The Goodness of Gurh

Winter might not be everybody's favourite season of the year, but I love it. I look forward to it and from September itself I start counting the days. It's that time of the year when, bundled under layers of clothes, you can binge shamelessly while proclaiming that once the cold peters off, you will diet and exercise. That of course is another story best left alone. If there is one thing that completes my love for the cold months it is nolen gurh from West Bengal. This  fragrant and delicately sweet date palm jaggery is addictive, awesome and worth all the impatience. In the villages of Bengal  where the date palms grow, small incisions are made in the tree and earthen pots are hung below the incisions. The sap collected in the pots are poured into huge iron cauldrons placed over fire (routinely wood fired earthen chulas) and slowly churned until the required consistency is reached. The nolen gurh is then poured into clay pots and is ready for the market. It is literally manna from heaven and forget the sweet dishes prepared from it, the gurh itself is so yummy that it takes all will power to resist finishing the whole block!

The delicious Nolen Gurh

My introduction to nolen gurh was accidental, more like serendipity. Years ago while on an assignment, I had to pass through Saktigarh (near Burdwan), everyone in the office had ordered me not to return without dozens of its most famous sweetmeant, ledi keni or langcha! Clearly named after Lady Canning, it is what can be called a cylindrical gulab jamun, but much, much more lighter and tastier. Then I was a nolen gurh ignoramus, but someone at a small wall-less, plastic sheet roofed sweet shop deep into the countryside told me to opt for the gurh variety and I did not knowing what I was letting myself into.  As a precaution, I picked up several earthen pots of sugar ledi keni too. The drive back to Kolkata was long, boring and with the night setting in outside there was nothing much to look out for.So one pot got opened, yes the gurh one and I discovered nirvana! Only the sugar ones got to the office! Since then my affair with nolen gurh has remained steadfast, never mind the distance now. Bengal may be far away but the onset of nolen gurh season means I ensure, come whatever, that my supplies of the delicacy continues.

After the ledi keni, it was the nolen gurh sandesh, melt-in-the-mouth affairs. From sandesh, it was nolen gurh rosogollas. (At wedding banquets, I first check out the dessert sections and if it is winter and if there is nolen gur rosogollas, then its plain feasting and more feasting) Then we got our first block of the gurh itself, a rather humble looking affair that held within an amazing sweetness, almost fragile. It is not a sweetness that screams from the rooftops, but is subtle, mellow and irresistible. Naturally,all sweet preparations in the house meant replacing sugar with nolen gurh.

If you don't live in Bengal, check out the Bengali pockets in your city/towns and the market there, some store or the other is bound to have the golden goodness. In Delhi, it is the market (No1) in Chittaranjan Park. I leave the sandesh and the rosogollas to the experts, for me its kheer time in the kitchen. Over time I have found that the humble peeler is the best way to get the gurh ready for the kheer. Run the peeler over the gurh, as you would while peeling any vegetable and what you get is thin layers of crumbly gurh

 

I have also learnt that unless you are very sure of the quality of the gurh, it would be wise not to mix in the entire amount of gurh and milk. The best option would be take a few tablespoons of warm milk in a glass bowl and add in a bit of the grated gur. Stir thoroughly and put it back in a saucepan on low flame, if the mixture bubbles merrily and there is no curdling or falling apart, then that's the green signal to go ahead. Making kheer is no rocket science. I put the milk to boil, put in a pod or two or even three of green cardamon (depending on the amount to be made) then add the washed and thoroughly drained rice,  stirring gently all the while. If you can lay your hands on then there is nothing like gobind bhog rice, the tiny grained aromatic rice, also from Burdwan in West Bengal. I mix the gurh with some warm milk separately and then slowly pour it into kheer pot. As the gurh seeps into the milk, the aroma that wafts around is intoxicating. Next its slivers of almonds and cashew nuts, but strictly no raisins (unlike the other regular kheers). I don't want sweetness of any other way coming in the way of nolen gurh.  Don't go by the picture below, just dig in!