Palm fruit — taal — ripens in the late monsoon, and its translucent jelly-like flesh is blended with milk, sugar, and cardamom into a drink that belongs entirely to August and September. It is made in the Barisal and Khulna districts of Bangladesh when the palmyra palms drop their enormous black fruits — a window of six weeks, no more, before the season closes and the fruit disappears from the markets until the following year.
It has an almost coconut-like sweetness and a faint astringency that no other fruit replicates. Outside Bangladesh it is virtually unknown. Inside it is the taste of the end of monsoon.
Zone: River Delta
SOURCE: Translated from a recipe shared by a home cook from Barisal district, Bangladesh, on a Bengali-language food blog, 2021.
LOCAL NAME: তালের শরবত
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ripe tal fruits (Asian palmyra palm, flesh scooped out — approx. 300g flesh)
- 500 ml whole milk
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (or to taste)
- 4 green cardamom pods (seeds ground)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- Pinch of salt
- Ice to serve
METHOD
- Scoop the soft translucent flesh from the tal fruit — it sits in segments inside the hard outer shell, each segment enclosed in a thin skin. Squeeze each segment gently to extract the juice and soft inner flesh, discarding the skin.
- Blend the tal flesh with the whole milk until smooth.
- Strain through a fine sieve, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the fibrous residue.
- Add sugar, ground cardamom, lime juice, and salt. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Taste and adjust sweetness.
- Serve immediately over ice. Taaler sharbat does not keep — the flavour deteriorates within a few hours of making.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Fresh tal fruit is almost impossible to find in the UK outside specialist Bengali grocers in Whitechapel during July and August — availability is unreliable. Frozen tal flesh is occasionally available from Bangladeshi grocers. Tinned palmyra palm fruit from South Asian grocers is an acceptable substitute — drain the syrup, rinse, and proceed from step 2. The tinned version is sweeter so reduce the added sugar accordingly.
US adaptation: Fresh tal fruit from Bangladeshi grocers in Jackson Heights or the Bronx during summer months. Tinned palmyra palm fruit from South Asian grocers or online. Reduce added sugar if using tinned.
Cook’s note: Taaler sharbat must be made and served immediately — it oxidises quickly and the delicate flavour is lost within hours. Do not make ahead.