THE KING OF NALEN GUR

 The Nalen Gur ice cream is made from liquid Nalen Gur which itself is loaded with minerals that are extremely healthy for our bodies. It is prepared from the sap of the date palm (khajur) tree which is native to Bengal. During winters, the sap is collected in an earthen container hung on the top part of the date palm tree. Nalen Gur liquid is extremely rich in iron and potassium, which may help manage one’s hemoglobin levels. It also contains a good amount of magnesium, which is proven to be helpful for the human nervous system, muscles and bones.

Kolkata, November 2022: Winters are here and it’s soon going to be Nalen Gur time. Nalen Gur is prepared from the sap of the date palm (khajur) tree which is native to Bengal. During winters, the sap is collected in an earthen container hung on the top part of the date palm tree. The sap is heated over a flat pan till it thickens and turns into a viscous liquid with a honey-like consistency. Nalen Gur liquid has a unique earthy & fruity flavor which is adored by millions of Bengalis all over the world.

Have you ever wondered who has worked relentlessly to improve the purity and authenticity of liquid Nalen Gur? Have you ever wondered who actually uses the maximum amount of Nalen Gur in West Bengal? Look no further as the person behind the revival of Nalen Gur is none other than the owner and ice cream maker of Pabrai’s Ice cream – Mr. Anuvrat Pabrai. To his credit and to the delight of millions of ice cream lovers across the world goes the credit for inventing the Nalen Gur ice cream- an ice cream which is rated amongst the seven best sweets in South-East Asia, China, Japan, Russia, Australia and the Indian subcontinent.

The exotic and highly popular Nalen Gur ice cream is a signature offering of the Kolkata-based family run brand - Pabrai’s Fresh & Naturelle Ice creams.The Nalen Gur ice cream is made from liquid Nalen Gur which itself is loaded with minerals which are extremely healthy for our body. Nalen Gur liquid is extremely rich in iron and potassium, which may help manage one’s hemoglobin levels. It also contains a good amount of magnesium, which is proven to be helpful for the human nervous system, muscles and bones.

The story behind the creation of the Nalen Gur Ice cream is also very interesting. Anuvrat Pabrai, the CEO of Pabrai’s and an ice cream maker for the last 37 years recounts. “In 2007-08 we were exploring introducing exotic flavors and I visited several top caterers to take their advice as to which flavors, they would want us to make. One very senior caterer suggested that we should try to make Nalen Gur ice cream.” He said, “It’s so quintessentially Bengali and all Bengali’s adore it.” On his advice, I visited several sweet shops to understand how Nalen Gur was used in Bengali sweets like Sandesh. I loved the taste and the flavor of sweets made with fresh Nalen Gur. Using my skills and experience as an ice cream maker, I did several trials and eventually came up with a Nalen Gur ice cream which I felt was good enough. I took it to the caterer and after tasting the Ice cream, the caterer was overjoyed. So, we started producing Nalen Gur ice creams and serving it to few caterers. The response was fantastic. In the first winter we used about 250 kgs. Next year it went up to 750 kgs. The next year it increased to 2000 kgs and then to 5000 kgs. Today we use nearly 35000-40000 kgs of Nalen Gur liquid every year to make our Nalen Gur ice cream.”

With the passage of time as well as increase in quantity of Nalen Gur we were handling, we became aware of the fine nuances in taste, aroma, consistency, and overall flavor of good quality of Nalen Gur Liquid. We realized that in order to keep price of liquid Nalen Gur cheap, a lot of it was adulterated with caramelized sugar syrup and with addition of color and essence. We researched the product in great depth and realized that in the long term we would have to keep production and processing of the liquid sap under our supervision. We created our own team of processors whose sap we would process under our supervision. We set standard specifications which our processors would have to adhere to while making liquid Nalen Gur. This ensured that the liquid Nalen Gur we obtained was absolutely unadulterated. We also created a process whereby we could preserve the liquid Gur and use it throughout the year. “Although liquid Nalen Gur is available only during the winter months of December and January, we have a special method of processing the sap so that it retains its flavors and aroma for up to 12 months. This way we are able to provide Nalen Gur ice creams throughout the whole year. Indians really love their ice creams, regardless of the season, and we are looking forward to serving one of our most loved specialties not only in winters but throughout the year,” said Pabrai’s CEO Anuvrat Pabrai.

Another unique feature of the Nalen Gur ice cream is that when we serve it, we drizzle a couple of teaspoons of warm liquid Nalen Gur on top of the scoop of ice cream. This enhances the flavors and doubles the taste experience.The Nalen Gur ice cream is available throughout the year across all our retail parlors and is also supplied to a large number of hotels, restaurants and caterers across the country.Due to persistent requests from our customers, this year we are launching retail packs of liquid Nalen Gur. We look forward to our esteemed customers enjoying authentic liquid Nalen Gur throughout the year