AI-generated image
Taler bora (Bengali palm-fruit fritters)
Fritters of ripe palmyra pulp, rice flour, grated coconut and sugar, fried dark and fragrant
When the ripe palmyra palm fruits (tal) fall in the late monsoon, Bengal's kitchens fill with their heavy, almost fermented-fruit scent, and taler bora are made, above all for Janmashtami in August and September. The dark orange pulp is scraped from the fibrous seeds, mixed with rice flour, a little wheat flour, grated coconut and sugar, and dropped by the spoonful into hot oil. They puff into soft, spongy balls with a dark brown crust and a sweet, fruity, slightly smoky taste. Eat them warm or at room temperature with tea, or as part of a Janmashtami offering. They are naturally egg-free and vegan: the thick, fibrous palm pulp and the rice flour bind the batter, and a pinch of bicarbonate lightens it. Use fresh pulp when you find the fruit, or frozen palmyra pulp from a South Asian grocer. Chef's tip: fry at about 165°C; the sugar in the palm pulp burns easily, so oil that's too hot is the common mistake that blackens the outside while the centre stays raw.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz ripe palmyra palm pulpfresh or thawed frozen
- 3 ½ oz rice flour
- 1 oz plain flour
- 2 ⅛ oz freshly grated coconut
- 2 ⅞ oz sugar
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 cups neutral oilfor deep-frying
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: If using whole fruit, peel off the black skin, add a little water and rub the fibrous seeds against a sieve to extract the thick pulp. Measure out 9 oz ripe palmyra palm pulp.
Step 2: Mix the pulp with 2 ⅞ oz sugar in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Step 3: Add 3 ½ oz rice flour, 1 oz plain flour, 2 ⅛ oz freshly grated coconut, ½ tsp fennel seeds and 1 pinch salt and stir into a thick batter that drops slowly from a spoon. Rest for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 4: Stir in ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda just before frying.
Step 5: Heat 2 cups neutral oil in a kadai over a medium heat to about 325°F, when a drop of batter rises slowly with steady bubbles.
5 minStep 6: Drop in rounded teaspoons of batter, 6–8 at a time, and fry for 4–5 minutes, turning, until puffed and deep brown all over and a skewer comes out clean.
15 minStep 7: Drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm or at room temperature; they keep for a day in a covered tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does taler bora (Bengali palm-fruit fritters) take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 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 vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
MuscatSemolina milk sweet
Walk past the Muslim sweet shops of Pettah in Colombo or the old trading streets of Beruwala before Eid and you will see trays of muscat, dense, jewel-like diamonds that are glossy with ghee and studded with cashews. The texture is the whole appeal: firm and chewy, almost like a soft Turkish delight, with a sweet, buttery, cardamom-scented flavour, and it is shared with neighbours at Eid, weddings and the Avurudu table. Traditional cooks extract the starch from wheat flour; this home version soaks and blends semolina, then strains it, which gives the same clear, bouncy set. Most failures come from adding the ghee too quickly, so it pools on top instead of being absorbed; pour it in a spoonful at a time and keep stirring. Chef's tip: the muscat is done when it rolls into a single glossy mass that leaves the pan clean and the ghee starts to seep back out at the edges.
Sri Lankan
KhurmiWheat and jaggery biscuits
Khurmi are the sweet half of Chhattisgarh's Teeja-Pola festival snacks, made in big batches alongside the salty thethri. The dough is wheat flour and a little semolina bound with melted jaggery, studded with sesame and coconut, then cut into diamonds or pressed into small patterned shapes and fried until dark gold. They have a hard, crunchy bite and a deep caramel flavour, and they last for weeks in a steel dabba, ready for visitors and children back from school. Chef's tip: cool the jaggery water to lukewarm before kneading; hot jaggery makes a slack dough that spreads and soaks up oil.
Indian