This sugar could be consumed by the diabetic and the kids with no side effects of white sugar, says folklore.
Small cuts are made into the head portion of the palm and the sap is collected. This is used as liquor and is heated and made into jaggery which is supposed to have medicinal qualities. Jaggery contains a lot of iron and other minerals.
I bought some from India. This type of sugar comes as solid blocks, so every time you need it, you would have to shave thin slices and then heat them which is time consuming.
So what I do is, pound them into pieces,
add 1 cup of water
for 1 kilo of sugar and boil it.
When every piece is dissolved, boil it for 5 more minutes stirring continuously in low flame until it becomes a caramel consistency. Do not forget to strain the liquid.
Store it in refrigerator. Add a teaspoon to black coffee. It is called karipetti kaappi. That's coffee with a whole new meaning.
