Diwali Dinner
The Diwali dinner was a huge success, thanks in no short part to the many wonderful friends that were present. The menu became greatly reduced since I was unable to prepare anything a day early. But I think a good time was had by all.
Patali Gur (Date Palm Sugar)
Image from Gilt Taste During my last trip to India, I discovered what the Bengalis call patali gur. It is sugar extracted from the sap of date palm trees. It's darker in color and richer in flavor. Sumit's aunts brought a large chunk of the stuff from Kolkata and made traditional kheer (Indian rice pudding) with it. I'd had kheer in the past and was never a huge fan. People love it, but to me it was usually just warm, sugary rice milk. Nothing too memorable. The kheer made with patali gur, however, was something very different. The gur imparted a caramel-ly, smoky flavor to the kheer. It was intensely rich, incredibly delicious, and definitely memorable. At the time, I was lucky enough to bring some of it back with me. I used it sparingly and made kheer only for special occasions. But eventually, it was used up. I had been searching for it in vain on the internet and in Indian grocery stores ever since, and only recently came across it on Gilt Taste . When I discov...
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