Go Back
Taler Pitha

Taler Pitha

Taler Pitha. A symphony of tal, grated coconut and jaggery. A whiff of cardamom. Cocooned in banana leaves. And steamed to perfection. Quintessentially Bengali. Enjoy !!
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Bangladeshi, Bengali

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ripe tal or sugar palm
  • 3/4 cup rice flour freshly ground
  • 1/4 cup suji or semolina
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 cup coconut freshly grated
  • 3/4 cup jaggery grated
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
  • 2 banana leaves

Instructions
 

  • 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 till there’s no further pulp getting extracted.
  • Tie the pulp in a muslin cloth, hang till all almost the water has drained.
  • Take 1.5 cup of the pulp in a heavy bottomed pan, cook for 5-7 odd minutes while stirring continuously. Allow the pulp to cool down.
  • Soak the semolina in ¼ a cup of milk, allow to soften.
  • Take the tal pulp in a bowl, add the soaked semolina, rice 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. Keep it aside for 30minutes.
  • Cut off the central vein of the banana leaves, trim the edges. Warm the leaves over a very low flame, taking care to not char or burn the leaves. (This softens the leaves and keeps them flexible, making the parcels is much easier that way.) Cut the leaves to small pieces.
  • Take a piece of banana leaf, place a small portion of the batter in the middle. Wrap the banana leaf from all four sides to make a parcel, secure with twine. Steam for 15- 20 minutes in a steamer.
  • Allow to cool down to room temperature. The Taler Pithe is ready to serve. Enjoy !!