Taal er Luchi (Asian Palmyra Palm Puri) By Dr. Ruplekha Mitra Mustaphi
Dr. Ruplekha Mitra Mustaphi , MBBS, MD (Pathology), Assistant Professor, Pathology, Burdwan Medical College. Apart from being my schoolmate and a doctor by profession, Ruplekha is known for her sense of aesthetics; be it in dressing up, cooking, doing up home, or clicking pictures. Smitten by wanderlust, she always finds time to travel; and also to read.
In Bengal, and probably by most Indians, Gods and Goddesses are like our family members; and we like to treat them to seasonal delicacies, just like we serve our family. Various kinds of delectable fares made of Taal (Asian Palmyra Palm) are traditionally served to Gopal on Janmashtami — Gopal being considered the darling baby of the family. Ruplekha is no different. And even amidst her super busy schedule, Ruplekha manages a large spread for her Gopal every year, and Taal er luchi is one of the items.
The main process for making Taal er luchi is to get the pulp out of the fruit. The Tal looks rather dumpy and unimpressive till you have skinned it; and then a beautiful deep, bright sunny orange color makes you fall in love and a sweet aroma scents up the whole house. You have to scrape away these pulpy fruit and then kneed to get the thick juice. Once all the pulp is collected, sieve it to get the smooth pulp and leave aside the fibrous residue.
Ingredients:
- Flour (Maida)
- Pulp of Taal
- Sugar
- Water
- Ghee
- A pinch of salt
- Almond or pistachio silvers for garnish
Method:
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Make a dough with the flour by adding a little ghee and salt to the flour, and then by gently kneading while gradually adding water.
- Add the taal pulp to the dough and knead more to form a homogeneous dough.
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Roll with a rolling pin and flatten into discs (these would make the luchi).
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Heat ghee and deep fry each luchi individually in low heat until lightly browned on both sides.
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Turn off heat and soak them in the sugar syrup for a couple of minutes
- Garnish with almond/pistachio silvers and serve.
