Gurer(jaggery) payesh

Finally the best days of a bong has arrived,Durga puja. These 10 days are to rejoice with your family and friends. Food ,wearing new clothes,pandal hopping,all are integral part of Durga puja. Generally the idol is brought on panchami,that is on the 5 th day,but the happiness,excitement starts with Mahalaya itself.

 I kick started my food tour this Mahalaya with our very own basic gurer payesh. It is simple to make but delicious to eat. In Noida,in my nearby local market I bought this sugarcane jaggery,which in bengali we also term as "bheli gur", but in Bengal gurer payesh is mainly made with khejur means date palm gur. The bheli gur here,is equally tasty and it tasted yummm after preparing.

Ingredients

1. Full cream milk - 500 ml

2. Gur - 1/2 cup(almost 50gms,increase if you want sweeter)

3. Green cardamom - 1 no

4. Chopped dry fruits for garnishing

5. Rice - 4tbsp

Method

Wash the rice and soak in water for 30 mins. In Bengal we use gobindobhog rice,as it cooks well and faster,but here it is not available so I used basmati rice. The key being that it takes longer time,but I cook until its done.Boil milk and simmer till it is reduced to half it's volume. Next add rice,cardamom ,simmer and cook till the volume of milk is reduced to 1/4 th. Meanwhile break the gur into small pieces. Once the rice is cooked,switch off the flame and add gur. Give a nice stir and allow it to rest for 15-20 mins,till the entire gur gets dissolved and give a final stir.I prefer adding gur after switching off the flame,so that the milk doesn't cuddles in case there is any impurity in the gur. To be on the safer side, this is the preferred stage to add gur. Garnish with chopped dryfruits and enjoy.