Khéjur-gur
(page 6)
Reaching out for his honed sickle he proceeded to
scrape the surface of the cleft cut into the trunk. The V shaped
groove was also cleaned and the pot was placed on the tree with
the rope, the bamboo spout just above the mouth of the pot. Anand
reached for a leaf on the tree and curled the tip of the frond around
the neck of the pot. The leaflets formed an ideal mesh cover over
the open mouth of the earthenware pot. This done, Anand backed down
the tree trunk, again using the rope around the tree trunk and waist.
Anand put up pots on 16 trees that evening and the light intensity
had mellowed into dusk by the time he finished and we took our leave,
promising to be with him early next morning.
During the couple of days we spent talking to him,
in between climbing trees and fixing pots and general conversation,
we were able to find out the general procedure of preparing a Phoenix
sylvestris tree for harvest of sap.
On average, Anand harvests about 20 litres of sap
each day, out of which about 5 litres is left to ferment for consumption
as an alcoholic liquor, while the rest is processed into gur. We
couldnt quite make it at 7.a.m. the next day, and so by the
time we got to the spot near the pond, Anand was already on the
job. Over a simple hearth dug on the ground a fire of dried reeds
had been lighted. About three feet away, through a tunnel connecting
the fireplace was the outlet for smoke. A large, black iron vessel
sat smug on the mouth of the hearth blocking out all escape of flames
and smoke. Phoenix sylvestris sap was boiling in the vessel and
Anand was skimming out the white froth that formed on the surface.
The ladle he used was ingenious, made out of a half of a hard coconut
shell and a piece of bamboo pushed through two holes carved out
at either end. For removing the froth from the boiling surface a
common flat ladle with holes was used. The hearth seemed extremely
efficient and small amounts of dried reeds kept the fire burning
and the liquid boiling. After about 10 minutes of boiling, the frothing
decreases and the liquid starts to take on a dark colour and begins
to thicken. The boiling sap is stirred continuously and when the
liquid had thickened considerably, the vessel was removed. Anand
removed a couple of ladles of this liquid into a receptacle. As
this liquid cooled it turned into a dark burgundy colour. Phoenix
sylvestris sap treacle had just been made! It tasted very sweet
and wholesome and generously poured on to fluffy pancakes it would
have been a treat! This treacle is known as jholér-gur. Jhole
(pronounced as in mole) is a term used for thin gravy.
Jholér-gur is eaten with rice and village-made rice crispies,
or with unleavened bread (chappati for those familiar with Indian
food). The children, of course, love it as it is, fingers dripping
with the sticky stuff.
The iron dish with darkening treacle went back into
the fireplace and soon it started to boil. Further boiling reduced
the contents and the treacle started turning yellowish and thickening
considerably. The stirring was taken over by Anands wife while
he moved a little distance away and started to make an oblong mound
of the sandy soil. On this mound, suitably leveled with his hands,
he proceeded to make depressions with the bottom of a steel tumbler,
in neat little rows.
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