I was thinking while clicking the pictures what should be the perfect one-liner for this post! The line which came to my mind on a first note is “Back to the root”. I am not very strict on writing specifically about Bengali food as for me food has no boundary but I can’t ignore the fact that our upbringing, culture, and taste has great influence on food. So after some back to back Westernized Baked dishes now its turn of a typical, traditional Bengali sweet dish which is nothing but Narkel Naru. I believe almost every active cooking member of Bengali families can make Narkel Naru. Gurer Narkel Naru one of the basic yet important sweet from the Bengali cuisine prepared with freshly grated Coconut and Jaggery.
Before going further it is better to describe Narkel Naru a bit, especially for the readers who are not much aware of the Bengali cuisine. Narkel Naru is a fudge prepared with Coconut and flavored with either sugar or Jaggery. In this post, I am going to share the recipe of Gurer Narkel Naru or Narkel Naru flavored with Jaggery.
Gurer Narkel Naru prepared by my Dida (grannie) was the ultimate! We used to visit my Mom’s ancestral place Dhaniakhali during some special occasions of the Poojas of Madanmohan Thakur and Dida used to stay there in Three months in a year (during Rathjatra, Mochchob and Doljatra) for the special Pooja. In the evening, Thakur was worshiped with Gurer Narkel Naru every day. That Prasad was divine. In rest of the 9 months, she used to stay in her house in Howrah and every now and then she used to send containers full of Naru for me. Mehebub is also a great fan of Dida’s Naru and Mom used to carry Narkel Naru Prepared by dida for him ( and for me too). Dida is no more today but the recipe is with me and it will remain..
In fact, Dida used to make Naru during Durga Puja as well but at that time she used to add little Mawa to the Narkel Naru to make it richer. The recipe I am sharing is with Mawa, however, you can skip that and use only Jaggery.
- Coconut: 3
- Jaggery / Gur: 350 g. (I've used Patali Gur)
- Mawa: 150g
- Mixed Dry Fruits: 50g
- Grate Coconuts using a grater or if using frozen one then just thaw it before using.
- Break the Jaggery into small pieces or if available use powdered Jaggery.
- Now take grated coconut in a non-stick pan and start roasting in low flame till the grated coconut turns light brown in color.
- Stir continuously. This process would take 2-3 minutes.
- Now add entire jaggery to the coconut mix and stir vigorously till the Jaggery stars melting.
- Continue cooking on low flame for around 15-20 minutes or till the mixture turns sticky and golden brown in color.
- Add Mawa and dry fruits and mix thoroughly till Mawa dissolves.
- Switch off the flame after getting desired consistency (as shown in the picture).
- Transfer the mixture to a plate and start forming small balls out of the mixture when it is a bit warm. Don’t wait to let it cool since you may not be able to shape it after that.
- Narkel Naru can be stored in an air-tight container for 10-20 days.
You can skip Mawa and dry fruits
Cardamom powder can be added for extra flavor
Bengali Sweet recipes apart from Gurer Narkel Naru from Debjanir Rannaghar:
