Tal also known as Palmyra fruit, mainly found over Indian subcontinent and south Asia  is a impersonation of sweetness. It holds a very important cultural symbolism in India, particularly in Tamil culture it is called “katpaha tharu” or “celestial tree”. In Bengal, the tall Tal tree captured literary imagination of poets and thus became a part of our growing years.

Hanging from perhaps the tallest of trees, this seasonal fruit is an integral part of a celebration, Janmashtami, in the part of Bengal. Janmashtami also known as Gokulashtami is an annual Hindu festival which celebrates the birth of Lord Kirhsna. As per the folklore, Krishna Janmashtami is followed by the festival Nandotsav, which celebrates the occasion when father Nanda distributed gifts to the community in honour of the birth of his son Krishna and danced in joy having the sweet ‘taler bora’.  

The memory stays alive right from the days of my childhood when my mother and aunties used to get engrossed in preparing taler bora on the eve of Janmashtami and the wait seems endless for us. The fragrance of frying the fritters used to fill the air. The round shaped hot boras made the stuff of super fun and joy. In fact the whole process was a long and laborious one starting from peeling off the black skin of shiny tal fruit, to discover the fibrous kernels and then to extract the golden thick pulp to prepare the batter mixing with coconut and then to fry to fluffy sweet boras.

This year, for the first time on Janmashtami, I planned to visit the memory lane and prepare taler bora to share with you and make this occasion special. Luckily I had my mother by my side to lend a helping hand. Her presence also made the event more special.

Ingredients for 45-50 pieces :

1. Sweet Palm fruit (Tal fruit) – 1 small (approx. weight 1.5 kg.)
2. Grated coconut (narkol kora) – 1 cup
3. Small banana (kathali kola) – 3 pieces
4. Sugar – ¾ cup (150 gm.)
5. Wheat flour (atta) – 1 cup (100 gm.)
6. Rice flour (chaler guro) – ½ cup (50 gm.)
7. Semolina (suji) – ½ cup (60 gm.)
8. Mustard oil/ Refined oil for deep frying

Procedure :

Step 1: Extracting the pulp from Sweet Palm (Tal fruit)

• At first wash the Tal fruit under running water.
• Then remove the pale yellow crown of the fruit. It can be easily removed by hand.
• After that, remove the black skin of the fruit by hand.
• Now separate the orange or yellowish fibrous kernels or seeds of the fruit. Generally you will get two or three kernels from one Tal fruit. I got three fibrous kernels.
• Take the kernels/seeds in a large dish and pat each of them with some water.  
• Now place a perforated plate or dish (I used my steamer plate) on a bowl. Rub each kernel on that plate to extract the thick pulp from it. Keep a small bowl of water by your side and sprinkle little water on the seeds occasionally while rubbing.
• You have to continue rubbing till all the pulp is extracted from the seeds and only fibre remains. Make sure that fibres are not getting into the pulp.
• Collect all the pulp from three kernels/ seeds. I have got around 3 small cups of pulp.

Step 2 : Making the Batter

• Grind the granulated sugar into powder in a mixer grinder.
• Peel the bananas and put them in a large bowl. Smash them with hand.
• Now add powdered sugar, grated coconut, rice flour and semolina to the smashed banana. Mix all the ingredients very well with your hand.
• Now add the extracted pulp to the mixture and beat well with hand.
• Finally add wheat flour and again beat well.
• Cover the bowl and leave the batter for 20-30 minutes.

Step 3 : Frying ‘Taler Bora’ or Sweet Palm Fritters

• Heat sufficient amount of oil in a kadai over medium flam.
• Take small portion of batter into your hand and put into the hot oil. Try to give them round shape. Don’t overcrowd the kadai.  
• Fry the balls on low-medium flame till golden brown.
• Remove them from oil and place on a kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
• Serve hot or cold.

Note :

• Keep patience while extracting the pulp of the sweet palm fruit. It will take time.
• One can use a grater also to take out the pulp. In that case if any fibre comes into the pulp, it can be removed by straining the pulp.  
• Traditionally, sugarcane jiggery is used instead of sugar in this recipe.
• If you don’t get small bananas then use 1 and 1/2 pieces of large one.