caramel hardens.

MRS P VALECHA’S RECIPE FOR SINDHI VARO

Ingredients
1 cup (155 g) mixed dry fruits, toasted and finely chopped
1 big cardamom
1 small cardamom
1 small cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 small nutmeg
1 cup (218 g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp ghee
2-3 drops lemon juice

Method
In a grinder, grind all the spices together and set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat ghee and add powdered sugar, stirring until it turns a light caramel brown. Add lemon juice, ground spices and dry fruits and give it a quick mix.
Transfer the mixture Into a greased thali or a butter paper and spread evenly by tapping the thali against the kitchen countertop or by pressing a rolling pin to flatten the mixture.
Allow to set at room temperature. When half set, use a knife to create ridges, which makes it easier to break the varo once it is completely set.
The varo keeps fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week.

Jivanti Chandnani blogs at The Winter Flour

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