Taler luchi recipe is one of the most popular taler recipes which is prepared in Bengali houses during the Janmashtami festival. Taal er luchi is hugely popular in Bangladesh, West Bengal and Odisha. These deep-fried mini breads are prepared with only 5 basic ingredients and are so easy to make. They got the amazing flavour of palm and are soft, flaky, puffy and melt in the mouth. It is mostly served as breakfast or a snack with taler kheer.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Taler luchi (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is Taler luchi?
Taler luchi recipe is a vibrant yellow and puffy Bengali deep-fried mini bread recipe prepared with all-purpose flour aka maida. It is crazily popular in Bengali and Oriya cuisine. In this preparation, salt, sugar, ghee or oil for moyen and palm pulp is added to maida to prepare the dough. Then the dough is divided into small portions and rolled out into thin small-size circular discs like puri. Then they are deep-fried in hot oil or ghee till puffy.
Traditionally, taler luchi recipe is prepared in ghee aka clarified butter. It gives a unique flavour and taste to the dish. But nowadays, in most places, it is prepared in any flavourless oil. Even in oil, luchi can be prepared perfectly which tastes great.
Sugar palm is known by different names in different subcontinents. It is also called Toddy palm, Cambodian palm, Asian Palmyra etc. In Bengali, it’s known as tal, in Telugu it’s gomuti, in Tamil it’s nungu.
For Bengalis, Janmashtami is a big festival. On that holy day, Lord Krishna was born. This festival usually comes in July-August month in the English calendar. According to our ancestors, Lord Krishna loves sugar palms. Hence, taler bora, taler kheer, taler luchi and a few other taler pitha is prepared and served to Lord Krishna as Prasad.
It’s not that Bengalis only prepare taler luchi on Janmashtami. Taler luchi recipe is one of the most anticipated recipes for Bengalis for which they wait for the whole year to get black ripe sugar palms. 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 taler luchi 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 prepare three different recipes with it – taal er bora, taler kheer and taler luchi and they all taste heavenly. Taler luchi is an old recipe which has been prepared in Bengali kitchens for ages and till now the tradition is 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 learnt it from her mother aka my granny. I always consider myself lucky to have got the opportunity to taste and learn these traditional recipes.
After my marriage, I tried to prepare taler luchi for the first time without any experienced person’s supervision. Honestly, the luchi was oily, crispy and tasted more like a nimki than luchi. I was highly disappointed and discussed this incident with my mom over the phone. My mom laughed and replied that there are a few tricks to prepare perfectly puffy and white luchi. If you follow them then you would be able to prepare perfect luchi.
After gathering all the knowledge for the recipe from mom, I attempted to prepare the taler luchi and came out soft, flaky, melted in my mouth and puffed up perfectly like my mom. Since it has become compulsory to prepare taler luchi every year during Janmashtami. I usually serve them as breakfast with taler kheer and even sometimes as evening snacks.
Taler luchi recipe is very simple and easy to make. It requires only 5 basic ingredients to be prepared and each ingredient is easily available in any kitchen pantry except palm pulp. Because it is a seasonal fruit and you need to wait for the whole year for it. The best part of the recipe is that it gets prepared very quickly.
Ingredients for Taler luchi
All-purpose flour aka maida: It is the primary ingredient for luchi which provides body to the mini bread recipe.
Palm pulp: Another important ingredient which provides taste, flavour and colour to the dish.
Oil or Ghee: It is another important ingredient which is used in two different parts of the recipe. In the first part, oil or ghee is used to add to the maida for moyen. In the process of moyen, fat is added to the dough for a soft and flaky texture. In the second part, it is used to deep fry the taler luchi.
Salt & Sugar: Both are used to enhance the taste of the luchi and to give a balanced taste.
Taler luchi recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. I have included all the tips and tricks to make the recipe easier for you. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then you will get the perfectly flaky & puffy luchi.
Tips to prepare perfect Taler luchi
- Always try to use thick palm pulp to prepare the recipe so that maximum flavour and taste get induced into the luchi.
- Traditionally, it is prepared with all-purpose flour. It gives better texture and taste to the luchi recipe.
- The addition of sugar along with salt makes the taler luchi tastier.
- To get perfect luchi, it is very important to add the correct amount of oil or ghee into the maida aka all-purpose flour for moyen. The addition of too much moyen can make the luchi crispy and less moyen make the luchi rubbery.
- Follow the measurement for a perfect result. You can double or triple the quantity if you want to prepare in large batches.
- After adding the fat content (oil or ghee) to the maida, mix it evenly. The flour should get bind when you take it in your fist and apply pressure.
- Always prepare slightly tight dough for the perfect texture of taler luchi. After rest time, the dough will turn slightly soft.
- After preparing the dough, always cover it and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. It helps to relax the glutens.
- Always roll the dough ball into a circular disc. The thickness of taler luchi is slightly thicker than normal Bengali luchi.
- Always try to roll smaller size luchi for better results.
- Always roll the luchi evenly of the same thickness on all the sides or else it will not get puffed up properly.
- The temperature of the oil is very important to deep fry luchi perfectly. Luchi is always fried in hot oil or else it won’t puff up properly. Always make sure that the oil is hot.
- After adding the taler luchi to the hot oil, press it gently with a slotted spoon so that the luchi can puff up and then flip it to fry the other side.
How to make Taler luchi?
To prepare the taler luchi recipe, 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 the bigger side of the grater to extract the 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 all-purpose flour into a large mixing bowl. Then add salt, sugar and mix all the dry ingredients with a spoon. Then add oil or ghee and mix it properly. The flour should get bind when you take it in your fist and apply pressure. The moyan (fat added to the flour) of the dough is very important to get the perfect texture of taler luchi.
Then add palm pulp slowly at a time and prepare a slightly tight dough. Knead it for 4-5 minutes to make a smooth dough. Then cover the dough and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. Again, knead the dough for a minute.
Divide the dough and make small size balls with the help of your hands and flatten them. Then take a dough ball and roll it out to a small chapati on a chapati board with a rolling pin. The thickness of taler luchi is slightly thicker than Bengali luchi. Cover the rest of the dough ball during the time of rolling.
On the other hand, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add enough oil or ghee to deep fry the taler luchi recipe. I have used sunflower oil for the recipe. The temperature of oil is an important factor during the time of frying luchi. Luchi is always fried in hot oil or else it won’t puff up properly. Always make sure that the oil is hot.
Add a rolled-out taler luchi into the hot oil over medium flame and then press it gently with a slotted spoon so that the luchi can puff up and then flip it to fry the other side. Put the flame on low and strain out the luchi with a slotted spoon from the hot oil and transfer them to a plate. Repeat the same process and prepare luchi with the rest of the dough.
A few taler recipe have already been shared in my previous posts. You may like a few of them like
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Ingredients:
1 cup = 250 ml
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose Flour (Maida)
- ¾ cup Taler rosh aka Palm pulp
- 2 tablespoons Oil or Ghee for moyan
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions:
- Remove the thick skin of the sugar palm and then separate the kernels of it. Normally, there are 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 the 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. Note: If you feel that your palm pulp has become thin then you can boil it in a separate pan for 4-5 minutes to evaporate excess moisture and allow it to come to room temperature before preparing the taler bora batter.
- Take a large mixing bowl and add 2¼ cup all-purpose flour to it.
- Add ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and mix it with a spoon.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil or ghee into the bowl and mix them thoroughly. The flour should get bind when you take it in your fist and apply pressure.
- Add the measured amount of palm pulp slowly at a time and prepare a slightly tight dough. Knead it for 4-5 minutes to make a smooth dough.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. Again, knead the dough for a minute.
- Divide the dough and make small size balls with the help of hands and flattened them. I have divided them into 20 portions.
- Take a dough ball on a rolling board and roll out it to a small circular disc with the help of a rolling pin. The thickness of the rolled-out taler luchi should be slightly thicker than a normal luchi.
Note: the size of taler luchi is smaller than regular luchi. - On the other hand, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add enough oil to deep fry the taler luchi.
- Once the oil is hot, put the flame in medium and slide a taler luchi into the kadai. Press it gently with a slotted spoon so that the luchi can puff up and then flip it to fry the other side. Put the flame on low and strain out the taler luchi with a slotted spoon from the hot oil and transfer them to a plate.
- Repeat the same process and prepare taler luchi recipe with the rest of the dough.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the taler luchi recipe to a serving plate and serve them either warm or at room temperature. Pair up the dish with your favourite taler kheer and enjoy the Bengali delicacy with family and friends with a lot of gossips.
Ingredients
1 cup = 250 ml
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose Flour (Maida)
- ¾ cup Taler rosh aka Palm pulp
- 2 tablespoons Oil or Ghee for moyan
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Remove the thick skin of the sugar palm and then separate the kernels of it. Normally, there are 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 the 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. Note: If you feel that your palm pulp has become thin then you can boil it in a separate pan for 4-5 minutes to evaporate excess moisture and allow it to come to room temperature before preparing the taler bora batter.
- Take a large mixing bowl and add 2¼ cup all-purpose flour to it.
- Add ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and mix it with a spoon.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil or ghee into the bowl and mix them thoroughly. The flour should get bind when you take it in your fist and apply pressure.
- Add the measured amount of palm pulp slowly at a time and prepare a slightly tight dough. Knead it for 4-5 minutes to make a smooth dough.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes. Again, knead the dough for a minute.
- Divide the dough and make small size balls with the help of hands and flattened them. I have divided them into 20 portions.
- Take a dough ball on a rolling board and roll out it to a small circular disc with the help of a rolling pin. The thickness of the rolled-out taler luchi should be slightly thicker than a normal luchi. Note: the size of taler luchi is smaller than regular luchi.
- On the other hand, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Add enough oil to deep fry the taler luchi.
- Once the oil is hot, put the flame in medium and slide a taler luchi into the kadai. Press it gently with a slotted spoon so that the luchi can puff up and then flip it to fry the other side. Put the flame on low and strain out the taler luchi with a slotted spoon from the hot oil and transfer them to a plate.
- Repeat the same process and prepare taler luchi recipe with the rest of the dough.
