Panakarkandu

About this product

Panankarkandu (பனங்கற்கண்டு) – crystallised palm sugar, the traditional Tamil sweetener kept in almost every household for coughs, coffee and pongal. Made by crystallising the sap of the palmyra palm, panankarkandu comes as irregular pale-gold crystals with a clean, gentle sweetness and a faint, almost floral note that neither white sugar nor jaggery reproduces. It dissolves slowly, which is why it is often just held in the mouth rather than cooked. Its best-known use is the household remedy for a dry throat or cough: a piece of palm candy on its own, or crushed and mixed with a little ghee or warm milk at night. Beyond that, it sweetens filter coffee and herbal kashayam, goes into panagam during Ram Navami, and is used in place of sugar in payasam and pongal by families who prefer it. As a minimally processed palm product, it retains trace minerals that refined sugar does not, and it is traditionally considered gentler than white sugar, though it remains a sugar. Store in a dry, airtight jar. Palm candy absorbs moisture quickly and the crystals will fuse into a block if left exposed to humid air. Order online or over WhatsApp, with cash on delivery available.