Taler Bora (Sugar Palm Fritters)
Taler Bora. The tempting allure of sugar palm. The earthy appeal of jaggery. The subtle sweetness of grated coconut. Fried to a gorgeous golden. Enjoy !!
Ingredients
- 1 cup ripe tal or sugar palm
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 1/3 cup jaggery grated, to taste
- 1 cup coconut freshly grated
- a pinch of cardamom powder
- oil for frying
Instructions
Extraction the of tal pulp
- Wash the fruit thoroughly, remove the crown, gently peel the outer brown skin and separate the kernels. (Tal typically has 2 or 3 kernels inside.) Keep the kernels in a bowl.
- Splash a little water on a kernel, massage the kernel gently to soften the flesh. (This step needs patience and can tend to be messy, trust me the labour is worth it)
- Now keep rubbing the softened kernel against a sieve to extract the tal pulp, continue spalshing water and rubbing it till there’s no further pulp getting extracted.
- Tie the pulp in a muslin cloth, hang till all almost the water has drained.
- Take 1 cup of the pulp in a heavy bottomed pan, cook for 5-7 odd minutes while stirring continuously. Allow the pulp to cool down.
Making of taler bora
- Take the cooked pulp in a bowl. Add the rice flour, plain flour and grated jaggery. Give it a hearty mix to form a smooth thick batter.
- Now add the grated coconut, sprinkle in the cardamom powder. Give it another mix. If you want the batter sweeter, feel free to add more jaggery.
- Heat oil in a kadai, take small scoops of the batter and gently release into the oil. Fry over medium heat till the boras are a golden brown. Keep aside on a kitchen absorbent towel.
- Cool to room temperature and serve. But trust me, taler bora always tastes better the next day :-)