Gurer Paayesh....Rice Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR 2016. May this year brings lot of happiness in your life. Hope you all had enjoyed the festive season and the new year celebrations with your friends and families and of course with lot of food.  

In every bengali household Rice Pudding embarks auspicious occasions and no party is complete without this. There are two ways of preparing rice pudding one with Sugar and the other one with date palm jaggery. 

Date palm jaggery a.k.a Nolen Gur in Bengali, is very special and every Bong's favorite.  It is the first extract of the palm juice. The juice is boiled, a little salt is added to it to act as a preservative, so the jaggery does not taste too sweet. It is then cooled and poured into a long cone made of palm leaves. The cone is then wrapped in rice straws and preserved. At the time of use, the cone is finely sliced, so that the jaggery is cut into a disc with a palm ribbon around the edge. Unfortunately, you get Nolen gur only in winters in West Bengal, Bangladesh and some parts of Southern India.  

As this is the season of Palm Jaggery I thought of preparing this Rice Pudding with Nolen Gur. We Bengalis like to prepare rice puddings with a special kind of rice called as "Gobindo Bhog Rice". Many people prepares it with Basmati Rice too but I believe using Gobindo Bhog Rice takes this pudding to a new level. 

This recipe is very simple to prepare, you just need to keep an eye so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Without any further a let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

Milk: 1litre

Gobindo Bhog Rice: 1 handful

Date Palm Jaggery: 1/2 cup (adjust it to your liking)

Dry fruits of your choice

Crushed Green Cardamoms (optional): 3-4

Important Note:

Before making the rice pudding it's very important to make a test otherwise you'll end up with rice cooked in curdled milk. To do the test, boil 1/2 cup of milk in a pan and add the jaggery to it. If the milk gets curdled then you can do nothing with it. If not, then be ready for a delightful treat.

Method:

1. Wash and drain the rice. Let it dry for few minutes.

2. Pour the milk in a heavy bottomed pan and place it on medium heat.

3. Let the milk boil. Stir it continuously to avoid sticking to the bottom. If you want then you can add crushed cardamoms at this point.

4. When the milk is reduced to half of its quantity then add rice to it. Let the rice cook in the milk until it is done.

5. Now, it's time to add the Nolen Gur (Date Palm Jaggery) and switch off the heat. Mix it well with the milk until it melts and gets incorporated. 

6. Let the pudding cool down and garnish it with the dry fruits of your choice.

Note:

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