Taler Bibikhana Pitha | Taler Pithe | Sugar Palm Cake

Here goes the Recent update from my side! I was diagnosed with Gallstone last week and went through an operation!  Well, as a result, I presently am is under "house rest" and have nothing to do 🙁 ! However, when I am presently healing and not permitted to eat much, I decided to come up with a few recipe posts! Though I cannot eat, I can feel it while writing, and especially when I have done the preliminary work for a few recipes with "Tal", the wise thing is to share the recipes. Tal or Sugar Palm is a seasonal fruit and immensely popular in West Bengal (and in Bangladesh as well). The recipe, I am going to share, is from Taler Bibikhana Pitha (Pithe), a Bangladeshi delicacy.

Sugar Palm Cake from Bangladesh

Pitha (as they call it in Bangladesh) or Pithe (the West Bengal version) is nothing but a type of dumpling but when it comes to Bibikhana Pitha or Taler Bibikhana Pitha to be precise, this is more of a cake. Traditionally Bibikhana Pitha is prepared by steaming the batter using banana leaf as a covering. However, I have used my OTG to make the Taler Bibikhana Pitha. The End result is a moist flavorful Pithe prepared with Tal!

As I have already mentioned, in my previous posts, I have my origin in West Bengal however, I cherish Bangladeshi food. Though I have grown up eating Pithe, I have seen the varieties in my in-law's place. They are Bengali Muslims with origin in West Bengal. I have seen my MIL making both sweet and savory Pitha which are popular in Bangladesh as well.

Taler Bibikhana Pitha

Coming to the Taler Bibikhana Pitha or Sugar Palm Cake, a Facebook friend of mine shared a picture with me a few days back. He told me that her mother makes it every year whenever Tal is available. She follows the traditional way of steaming to make the Pithe. I found the details he was sharing (he was calling it Taler Pitha though) really interesting and ended up doing a bit of research. I found several Bangladeshi recipes of the Bibikhana Pitha online and ended up making the same.

Ingredients

To make Bibikhana Pitha, you need some basic ingredients which are readily available and commonly used in Bengali cooking. This Pitha though looks like a typical sponge cake but taste-wise The Bibikhana Pitha is something unique.

• Tal / Sugar Palm 
• Coconut
• Milk
• Egg
• Gur/ Jaggery
• Vegetable Oil
• Ghee
• Rice Flour / Chaaler Atta
• Raisin
• Cashewnut
• Pistachios
• Baking Powder
• Cinnamon Powder

Recipe Card

Taler Bibikhana Pitha | Taler Pithe | Sugar Palm Cake

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Taler Bibikhana Pitha is a Cake prepared with Sugar Palm pulp and a few more ingredients and is a famous Bangladeshi dessert prepared with sugar palm.

• Author: Debjani Chatterjee Alam
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
• Yield: 8 portions 1x
• Category: Cake
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: Bengali

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 Tal / Sugar Palm (to extract at least 150 ml juice)
• 1 Coconut
• 150ml Milk ( 1 cup)
• 2 Egg
• 150g Gur/ Jaggery
• 100ml Vegetable Oil
• 50g Ghee
• 50g Rice Flour / Chaaler Atta
• 100g All-Purpose Flour/ Maida
• 20 Raisin
• 20 Cashewnut
• 20 Pistachios
• ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
• ½ Tsp. Cinnamon Powder

Instructions

1. Remove the skin of the sugar Palm or Tal and sprinkle some water on the fruit.
2. Separate the carnels and great the carnels using a grater to extract the juice from the Sugar Palm.
   
3. Around 150 ml Sugar Palm extract is required to make the Bibikhana Pitha.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C for 15 minutes and make the batter in between.
5. Now Scrap the coconut.
6. Take the juice of Sugar Palm in a wok and start boiling on low flame for around 5-7 minutes until the juice thickens and emits a nutty aroma.
7. Take the juice in a bowl and add 150 ml Milk and using a whisk mix properly.
8. Add Oil followed by Ghee and mix.
9. Now heat the gur in the microwave for 2 minutes and add the liquid gur to the mixture and whisk.
10. Add Two Eggs at room temperature and using the whisk mix thoroughly.
11. Now add Rice Flour and All-Purpose Flour along with the baking powder and lightly fold the flour into the mixture.
12. Add Raisin, Cashew Nut, and Pistachios and lightly fold.
13. Take a baking mold and grease the same with vegetable oil.
14. Pour the mixture into the mold.
15. Bake the Taler Bibikhana Pitha in a Pre-heated oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees C.
16. The Pitha will not rise much, however, do check after 20 minutes of baking by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the Pitha to check the doneness.
17. It took me 25 minutes to bake the Pitha.
18. Take the Pitha out of the Oven and cool it on a wire rack.
19. I have given the Pitha a rest of 1 day before serving it.
20. You can store the Taler Bibikhana Putha in the fridge for 10 days or so if using an airtight container.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 200g
• Calories: 784
• Sugar: 70.9g
• Sodium: 56mg
• Fat: 40.9g
• Saturated Fat: 22.2g
• Carbohydrates: 106g
• Fiber: 8.1g
• Protein: 8.2g
• Cholesterol: 59mg

Keywords: taler bibikhana pitha recipe, taler pitha recipe, debjanir rannaghar

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Other Sugar Palm or Tal Recipe apart from Taler Bibikhana Pitha Debjanir Rannaghar

• Taler Patishapta Pitha
• Taler Bora | Sugar Palm Fritters: A Traditional Bengali Sweet fritter aka Pakoda!

Have you tried the Bengali Taler Pithe recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!

I would love to see a picture if you are making it following my recipe. You can share here at dolonchttrj@gmail.com. You can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and share it through Instagram as well. and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.

Here's the Perfect Bengali Taler Bibikhana Pitha Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!

About Debjani Chatterjee Alam

I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.

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