/body> >

Saturday 5 May 2018

Homemade Gulkand / Rose Petal Preserve Recipe


Gulkand or rose petal jam is a delicious sweet preserve made using fresh rose petals and sugar and is mildly flavored with green cardamom. It is an Ayurvedic medicine and a traditional Indian recipe with many healthy benefits. Gulkand is a powerful antioxidant and a very good rejuvinator. It helps to improve appetite and helps in digestion and has a cooling effect on the body.It reduces body heat and protects the body from sun stroke particularly during Summers . It has been traditionally used as a cooling tonic to combat fatigue, lethargy, muscular aches, itching and heat-related conditions.

Gulkand can be taken as natural appetiser , it can be added as sweetener in desserts , smoothies , lassi and milkshakes . It is also one of the ingredients in making Paan ( Indian mouth freshener). Gulkand can be easily made at home and it stays good for about a year. Here i have used the traditional no-cook method  of making Gulkand, by keeping layers of rose petals and sugar in a wide mouth jar in Sun.


Following are the health benefits of eating Gulkand: Source
  • Gulkand is very useful to treat body odour and excessive perspiration. It detoxifies your body from inside and its cooling effect prevents internal heat during summers.
  • Gulkand is rich in antioxidants thus acts as an energy booster. The regular intake of gulkand aids in severe ulcers, constipation, stomach heat and heart burning.
  • Gulkand aids in heavy menstruation. During periods, gulkand is a very essential diet. It prevents irregular periods and excessive bleeding. It prevents anaemia.
  • Gulkand is regarded as the health tonic that keeps your metabolism healthy and fit. 

I love rose flavor in my desserts. I mean who would not love ? It not only adds a mild sweet flavor and aroma to the dish but also makes the dish appealing. I got a large pack of gulkand from Mathura 2 years back and use it quite often in my recipes. It is said that as wine, Gulkand too gets better with time. The pack i bought is about to finish but it is still good. This year , i decided to make Gulkand at home, but i could not trust the roses we get in market, as they are pesticide laden. So it is better to use the fresh light pink, fragrant flowers from home garden , potted plants which are organic to make gulkand. So lets get started.


Preparation time: 10-12 days or more depending on the weather
Cooking time: Nil
Serves: 1/2 cup Gulkand

Ingredients:
  • 35-40 fresh rose flowers yielding 2 cups tightly packed rose petals
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
Method:
  1. Separate the rose petals and keep them in a bowl. Wash the petals thoroughly and drain them.


2. Dry the petals on a clean kitchen towel in shade .


3. Next take a wide mouth clean and dry glass jar and arrange a layer of petals followed by the sugar layer. Sprinkle the crushed cardamom. Again spread a thin layer of petals, followed by sugar and so on, until all the petals and sugar is over.




4. Lastly squeeze honey over the top layer and cover the jar with an air tight lid and place it in sunlight for 7-10 days . Every day mix gulkand with a clean and dry spoon. After 10 days, gulkand is ready to eat. 1 teaspoon twice a day, can be taken with milk. Refrigerate the jar. Gulkand can stay good until 1 year if handled with care.




I hope some of you would love to try out this recipe for yourself. If  you do so , feel free to share your feed back with us. If you find the post informative please do like it and comment below this post. Follow us on #Facebook , #Instagram , #Twitter   and #Google+ for more recipes and new updates. 

For recipes using gulkand, do check out my posts on

                              

                              

                              

                              




57 comments :

  1. There is so much to fall in love with this recipe and your blog. Keep rocking, Poonam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much dear Ravneet..your words make my day 😃

      Delete
  2. Wow, I love this. I've always been wary of buying gulkand off supermarket shelves - this is a great idea, I can make it at home myself. :)
    I've seen recipes where gulkand is made by cooking the sugar and rose petals on medium flame. Your version is even simpler!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Homemade is always better Priya..yes this Gulkand recipe follows the traditional method and requires no cooking at all. Do try out and share your feedback with us :)

      Delete
  3. So delicious.. love Gulkand for many reason. Homemade is always best. Lovely recipe. Simple and superb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely Ruchi..there is no match to home-made ones..thank you 😃

      Delete
  4. Lovely.. thanks for the share.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I use gulkand in many of my recipes. But always used store bought. You made it so perfectly. Loved your presentation. Lovely share.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even I used store bought Gulkand until now di..but now this home-made Gulkand is so easy to make that there is no more need for store bought one

      Delete
  6. Wow homemade gulkand, and that too such a simple recipe, now bye bye to store bought ones, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you found this post useful..do try out

      Delete
  7. Wow Poonam thats seriously tremendous to make your own dose of gulkhand at home. Wish i get those rose petals here to make my own bottle of gulkand, well done yaar.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Homemade goodies are always far better than the store bought ones. Love the way you have explained in detail. I really like the beautiful pink colour

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow I love gulkand. The pics are beautiful. As for the process I knew not it was so simple.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes di it is very sinple to make Gulkand at home..do give it a try

      Delete
  10. The pictures are so beautiful with these pink hues and the gulkand looks really good... never knew could be made at home...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you ..happy that you found the post informative

      Delete
  11. Wow! I never thought making gulkand is so easy. Though I don't like rose flavour, your photos are tempting me to try this one.

    ReplyDelete
  12. WoW,I never thought of making gulkand is very easy process,
    this looks really good...beautifully captured

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amazing...I remember having gulkand in my younger days..but never thought it is this easy. Don't they add saffron? Or is it optional?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never heard of adding saffron in Gulkand..though there is no harm in doing so I guess

      Delete
  14. Anything homemade is so much better! Yours looks fabulous, thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely post! Love to see rose in a bowl. I never tried this at home . Looks so delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you..do give it a try..it is fuss free

      Delete
  16. Gulkand is the best remedy for acidity, not many know this but having suffered ages back, I have consumed this and got the best results. This is the best thing to do at home apart from pickles and jams during summers as it helps keep your body cool. Great share Poonam and I love everything homemade.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Frankly speaking I never tried this one. Always tried the store bought ones to use in preparig other dishes. Such a lovely share Poonam !!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow Poonam, I've fallen in love with your gulkhand. So pretty pink. Wish I could make some at home but these getting organic flowers is very difficult. I've used store bought one and the colour is dark.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes di.. home-made is always best..these organic desi variety has a beautiful pink color and are very fragrant.

      Delete
  19. I vaguely remember my mum making gulkand when I was a little girl, no idea how she made it but we all loved eating it. Your recipe sounds pretty easy and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Always wanted to make some. Bookmarking this for later use👍

    ReplyDelete
  21. Such a beautiful post! Gulkand adds a royal touch of perfection to desserts that makes them super indulgent. Never thought i could make it at home too. Thank you for the brilliant recipe. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  22. Super cool recipe. I wish i could get some of these beautiful roses here

    ReplyDelete
  23. Amazing easy receipt thank you for teaching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by. Glad you found this post useful.

      Delete
  24. hi can one use dried petals? also not honey?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chrissy. No you cannot replace the fresh rose petals with dried petals. You may skip honey part though.

      Delete
  25. This looks so nice. I am doing mine with a combination of red, white and pink roses as that is what I have to make up the quantity required. I'm hoping it will turn out as nice looking as yours but I really mainly want it for the health benefits, so if it doesn't look as pretty, that's ok. Thank you for your recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to know that my post proved to be helpful to you. Just make sure you use the organic rose flowers to make this Gulkand. Do share your feedback with us.

      Delete
  26. delighted to see this simple method. great job Bachhav

    ReplyDelete
  27. When we put it in sun during the day should we refrigerate at night? Thank you! Looking forward to making this :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rini. No need to refrigerate at night. Keep it at room temperature.

      Delete
  28. Does the gulkand have to sit in full sun every day while it ferments? Or if we have some days with little or no sun, can we just let the gulkand sit for a little bit longer until it is fermented? I'm not sure we'll get 10 days of full sun in a row. :) This looks so good - thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you can allow it to be in Sun for more time if you are not getting enough sunlight during the day.

      Delete
  29. Hi Poonam, where do you buy the rose petals from? Thanks

    ReplyDelete

poonambachhav.blogspot.com