A delicious Ginger Candy made with just 3 ingredients. This Inji Mittai or Inji Marappa is a must have during winter months.
Inji marappa or ginger candy is a very famous road side candy that is very common in Tamil Nadu. Many times when traveling on long distance bus, you hear the vendors see these candies. I was never a fan of the this Inji mittai.
As a child never wanted to even touch it with my hands. My grandmother and mother would always insist how it settles down the stomach when we are traveling and how good it is for us. None of that mattered those days and I just wanted nothing with it.
When thinking of recipes to make for the alphabet I, I decided that I wanted to make something with ginger / inji. I was thinking on lines of ginger pickle, but when looking online I saw this recipe on Gayathri’s blog and I talked to my husband about it.
He immediately said that he loves ginger candy and always has and he said that it was ages since he had eaten any. So now that I knew I had a sure candidate in the house who would eat the inji murappa, I finalized it for the alphabet.
Soon after, one day when I was chatting with few ladies in the Tamil class, one of them had a bag of ginger candy and offered it to us. When I asked her where she had bought it, she mentioned that our local farmers market carried them. That candy though had chunks of ginger in it and I was not too fond of having a ginger piece in my mouth.
That is when I really decided that Gayathri’s method of making this ginger candy would work for us as she had used ginger juice to make the candy and not ginger pieces. Making it was a breeze and it was ready in less 30 minutes.
The texture of the home made ginger candy is far better than the ones that we get in the stores. When choosing ginger, make sure you find tender ones. Clean the ginger well and scrape the skin entirely before grinding it.
Ginger is a root and it can have lot of dirt and hence it important to clean it well. If preferred, you could use raw sugar instead of white sugar to make it healthier. I was not thinking that far ahead and I just used white sugar this time. Next time though, I will be using raw sugar to make this.
Preparation time – 10 minutes plus 30 minutes resting time
Cooking time – 20 minutes
Difficulty level – easy
Recipe adapted from – Gayathri’s Cook Spot
Ingredients to make Inji Marappa – (makes about 20 small pieces)
- Ginger – 150 gms (select tender ginger roots)
- Sugar – 1 ¼ cups
- All purpose flour – about 3 tbsp
Procedure
- Clean the ginger well and scrape the skin. Chop the ginger into 1 inch pieces.
- Then use about half a cup of water and grind the ginger into a smooth paste. Strain the juice from the ginger using a fine mesh strainer.
- Use about ¼ more cup of water and grind the ginger solids again and strain once again. Squeeze the ginger well and take out as much a juice as possible. Discard the solid part.
- Keep the strained juice, undisturbed for about 30 minutes.
- Now slowly pour the juice into another bowl. You will notice a thick layer of white sediment in the bottom. Do not use that and just use the juice.
- In a pan, add the sugar along with the ginger juice and heat it up. Bring it to a gentle boil. Keep cooking this mixture until the sugar syrup attains a two string consistency. This means that when you touch the syrup using your forefinger and thumb, it should form two threads between the two fingers.
- Make sure that it forms more than one string, as that determines the texture of the candy. If you take it out too soon, the candy will be like burfi and soft in texture. When you let it go longer it will be too hard. If I was doing a mistake in the recipe consistency, I would rather let it go beyond in consistency than under.
- Now add the flour to the sugar syrup and mix it well so that there are no lumps. Now cook for one minute, stirring well and then turn off the flame.
- Grease a plate well with ghee and pour the mixture into the greases plate. Leave it aside for few minutes and when it has partially set, use a sharp knife to cut the candy. If you don’t do it when it is still warm, it might become too hard to make clear cuts.
- Let it cool down completely and then remove the candy from the plate and store in an air tight container.
My Other Recipes with Ginger
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Recipe
Inji Marappa
Ingredients
- 150 gms Ginger select tender ginger roots
- 11/4 cups Sugar
- 3 tablespoon All purpose flour
Instructions
- Clean the ginger well and scrape the skin. Chop the ginger into 1 inch pieces.
- Then use about half a cup of water and grind the ginger into a smooth paste. Strain the juice from the ginger using a fine mesh strainer.
- Use about ¼ more cup of water and grind the ginger solids again and strain once again. Squeeze the ginger well and take out as much a juice as possible. Discard the solid part.
- Keep the strained juice, undisturbed for about 30 minutes.
- Now slowly pour the juice into another bowl. You will notice a thick layer of white sediment in the bottom. Do not use that and just use the juice.
- In a pan, add the sugar along with the ginger juice and heat it up. Bring it to a gentle boil. Keep cooking this mixture until the sugar syrup attains a two string consistency. This means that when you touch the syrup using your forefinger and thumb, it should form two threads between the two fingers.
- Make sure that it forms more than one string, as that determines the texture of the candy. If you take it out too soon, the candy will be like burfi and soft in texture. When you let it go longer it will be too hard. If I was doing a mistake in the recipe consistency, I would rather let it go beyond in consistency than under.
- Now add the flour to the sugar syrup and mix it well so that there are no lumps. Now cook for one minute, stirring well and then turn off the flame.
- Grease a plate well with ghee and pour the mixture into the greases plate. Leave it aside for few minutes and when it has partially set, use a sharp knife to cut the candy. If you don’t do it when it is still warm, it might become too hard to make clear cuts.
- Let it cool down completely and then remove the candy from the plate and store in an air tight container.
Hasna says
Nice recipe.it will remind me of nostalgic feelings. I am in UAE .in winter season this candy is very useful. Inji mittai is available in UAE at sandhai.an online shop.I also try this candy. ginger candy with hot black tea..good combination for the winter season.
Geetha says
Must try.. Love candied ginger.. This one looks really great!
Jennifer A Stewart says
Ginger has not been my friend in the past but it is quickly becoming my best friend. Having some candy that also helps with my digestion and tastes good is a great thing to have!
Hanady | Recipe Nomad says
Oh this looks delicious with a cup of tea! I love the flavor of ginger- ginger everything!
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery says
I've never thought about making candied ginger before! It's such a distinct flavor, but I love it.
Just Jo says
How interesting is this! In the UK, candied ginger is simply chunks of ginger which are simmered until tender then cooked in a simple syrup. I have a recipe on my blog for that. I love yours though - I am a huge ginger fan and will give this a try!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
My only experience with ginger is tea and putting it in Asian flavored dishes. I do know that ginger is good for the tummy - I'd love to sample some of the candy.
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
I've never had ginger candy before but I really love ginger flavor. I've always heard that it is good to settle your stomach as well so this would be a great one to have on hand.
Anvita says
I have tried candied ginger as in shredded ginger that is candied but never tried this before. Interesting.
Pam Wattenbarger says
I love candied ginger. I think it is so great for when you are nauseated plus it tastes good too.
Byron Thomas says
We love candied ginger in our home. I love to use them in baked goods - they are so good in a ginger bundt cake. My mom used to make ginger candy when we were sick. As a kid, I hated it, but they always helped me feel better. I'm going to try your recipe rather than buy them the next time I need some.
Mark, CompassandFork says
I love all things ginger and yes I love how good it is for the stomach. These candies sound delicious. It is something I have never made before. Maybe this weekend?
Priya Srinivasan says
ahhh so much childhood memories attached to it!!! yummy!!
Veena Azmanov says
I'm addicted to ginger.....!! One of my favorite is ginger candy. I still have them. As a kid we use to have a shop that sold these and every time mom gave me a rupee..I'd go get ginger candy!
Dene' V. Alexander says
Love that you have successfully taught us to make this lovely ginger candy!! Thank you
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks 🙂
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
I love candied ginger! I had no idea I could make it myself. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Amy, the recipe was so simple that I have made it a few times since then 🙂 Thanks!
Tracy Iseminger says
Ohhhh... Candied Ginger! What a GREAT way to get the benefits of Ginger. This truly sounds amazing and might have to try my hand at making it as beautifully as yours 🙂
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Tracy, the recipe is very simple and they are quite addictive. Make sure you make a big batch if you are a ginger lover.
Tanya says
What a great recipe. My mother in law loves ginger candies and I know she would love some homemade ones. Can't wait to try out this recipe.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Tanya, this will make you mother in law happy. Thanks 🙂
Christine McMichael says
Wow, these sound amazing! Love ginger, so I can only amazing that these would be incredibly tasty. Hope to try them soon!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Christine!
valmg @ From Val's Kitchen says
I've never had ginger candy before. I'll bet that's a really flavorful chewy little candy!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
This is a very addictive candy. It is not chewy though. it literally melts in your mouth.
Sharmili says
One of my favorite. Haven't tried yet. Looks yummy. Will give it a try 🙂