Taler kheer | Taler pitha | Janmashtami recipe

Taler kheer aka taler pitha is one of the most popular Bengali pitha recipes which is prepared in Bengali houses during the Janmashtami festival. During the festival, devotees prepare this rich, creamy, flavoured, sweet pudding and offer it to Lord Krishna. Taal er payesh is hugely popular in Bangladesh and West Bengal. In this preparation, palm pulp is cooked with milk, sugar and grated coconut. This taler recipe is mostly served as breakfast or snacks. But can be relished during any time of the day to satisfy your craving.

About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Taler Kheer (step wise photos)
Recipe Card

Taal er kheer is a Bengali delicacy and the name itself explains the recipe. Here the word Taal or Tal means Sugar palm and Kheer means Pudding prepared with milk. It is a sweet tasted rich, creamy pudding prepared with palm pulp, milk, grated coconut and sugar.

Sugar palm is known by different names in different subcontinents. It is also called Toddy palm, Cambodian palm, Asian Palmyra etc. In Bengali, it is known as tal, in Telugu as gomuti, in Tamil it’s nungu.

For Bengalis, Janmashtami is a big festival. On that holy day, Lord Krishna has born. This festival usually comes in August month in English calendar. According to our ancestors, Lord Krishna loves sugar palms. Hence, taler bora, taler kheer and few other taler pitha are prepared and served to Lord Krishna as Prasad.

It’s not that Bengalis only prepare taal er kheer on Janmashtami. Taler kheer recipe is one of the most anticipating recipes for Bengalis for which they wait for the whole year to get black ripe sugar palm. During the month of August and September, ripe sugar palm is easily available in the market. During this period, whenever they get the chance, they try to prepare it to satisfy their craving.

Whenever I talk about any taler recipe, it always makes me feel nostalgic. I have thousands of sweet memories with it. I remember how my dad used to bring a pair of sugar palms from the market and Mom and Dad both worked so hard to extract the palm pulp from it.

My Mom always used to divide the palm pulp into three portions and used to prepare three different recipes with it – taal er bora, taler kheer and taler luchi and they all taste heavenly. Taler pitha are old recipes which have been prepared in Bengali kitchens for ages and till now the tradition has been continuing. We have learnt these delicacies from our ancestors and we are so thankful to them.

I have learnt this authentic recipe from my mother and she from her mother aka my granny. I always consider myself lucky to get the chance to taste and learn these traditional recipes.

When I start preparation of taler pitha, the complete house smells heavenly and triggers the family’s taste buds to enjoy the delicacy. They all wait when it will be done and they can have their portions. They even don’t want to give time to cool down the dish.

Whenever I prepare taler kheer recipe, I usually serve it as an evening sweet snacks with some taler bora and my family thoroughly enjoyed it.

Taler kheer is the easiest Bengali pitha recipe which is perfect for a novice if the palm pulp is extracted. Peeling the sugar palm and extracting the palm pulp from each kernel is the toughest job of the recipe. If this part is done then the rest of the part of the recipe is pure bliss. It gets prepared very easily without investing much time and effort. In fact, it requires only a few basic ingredients which are easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry. The best part of the recipe is that it can be prepared in huge quantities without investing any extra time.

Taler kheer recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tricks and tips below in the instruction section to prepare a perfect taler payesh without curdling the milk.

Palm pulp: The primary ingredient which provides taste, flavour and colour to the dish.

Milk: The most primary and basic ingredient of any kheer aka payesh recipe.

Coconut: The addition of coconut enhances the taste and flavour of taler kheer recipe. I have used freshly grated coconut for the recipe.

Sugar: It adds sweetness to the recipe.

Milk powder: The addition of milk powder is completely optional. It makes the milk thick quickly and saves time.

• Always choose ripe black coloured sugar palm for the recipe.
• Always try to use thick palm pulp to prepare the recipe so that maximum flavour and taste get induced into the bora.
• It is always better to boil the palm pulp separately and cook it with sugar to avoid the milk from curdling.
• Addition of grated coconut enhances the taste and flavour of taler kheer recipe. So don’t skip it.
• You can adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.
• You can add some milk powder into the milk to make it thicker quickly.

To prepare the taler Kheer, first, we need to extract the pulp from the sugar palm. First of all, always select ripe black colour palm to prepare the recipe. Don’t pick a younger palm for the recipe. Remove the thick skin of the sugar palm and then separate the kernels of the palm. Normally there would be 2 or 3 kernels in a palm. Then start grating each kernel with the help of bigger side of the grater to extract pulp. Dip the kernel in water in between to extract pulp easily but don’t use too much water or else the pulp will become thin and watery. In this way, extract the pulp from each kernel. If you feel there is some impurity in the pulp then strain it once before use.

Take milk in a pan and put it on flame to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 10 minutes. Stir it in regular intervals. Add milk powder and give a nice stir, make sure there are no lumps. Addition of milk powder makes the milk thicker quickly. Then switch off the flame and keep it aside.

On the other hand, take the palm pulp in a separate pan and put it on flame to boil. Once the content starts boiling, put the flame on medium low and cook it for some time until the excess moisture evaporates. Then add sugar to it and cook it for another 7-8 minutes until the colour gets darkened. Then add grated coconut into the pan and mix it well. Cook it on low flame for another 2-3 minutes.

Now, add the thickened milk into the palm pulp mixture and mix it quickly. Then cook it on low flame until you get the desire consistency. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.

Many Bengali pithe puli recipes have already shared in my previous post. You may like few of them.

Choshir payesh
Poa pitha
Patishapta pitha

..And Many more…

1 cup = 250 ml

• 2 cups Taler rosh aka Palm pulp
• 1 cup Milk
• ¾ cup Sugar
• ½ cup grated Coconut
• ¼ cup Milk powder (Optional)

1. Remove the thick skin of the sugar palm and then separate the kernels of it. Normally there would be 2 or 3 kernels in a palm. Then start grating each kernel with the help of the bigger side of the grater to extract the pulp. Dip the kernel in water once or twice in between to extract pulp easily but don’t use too much water or else the pulp will become thin and dilute. In this way, extract the pulp from each kernel. If you feel there is some impurity in the pulp then strain it once before use.
2. Take 1 cup of milk in a pan and put it on the flame to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 10 minutes. Stir it in regular intervals.
3. Add ¼ cup milk powder and give a nice stir, making sure no lumps are there. The addition of milk powder makes the milk thicker quickly. Then switch off the flame and keep it aside.
4. Take 2 cups of palm pulp into a separate pan and put it on the flame to boil. Once the content starts boiling, put the flame on medium-low and cook it for some time until the excess moisture evaporates.
5. Add ¾ cup sugar into it and cook it for another 7-8 minutes on medium flame until the colour gets darkened. Stir frequently.
6. Add ½ cup grated coconut into the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the thickened milk (Step 3) into the palm pulp mixture and mix it quickly. Then cook it on low flame for another 4-5 minutes until you get the desired consistency.
8. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.

Transfer the taler kheer into serving bowls. You can serve it either chilled or at room temperature with some taler bora to enjoy its best taste. Serve it to your family and friends and enjoy the classic Bengali delicacy.

Taler kheer | Taler pitha | Janmashtami recipe

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 40 minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

1 cup = 250 ml

• 2 cups Taler rosh aka Palm pulp
• 1 cup Milk
• ¾ cup Sugar
• ½ cup grated Coconut
• ¼ cup Milk powder (Optional)

Instructions

1. Remove the thick skin of the sugar palm and then separate the kernels of it. Normally there would be 2 or 3 kernels in a palm. Then start grating each kernel with the help of the bigger side of the grater to extract the pulp. Dip the kernel in water once or twice in between to extract pulp easily but don’t use too much water or else the pulp will become thin and dilute. In this way, extract the pulp from each kernel. If you feel there is some impurity in the pulp then strain it once before use.
2. Take 1 cup of milk in a pan and put it on the flame to boil. Then turn the flame low and cook it for 10 minutes. Stir it in regular intervals.
3. Add ¼ cup milk powder and give a nice stir, making sure no lumps are there. The addition of milk powder makes the milk thicker quickly. Then switch off the flame and keep it aside.
4. Take 2 cups of palm pulp into a separate pan and put it on the flame to boil. Once the content starts boiling, put the flame on medium-low and cook it for some time until the excess moisture evaporates.
5. Add ¾ cup sugar into it and cook it for another 7-8 minutes on medium flame until the colour gets darkened. Stir frequently.
6. Add ½ cup grated coconut into the pan and mix it well. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the thickened milk (Step 3) into the palm pulp mixture and mix it quickly. Then cook it on low flame for another 4-5 minutes until you get the desired consistency.
8. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.

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