Gobindobhog Chal diye Patali Gurer Payesh (Bengali Rice Pudding with Date Palm Jaggery)

For those of my friends who know about this and intentionally clicked the title, ‘Welcome Back Payesh Lovers!’. If you don’t have an idea what the title means, read on. 

Rice Pudding also known as Payesh in Bengali is one of the most decadent desserts you will ever taste. When prepared properly it is very creamy and even a small portion will leave you satisfied. It is quite heavy and it often becomes a challenge to save room for this delicious dessert after enjoying a multi course Bengali feast. Hence, hats off to all those Payesh lovers who manage to finish a bowl of this creamy dessert after finishing their entire meal.

Patali Gur is a form of Jaggery prepared from Date Palm. It can be rightly called a delicacy which is found only during winter months. Since it is mainly produced in West Bengal, we in Northern India have always depended on our relatives and certain Bengali shop keepers for this particular jaggery. 

I understand that here in U.S, jaggery is not a common pantry item. However, in India, a box of jaggery is a must have in every kitchen. Jaggery is used for making varieties of desserts. A piece of jaggery with some warm milk and fresh roti (stove top cooked flatbread) is often served as the final course in many homes. During winter months normal jaggery is replaced by Patali Gur and everyone wants to get seconds. Why?

Patali Gur adds a beautiful rustic earthy flavor to the dish. Be it your regular milk and roti or a special dessert like Payesh, it adds its own unique taste. In fact, its flavor is so different that you can immediately tell the difference. For comparison try a spoon of Payesh cooked with sugar and then with Patali Gur. 

Aside from Payesh, Patali Gur is also used in a variety of sweets like Sandesh. It not only lends a beautiful flavor but also brings a caramel color in the sweets. You do not need to add any additional flavoring because the Gur itself will have enough flavor of its own.

I think it will be correct to say that the taste of Patali Gur grows on you. With every spoonful, your taste buds get more and more immersed in its flavor. By the time you finish the bowl, your eyes will already be scanning everywhere in hope to get seconds. I guess this is the reason why everyone tries to conserve their stock of Patali Gur.

Growing up, I was more into savory dishes. Now I can’t help but feel miserable about all those times when I was offered something as divine as Patali Gur and I refused to take it. Believe me, unless you have a sweet tooth and living away from your country it will be very difficult for you to understand my situation. Patali Gur like many other exotic Indian ingredients is not exported in huge quantities and hence it is quite expensive. 

Now as I have told you before, preparing Payesh is not difficult. In fact, I will say it is one of the easiest desserts you will ever learn. However, the catch is, Time! You need a lot of time to prepare a thick creamy Payesh. You need patience and it demands constant attention. You can never leave a pot of simmering milk and do something else. If the bottom starts sticking, then the whole batch is ruined. Hence, an even low temperature should be maintained at all time. Stir it occasionally and it will be ready in its own time. Many people use a heavy pot to prevent the milk from burning. I use a big non stick pot and once the milk comes to a boil, I turn down the heat to low where it remains for let’s say, 3-4 hours. 

Let’s talk about the rice now – Gobindobhog. You can very well use basmati (which I have done in my previous article) for making Payesh. However, this particular rice has its own significance. Gobindobhog is a short grain, white and aromatic rice. It is sticky in texture which turns out really well when added in Payesh. It makes the pudding creamier. It is a specialty of the Burdwan district of West Bengal (India). You can also use it in other dishes. The photo above shows the same rice served in main course. I will say it tastes amazing with Jharna ghee (a type of clarified butter).

This time when Debarshi and I visited our parents (in India), we were lucky to have some Patali Gur. His mom saved some for us and although it wasn’t a fresh batch, we loved it all the same. I even prepared a batch of Payesh for Debarshi’s birthday and shared it with friends. Although the initial method for preparing the Payesh remains the same, a few steps change in the later stages. 

It is important to add the Patali Gur right before you switch off the heat. Add the crushed jaggery and immediately cover the pot. The jaggery will take its own time to melt and mix with the milk. Wait for 15-20 minutes, then stir. Since Payesh is usually served cold, I don’t think there is any hurry to mix the jaggery at this stage. Make sure to have the jaggery at room temperature otherwise it will take longer to melt. 

I am not sure if you can find Patali Gur online or in selected stores in bigger cities. If you do, please give this recipe a try. Post in the comments section how it turned out.

Ingredients:

• Gobindobhog Rice – 1/3 cup
• Whole Milk - 1 gallon
• Patali Gur – 1 cup, broken in small pieces
• Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 1 tablespoon
• Green Cardamom - 8 pods, crushed or powdered, skins removed
• Raisins – ¼ cup (or ½ cup)
• Almonds or Pecans – ¼ cup, sliced or broken into small pieces
• Bay leaf – 2, small

Let’s do some preparations first:

• Wash the rice. 
• Drain it well then transfer to a small bowl. 
• Add the Ghee and Bay leaves to the rice and mix. Keep this aside.

Directions:

• Heat a big pan or wok over medium high heat. Slowly and carefully pour the milk into it.
• Keep the heat on medium for the first 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally then turn it down to medium low.
• Keep boiling the milk till it is reduced to 2/3 of its original volume (Tip: This simply means that the milk will be more than half but less than its original volume). Keep stirring occasionally.
• Now add the rice along with the bay leaves and ghee to the milk. Stir to mix.
• Allow it to cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally then mash a grain of rice to check if it’s slightly tender. If it isn’t keep cooking and stirring.
• After 10-15 minutes, add the crushed Green Cardamom, Raisins and sliced Almonds. Keep stirring and cooking. Any thick milk should be cleaned off the sides and mixed in the Payesh itself so keep stirring and scraping the bottom and sides of the pan. 
• Check after 10-15 minutes, the rice should be cooked well by now. The addition of the nuts will slightly deepen the color of the milk. The Payesh should have a thick consistency now (the milk at this time is almost reduced to half of its original volume).

• Switch off the heat.
• Add the Patali Gur in the Payesh and cover immediately.

• Let it melt. Wait for 15-20 minutes, then stir. 
• Serve the Payesh cold.

Tips:

• Use mortar pestle to crush the cardamom pods.
• Use a big wok or pot to boil the milk. It should be properly washed before adding the milk and use a clean wooden or rubber spatula to stir the milk.
• Do not use reduce calorie (1% or 2%) milk.
• Payesh is a task of patience. The milk should be allowed to boil and reduce on a low heat. After you add the nuts the color of the milk will darken a bit.
• Patali Gur will bring a beautiful caramel color in the Payesh. Do not be confused when this happens. 
• The Payesh can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. Enjoy whenever you want.

Recommended Reading:

• Mortar and Pestle
• Chaler Payesh (Bengali style Rice Pudding)
• Panch Bhaja (Crispy Deep Fried Vegetables)
• Make Homemade Ghee from Spoiled Cream
• Moong Dal ka Halwa (Indian Yellow Lentils Dessert)
• Rabri (Clotted Cream in Condensed Milk)
• Sevai ki Kheer (Semai Payesh / Vermicelli Pudding)
• Dry Fruit Laddu (Mamma’s homemade sweets with dry fruits)
• Gujiya (Crispy Flaky Indian Sweet Dumpling stuffed with Milk Solids and Nuts)
• Cholar dal diye Kumror Torkari (Mamma’s Pumpkin Gravy with Split Bengal Gram)
• Gajar ka Halwa (Indian Carrot Dessert)
• Bengali Tomato Chatni (chutney) With Dried Fruits