My Food Story: A palmyra pudding from the east

My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).

Join us as we showcase the recipes shared with us by the participants of a recently concluded recipe contest. 

In Bengal, Janmashtami and tal (Palmyra fruit) are connected. During this occasion, we make special sweets using the pulp of this fruit. It can be quite a challenge to collect the ripe pulp. I learnt this useful technique from my grandmother and mother. The fruit is also known as ‘ice apple’ in English and Nungu in Tamil Nadu. It is believed to have a cooling effect on the skin and can help with skin-related problems. It is also a good source of vitamins and minerals.

Taler Kheer

Ingredients       

Tal fruit pulp

Freshly grated coconut

Condensed milk

Evaporated milk

Method

Boil tal pulp for 15 minutes. Add condensed milk/sugar and continue to stir and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes. Add freshly grated coconut. Add evaporated milk and continue to stir until you get a creamy texture. Garnish with grated coconut and serve.

Mahua Gupta is a homechef from Jharkhand