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Nolen gurer payesh
Rice pudding with date palm jaggery
নলেন গুড়ের পায়েস: fragrant gobindobhog rice slow-cooked in milk and sweetened with fresh winter date-palm jaggery
In Bengal winter means nolen gur, the new date-palm jaggery that arrives in clay pots in December and January and smells of caramel and smoke. Kolkata sweet shops put it in everything, but at home the best use is a pot of payesh for Poush Sankranti or a birthday. Short, buttery gobindobhog rice is fried briefly in ghee with a bay leaf, then cooked slowly in full-fat milk until the grains break down and the milk reduces to a creamy, spoonable pudding. The jaggery goes in last and turns it a soft brown. Serve warm or cold, in small bowls or clay bhar, with pithe on the side. Common mistake: adding the gur while the milk is boiling, which almost always curdles it; take the pot off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes first. Chef's tip: no nolen gur? Use liquid date-palm jaggery (jhola gur) or a soft palm jaggery; cane jaggery works but the flavour is flatter.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 2 ⅛ oz gobindobhog ricewashed and drained
- 1 tsp ghee
- 6 ¼ cups full-fat milk
- 5 ½ oz nolen gur (date-palm jaggery)crumbled or liquid
- 3 green cardamom podslightly crushed
- 10 cashews (optional)halved
- 1 tbsp raisins (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rub 1 tsp ghee into the drained 2 ⅛ oz gobindobhog rice and leave for 10 minutes; this keeps the grains separate at first.
10 minStep 2: Bring 6 ¼ cups full-fat milk to the boil in a heavy, wide pan with 1 bay leaf (tej patta) and 3 green cardamom pods over a medium heat, stirring so it does not catch.
10 minStep 3: Add the rice, lower the heat and simmer, stirring every few minutes and scraping the sides, for 35–40 minutes until the rice is soft and broken and the milk has reduced by about half.
40 minStep 5: Stir in 5 ½ oz nolen gur (date-palm jaggery) until dissolved. Taste and add a little more if you like it sweeter. Remove the bay leaf.
2 minStep 6: Serve warm, or chill; it thickens as it cools.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does nolen gurer payesh take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of gobindobhog rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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