How to make boora or tagar at home

Boora recipe with step-by-step photos and video recipe. Boora (or Tagar) is a porous sugar that is made by cooking sugar in water until sugar crystallizes. It is used to make Indian festival sweets like ladoo and peda. Here’s a quick and easy 30-minute recipe on how to make it at home with only 2 ingredients sugar and ghee (clarified butter).

Did you ever notice why we love store-bought Halwai’s ladoos? It's because they use Boora or bura sugar to make sweets instead of powdered sugar.

In north India, Tagar or Boora is in demand during the festival time to make sweets. But here in south India, it is not easily available in markets. So whenever needed, I make it at home. I got this easy recipe from my north Indian friend.

What is boora or tagar?

Boora is made from sugar. Sugar is cooked with a little water to the desired consistency and while cooling it, stirred continuously. The sugar syrup then becomes thick and dry and converts into tagar. 

While making it, a little ghee/clarified butter is added which gives it a nice aroma and also prevents lump formation in bura sugar.

Is boora or tagar same?

There is a small difference in the texture. Bura is very fine in texture than Tagar.

What is the use of Boora or Tagar?

Boora is used in making sweet dishes. The ladoo made with bura is more delicious than the ladoo made with powdered sugar. Try making this delicious Besan Ladoo with boora.

You can use it to make any sweet dish like ladoo, peda, burfi, etc. that is made with powdered sugar. Simply replace the powdered sugar with bura or tagar in the recipe.

How to make boora recipe (Step-by-step instructions with photos)

1. In a heavy bottom pot or pan, add sugar and water. Boil it on high heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir it in between as required. 
2. Reduce the heat and cook on medium heat until the sugar syrup is thick. Add in ½ teaspoon of ghee/clarified butter. Ghee helps to stop any lump formation in it.

   

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3. Do a drop test. Take a small bowl of water and put a drop of hot sugar syrup in it. If it does not dissolve in water easily and you can form a small ball out of it, it is ready. If the sugar syrup gets dissolved in water cook for 2 more minutes and check.

   

4. Switch off the flame. Remove from heat.
5. Now stir continuously, until the sugar syrup thickens and becomes dry. If any lumps are formed, break it with the back of a ladle while stirring it. Also, scrape off the sides of the pan or pot to avoid sugar syrup sticking to it.

   

6. If any lumps are formed during this process do not worry. Transfer them to a mixer grinder and grind them to a fine powder.
7. Tagar is ready now. Let it come to room temperature, store it in an airtight container, and use it within 15 days.

Cooking Tips

1. If there are any impurities in sugar, then add 1 teaspoon of milk to it. Whatever impurities are there will stick to the milk and you can easily remove them with a small tea strainer or spoon.
2. Continuously stir the mixture after you switch off the flame. It will stop lump formation in tagar.
3. If you find there are lumps in the mixture then put it in a mixer jar/grinder and grind it to a fine powder 🙂
4. Store it in an airtight container and use within 15 days.
5. If you are using boora to make Besan ladoo or atta ladoo, sift it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any remaining large granules, so that you can get the melt-in-mouth ladoos.

   

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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