Payesh or Payasam is a very popular dessert recipe for festive occasions prepared with rice and milk pudding flavored with cardamom, dry fruits and a sprinkle of rose water.
When the new jaggery has arrived in the market and the aroma of Govinda Bhog rice is wafting from here and there whenever you go to the market, it is a crime to delay making gurer payesh.
The joy of the festival fades without food and drink. Again, Poush Parbon means fresh jaggery and different types of new rice. Pithe puli can be called the ritual food of this festival. On this day pithe puli is cooked in every house. Nalen gurer payesh will increase the mood of the festival in one fell swoop.
With the passage of time, many Bengali dishes have become extinct. Nowadays, one has to throng the restaurants of the city to eat traditional Bengali food. There was a time when mothers and grandmothers used to make them at home.
Nolen Gurer Payesh is a winter delicacy as fresh dates palm jaggery aka Nolen Gur arrives in the markets during winters only in West Bengal. This delicious rice kheer or rice pudding is made with dates palm jaggery instead of white sugar which gives this payesh a rustic earthy flavor.
A special variety of aromatic rice called Gobindo Bhog is used in this recipe. But you can also substitute it with small grain aroma rice.
This festive treat brings together the richness of tradition and the sweetness of cherished memories, offering a bowl of pure indulgence that’s perfect for sharing with loved ones.
With every spoonful, let the essence of the festival fill your heart and home with joy and warmth.
Nolen Gurer Payesh is a delicious rice pudding made with Gobindobhog rice and Nolen Gur (date palm jaggery) as the main ingredients. This winter-special Bengali dessert has a unique taste and is very popular in West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Gobindobhog rice is traditionally used for this dish and Nolen Gur in liquid form (Jhola Gur) or solid form (Patali Gur) is the key ingredient for this recipe. Nolen Gur gives a distinctive taste and aroma to the Payesh, along with sweet mellow flavour, hence this Payesh tastes different from the others made with sugar. This dessert is a Bengali winter speciality since Nolen Gur is available during the winter season only.
A perfectly made Nolen gurer payesh will be creamy and smooth in texture with the right amount of sweetness. Nolen Gurer Payesh can be consumed warm or hot or cold. For making a good payesh fresh aromatic gobindobhog rice and high-quality Nolen Gur are needed.
Gobindobhog rice is a short-grained, white, aromatic rice with a sweet buttery flavour cultivated in West Bengal. This speciality rice enhances ‘Nolen Gurer Payesh’ with its aroma and starch, making the dish worth craving.
Nolen Gur or Notun Gur or Khejur Gur or Date Palm Jaggery is a Bengali winter delicacy and is revered by Bengalis for its aroma and taste. A priceless treasure of Bengal, Nolen Gur is available in two forms, Jhola Gur (liquid) and Patali Gur (solid). Both are equally cherished and used to make various Bengali sweets like Rosogolla, Sandesh, Payesh, Pithe, Kanchagolla, etc, during the winter season. Nolen Gur gives a woody and caramel-like flavour to whatever dish it is added.
Nolen Gur or date palm jaggery is made from the sap of date palm trees using deft skills during winter months in West Bengal.
Date palm tree trunks will be slit skilfully at the top of the tree just below the leaves. Earthen pots would be hung and kept overnight to collect all the tree sap. In the early morning, the sap would be collected in the earthen pots before the heat from the sun starts to ferment it. The sap would be boiled for hours and reduced until it turns dark amber and concentrated. The liquid sap (Jhola Gur) is collected after reaching the required consistency. The sap can be further boiled and poured into moulds to make solid pieces of Nolen Gur (Patali Gur).
The words ‘Nolen Gur’ makes Bengalis nostalgic and go weak at the knees. It has become an intrinsic part of Bengali culture and is the most loved and awaited seasonal delicacies for Bengalis. A delicacy in itself, this golden-brown jaggery syrup can also be enjoyed with luchi, chapati or pau ruti.
A line from famous Bengali poet Sukumar Ray’s poems celebrates Jhola Gur - ‘kintu shobar chaite bhalo, pauruti aar jhola gur’ which translates to ‘but the best of everything is the bread and liquid date palm jaggery’.
Here is a recipe of the Gurer PayeshIngredients:
1 tbsp raisins
1 cup gobindo bhog rice
3 green cardamoms
10 almonds, chopped
1 tbsp cashew, chopped
1 cup date palm jaggery, grated
5 cups milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp clarified butter (ghee)
1 bay leaf
Method:
Clean and wash the rice and add ghee and let it dry for an hour.
Boil milk on low heat and let it condense stirring constantly for twenty minutes. Mix in the rice and continue to stir till the rice is soft. As the rice gets cooked add sugar, green cardamom, bay leaf and sugar. Continue to stir fry till the milk has reduced to half. Mix in jaggery, cashew, almond slices and raisins and stir well.
Serve hot or cold.
Notes & Tips:
1. No flavourings are required in this recipe as the date palm jaggery gives a really good flavour to the dish.
2. Always use a heavy kadai or a pan, so that the milk does not get burnt from the bottom.
3. Mud, Cast iron, Brass or Aluminium vessel with a wide mouth is ideal for making Payesh.
4. Check the rice grains for softness by mashing them between your fingers. If you can mash to an almost paste, the rice is cooked.
If the milk gets reduced too much before the rice is cooked, then add some more hot milk.
5. Ensure that the rice is fully cooked because after adding the jaggery, the rice will not cook any further.
6. Use good quality jaggery, as impurities in it can cause the milk to curdle. You can test the quality of jaggery beforehand by taking 2 tbsp of boiling milk in a bowl and mixing little jaggery in it. If the milk has not curdled, the jaggery is good.
7. Keep scraping off the milk fat accumulating on the bottom and sides.
8. Bubbles appear and burst, forming brief craters in the Payesh, indicating the right consistency.
