Panjeeri Recipe for Postpartum Recovery

This traditional panjeeri recipe is a South Asian postpartum staple made with roasted nuts, seeds, and ghee, designed to help new moms recover, heal, and boost milk supply. It’s nutritious, deeply comforting, and one of the most meaningful things you can make for a new mother.

What is Panjeeri?

Panjeeri is a traditional South Asian food made by roasting a blend of nuts, seeds, and semolina in ghee, then combining them with sugar. It’s been passed down through generations across Pakistan, India, and the wider South Asian diaspora as a go-to postpartum food for new and breastfeeding mothers. Rich in healthy fats, iron, calcium, and natural energy sources, it’s eaten daily in small portions to support healing, strength, and milk supply after childbirth.

Every family has their own version. This one is my mother’s, a recipe she’s been making for all the new moms around us for decades, and the one I’m sharing today so more postpartum mothers can benefit from it.

Why Panjeeri Matters Postpartum

Postpartum is one of the hardest, most nutritionally demanding times for a woman. Your body has gone through nine months of extreme work making your baby, and you are currently going through the biggest hormonal crashes known to man. And at this time, you need strength more than anything else.

Every culture has its own set of postpartum foods to help with healing, and in South Asia, Panjeeri is one of the most important. It’s a mix of nuts and seeds roasted in ghee that provides new moms with extra strength, helps with healing, and increases milk supply.

Benefits of Panjeeri for Postpartum Recovery

Panjeeri is made with a mix of roasted nuts and seeds, each of which encourages healing and strength. Eating a little every day will support new moms and help with milk supply. Here’s how each ingredient helps:

Almonds

Almonds are one of the most nutrient-dense nuts you can eat. They’re rich in Vitamin E, healthy fats, and protein, all of which help support tissue repair and increased energy during postpartum recovery. They’re also known to support brain health, which is a welcome bonus when you’re running on very little sleep.

Cashews

Cashews are packed with healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals essential for overall well-being. They’re also a good source of iron, which is especially important after childbirth when iron levels tend to drop.

Pistachios

Pistachios provide protein and antioxidants that help combat stress, which the body experiences a lot during and after pregnancy. They also contain B vitamins that support energy conservation, helping new moms feel less tired.

Makhana (Fox Nuts)

Makhana is rich in calcium, which promotes bone strength for mothers. Pregnancy reduces calcium in new moms significantly, so increasing calcium intake postpartum is really important, especially if you’re breastfeeding and your body is continuing to give calcium to your baby through milk.

Raisins

Raisins are a natural source of iron and energy, making them a simple but powerful addition to panjeeri. They also help with digestion and add a gentle sweetness to the mix without any refined sugar.

Katira Gondh (Edible Gum)

This is one of the most important ingredients in panjeeri, and one that’s often hardest to find outside of South Asian grocery stores, but absolutely worth tracking down. Traditionally, Katira Gondh has been used to provide stamina post-pregnancy and help in lactation.

Char Magaz (Melon Seeds)

Char Magaz is a blend of four melon seeds – pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, and cantaloupe. It helps in brain development in the baby, and also helps boost breast milk production in new moms. It’s one of those ingredients that’s been used in traditional postpartum cooking for generations, and for very good reason.

Semolina (Sooji)

Semolina is rich in iron and complex carbohydrates, providing loads of energy. It also adds a nice texture to the panjeeri that helps make it feel like a proper meal rather than just a snack.

How to Make Panjeeri

Making panjeeri is very simple, but requires a little time as each nut has to be roasted and chopped individually. I highly recommend using a food processor to chop the nuts to save time and effort, but if you don’t have one, a blender works too, just be careful not to blend them too finely.

Step 1: Roast the Nuts

• Almonds: Roast the almonds in 1 tablespoon of ghee for 3-5 minutes until they turn golden brown. You’ll know they’re done when they make a crackling sound.
• Cashews: Roast the cashews in 1 tablespoon of ghee for 2-3 minutes until they turn golden brown.
• Pistachios: Roast the cashews in 1 tablespoon of ghee for 2-3 minutes until they darken slightly.
• Makhana: Roast the makhanas in 2 tablespoons of ghee for 3-5 minutes until they turn golden brown.
• Raisins: Roast the raisins in 1 tablespoon of ghee for 2-3 minutes until they slightly swell.
• Katira Gondh: Roast the gondh in 1 tablespoon of ghee for 3-5 minutes until each piece swells and becomes lighter in color.
• Char Magaz: Roast the melon seeds in 1 teaspoon of ghee for 2-3 minutes until they turn lightly golden.
• Semolina: Dry roast the semolina (without ghee) for 3-5 minutes until it turns golden brown

Step 2: Grind the Nuts

• Chop each nut (except the raisins) separately in a food processor until you get a coarse, crumbly texture, but stop before it becomes a powder.
• Blend the sugar separately until you have a fine powder.

Step 3: Combine everything

• In a large pan over low heat, combine all the nuts, roasted semolina, and powdered sugar.
• Stir to bring everything together, then keep mixing for 3–5 minutes. The sugar should just begin to melt — pull it off the heat before it caramelises, or the mixture will turn sticky.
• Let it cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

How to Store Panjeeri

Panjeeri stores really well, which is part of what makes it so practical for postpartum care. You can make a big batch and keep it on hand for weeks.

• Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to one month.
• Fridge: Keeps for up to three months in an airtight container.
• Freezer: Can be stored for up to six months in an airtight container.

Tips for Making Panjeeri

• Roast the nuts on medium-low heat so they don’t darken too much or burn.
• Don’t skimp on ghee; it’s what makes panjeeri so nourishing and helps bind everything together.
• Use pure, high-quality ghee to make sure you’re getting the right nutrition.
• A food processor makes chopping the nuts much faster and more consistent.
• Keep the nuts coarsely ground, don’t turn them into a fine powder.
• Adjust the sugar to your taste, more or less, depending on how sweet you like it.
• Always mix the nuts and sugar on low heat so it doesn’t burn or caramelise.

How to Turn Panjeeri into Laddoos

If you prefer having panjeeri as laddoos, here are the steps you can follow.

• Grind the nuts more finely than usual, almost powder-like, then follow the steps above.
• After mixing in the sugar, add milk a splash at a time, stirring until the mixture starts to hold together and clump.
• As soon as it reaches that stage, turn off the heat and quickly shape into laddoos while the mixture is still warm and pliable.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I eat panjeeri while breastfeeding?
  
  Yes, panjeeri is specifically made to support breastfeeding mothers. Ingredients like Katira Gondh and Char Magaz are traditionally known to help boost milk supply. That said, everybody is different, so if you notice any changes in your baby’s digestion, reduce your intake and check with your doctor.

• How much panjeeri should I eat per day postpartum?
  
  Panjeeri is generally eaten in small amounts, around 1–2 tablespoons per day, either on its own or stirred into warm milk. It’s calorie-dense, so a little goes a long way.

• Can I make panjeeri without gondh?
  
  Yes, you can skip the Katira Gondh if you can’t find it or prefer not to include it. The panjeeri will still be nutritious and delicious; gondh is just one of the more specialised postpartum-supporting ingredients.

• Is panjeeri only for postpartum women?
  
  Not at all! Panjeeri is a wholesome, nutrient-dense snack that anyone can enjoy. It’s just especially well-suited for postpartum recovery because of how nutrient-dense it is.

• How long does panjeeri last?
  
  Stored in an airtight container, panjeeri lasts up to one month at room temperature, three months in the fridge, and six months in the freezer.

If you’re about to have a baby or know someone who’s about to become a new mother, make this panjeeri for them to help them heal better. It’s a gift they will never forget!

If you give this recipe a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments! And of course, share it with me on Instagram.

Until next time!