Mishri in English, Hindi and Indian languages (rock sugar)

Mishri in English is rock sugar, and the two names describe one thing. Rock sugar is the English name for sugar crystallised into hard lumps, which is exactly what mishri is; mishri is the Hindi word for the same sweetener. A recipe that calls for rock sugar is calling for mishri, and the swap runs the other way too.

There is no botanical name to learn: mishri is not a plant, so no scientific name exists for it. It is sugar given a new shape by crystallisation, and the page on how mishri is made walks through that process.

Mishri meaning is simply rock sugar, and misri meaning is the same; the two spellings sit one letter apart and name one food. Both spellings are in everyday use, and neither names a different sweetener. The same one-word answer covers the longer phrases: mishri in English and misri in English both come out as rock sugar, because the spellings differ only on paper.

Which spelling sits on a pack says nothing about the contents. A shop may stock both, a recipe may write either, and both point at the same hard, translucent lumps.

Mishri powder means exactly what it says: mishri milled fine. The powder is still mishri, not a different product, so in English mishri powder means powdered rock sugar.

Dhaga mishri is mishri grown on a thread. Dhaga is the Hindi word for thread, and the crystal forms around a length of cotton while the syrup crystallises. Whole mishri, mishri powder and dhaga mishri are all rock sugar; only the shape and the way it is grown differ.

Mishri in Malayalam, like mishri in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu or Bengali, is a question this page answers plainly: no name is on record, so none can be given. IFCT 2017, which supplies the regional names for the foods it lists, does not list mishri at all, and this page does not invent words for it. What can be said without a name list is short: mishri is the Hindi word, and its English name is rock sugar.

The same rule applies the other way: any regional word for rock sugar that IFCT 2017 does not give stays off this page. The Hindi and English names above are all this page can give.

• Mishri vs sugar. Not two sweeteners with two names: mishri is sugar that has been re-crystallised into lumps. The full comparison, calories and glycemic index included, is on mishri vs sugar.
• Misri vs mishri. One food, two spellings, one letter apart, and nothing to choose between them.
• Rock sugar vs rock salt. The shared word is where the resemblance ends: rock sugar is sugar grown into lumps, and rock salt is salt, a different shelf entirely.
• Mishri vs mishri powder. The same rock in two forms: whole lumps, or milled fine.

For the sweetener itself — its uses, its benefits and how it is made — the mishri hub is the starting point.

What is mishri in English?

Rock sugar. Mishri is the Hindi word, and its English name is rock sugar: sugar that has been crystallised into hard lumps instead of fine grains. The two names point to one food, so an English recipe that calls for rock sugar is calling for mishri.

What is mishri?

Mishri is rock sugar: sugar dissolved in water and re-grown into large, hard, translucent lumps, some of them grown around a cotton thread. It sweetens as sugar does, and it counts as added sugar. In Hindi the word is mishri, also written misri, and this page sets out the names and their meanings.

What is misri?

Misri is mishri in its other spelling. The food is the same rock sugar; only the writing differs, one letter apart. Both spellings name one sweetener, and misri in English is rock sugar exactly as mishri in English is.

How is mishri made?

By crystallisation: sugar is dissolved in water, the syrup is boiled to the one-thread stage and left on threads or in trays while the sugar grows into lumps over several days. The step-by-step walkthrough, with the mistakes to avoid, is on the page for how mishri is made.

Is mishri and sugar same?

In substance, yes; in form, no. Mishri is sugar that has been re-crystallised into hard lumps, while sugar comes as fine grains; the two names describe one sweetener in two shapes. The full comparison is on mishri vs sugar.

What is dhaga mishri?

Dhaga mishri is rock sugar grown on a thread. Dhaga is the Hindi word for thread, and in this kind the crystal grows over a length of cotton set into the syrup. Beyond the thread, dhaga mishri is the same sugar as any other mishri.