Tal er Pitha Recipe 

Then there is the use of tal in different religious ceremonies of Hinduism. Different Pujas, including Durga Puja and Kali Puja – two of the biggest celebrations, need Tal for the ceremonies. Then there is also the mention of Tal in ancient Hinduism literature – Ramayana and Mahabharat. In the Ramayana, Hanuman brings back Tal to Sita when she is kidnapped by Ravana.

Tal (Borassus) is very significant in Bengali culture. Not just the fruit, the tree as well. Borassus is a kind of palm and the tree is maybe a little taller than what you’d expect from a normal palm tree.

Tal, the fruit, is of course edible in a bunch of different ways, as you would expect from an item in Bengali cuisine. There is of course tal er pitha (palm fruit cake), tal er kheer (palm fruit pudding), and tal er sandesh (palm fruit sweet). Tal er kheer is a denser version of the substance found in tal with milk added. Using the word pudding to describe it is not adequate in my opinion, just like describing Pitha as cake. Tal er kheer is a great side to have with roti or paratha. It is actually my father’s favorite breakfast, tal er kheer with roti.

The process of extracting Tal pulp from the fruit is a complicated one. I used to see my parents use soft clothes as filters to get the Tal. I don’t know exactly what was happening so I can’t exactly describe it to you. But I just remember seeing the sack made of clothes hanging for hours to filter out the fibers or not=edible parts of the Tal.

Then there is the use of tal in different religious ceremonies of Hinduism. Different Pujas, including Durga Puja and Kali Puja – two of the biggest celebrations, need Tal for the ceremonies. Then there is also the mention of Tal in ancient Hinduism literature – Ramayana and Mahabharat. In the Ramayana, Hanuman brings back Tal to Sita when she is kidnapped by Ravana.

I mentioned Tal gach (Borassus tree) to be significant as well. Because Tal gach is probably the tree that stands out the most in Bangladesh. Yes there are mango, jackfruit, litchi trees and their super popular fruits. Then there is the iconic Banyan tree. But none of them stand out quite like Tal gach since it is so different. The tree does not grow in bark or woody tissue and the huge leaves are only present at the top of these tall trees. So yes, it stood out, literally and metaphorically.

Now the most interesting part about Tal gach is the associated ghost stories. All Tal gach are haunted, period. There is an evil spirit or ghost or witch living at the top of the tal gach and they will eat you if you pass under the tree alone at night – this is the usual lore of every tal gach in the region. Even my parents told me such stories so young me would not go past the tree. And surprisingly many adults even believe these stories and straight up refuse to pass under a tal gach.

Tal gach is not special just because it scares children, and some adults. Talpata (palm tree leaves) are used by the people of Bengal. My personal favorite rendition of Talpata has nothing to do with actual Talpata, it is the musical band Talpatar Shepai. I would recommend anyone interested in Bangla music to check them out. Talpata was used for writing and book covers though these processes are not seen much in modern days and I only learned about them through the internet. But what i have seen are Talpata Pakha (fan). There are countless pieces of literature and art depicting Bengali’s use of Talpata Pakha.

Now to talk about the dish, Tal er pitha. It’s one of the most iconic sweet items in Bengali cuisine. It is usually served as snacks during the afternoon or evening. And there is just something fun about this dish. Eating the small, round shaped sweets in one bite is just so satisfying. And it is really hard to keep count of how many small tal er pitha you are eating.

Based on size Tal er pitha goes by two names – this is also something I learned today. The small round ones, the ones that are fun shaped, have the fun name “Bora pitha.” And the bigger version of them is called Tel er Pitha.

I would suggest anyone trying out Tal er pitha for the first time to try Bora Pitha. These are about the shape of meatballs and are just more of a treat to have.