Tagar, also sometimes called Boora is a porous version of sugar which is made by melting sugar in water to reach a state of crystallization. It is used in making laddus and pedas.
In a container, add sugar and water. Turn the heat on to medium-high flame.
Stir a few times until the sugar melts. Add ghee (optional). Ghee helps make the boora smooth and lump free, once it cools down. Continue to cook and stir in between until at least a 1 string consistency syrup is ready. It will take about 7-8 minutes after the sugar has melted.
One of the ways to test it is by carefully getting a little drop of syrup from the ladle used for stirring the syrup and pressing that drop between the index finger and thumb. If you see a string or more forming when you open up the index finger and thumb, the syrup is ready.
Once one string syrup is ready, turn off the heat and let the syrup cool down, stirring every few minutes. The syrup will gradually turn white and become drier - salt kind of texture. The key is to keep breaking the lumps so that the final product is smooth and lump free.Boora is ready for making laddus or pedas.
Notes
This was the first time I made it. The texture to me didn't feel completely dry. I had to pamper it quite a bit to make it into a drier version. But the end result in Laddus was totally worth it :)
This will make a bigger batch of tagar than needed for the besan laddu recipe above. But you can store it in a container for future use.