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Narkel Naru | Nolen Gurer Naru | Coconut Laddu | Coconut Jaggery Truffles

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Narkel Naru is just another name of childhood nostalgia to me; it has been there with me all those days of growing up. The only difference is the older I’m getting the lesser I’m dating this dark beauty; kind a sad thing to me though. On other hand the happy note is I’ve finally learnt how to make perfect dark sticky Gurer Narkel Naru, just like my granny and this is your treat today!

Nolen Gurer Narkel Naru is a Bengali staple dessert which is widely made throughout the year on various occasions; like Durga Puja (navaratri), Lakshmi Puja, Diwali, Makarsankranti even on Janmashtami. I make these 3-4 times of the year whenever I make Patishapta, Dudh Puli, Gokul Pithe on Poush Sankranti or Gujiya/Karanjion Holi or Modakson Ganesh Chaturthi as this coconut jaggery mixture is the core ingredient of all these Indian desserts. But I never had shared the Naru recipe itself on the blog; it just hit me that I’ve missed the basic here. So I’m here today to rectify that mistake. You can get the same steps in all these above mentioned recipes but here I’m mentioning all do’s and do-not’s with notes.

Narkel Naru is one of the easiest desserts which can be cooked in a jiffy with 2-3 ingredients only. That is why naru has become one of the most popular staples in Bengali households. Traditionally there are three types of narkel narus which are cooked often, Chinir Naru, Narkel Naru and Gur er Naru. Though the names differ all these three laddusare made of coconut with different ingredients. Chinir Naru is cooked with coconut and sugar only; they look like snow white balls. Narkel Naru is cooked with coconut, sugar and kheer/mawa/khoya; they look off-white in colour and bit rustic as they don’t get the super smooth surface. And last is Gur er Narkol Naruwhich has smoky flavour from date palm jaggery, looks dark and shiny. And today you will get this recipe; I’ll try to share the rest two in future, someday.

As I mentioned before this Gurer Narkel Naru needs coconut and date palm jaggery only but often green cardamom is added to enhance the flavour. As I live outside of Bengal where it is hard to get fresh date palm jaggery I used old one from my pantry. It released so much excess water while cooking that it became hard to evaporate that much liquid without destroying the flavour. So I had added kheer/khoya/mawa to the mixture to accelerate the cooking. The mawa absorbs the excess liquid and thicken the mixture in no time and also adds richness in taste. This is optional (read, disaster fixing) element; you can completely skip this part. Just remember the key point to achieve that dark smoky naru is cooking the roasted coconut with jaggery on low flame for longer time with continuous stirring. That’s it! You are good to go now!

Read the entire recipe and notes carefully before you start cooking.

Do make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (unless mentioned) and measured correctly in appropriate weighing scale or measuring instruments such as cups or spoons. Remember these are not our regular cups or spoons which we use in our daily life.

You can use either homemade or store bought khoya/mawa for this recipe but remember the khoya/mawa needs to be fresh and moist but definitely not watery or dry.

Start with the Cooking the Stuffing:

If you can’t find desiccated coconut use regular coconut and scrape off 1 whole coconut. Make very tiny pieces of jaggery. Take desiccated coconut in a dry pan and stir lightly on medium low flame. Stir continuously to avoid burning coconut flakes. Coconut will turn into golden brown soon. Finally coconut will be reddish brown in color but definitely not burnt. At this point add ground green cardamom and stir on lowest possible flame.

Once mixed nicely, add grated jaggery and stir to incorporate everything. In the beginning it will seem impossible to stir but eventually coconut and jaggery will come together and form a big lump. Stir continuously to avoid sticking at the bottom. Jaggery will release some liquid and mixture will turn moist, may be liquidy at some point. Continue stirring until mixture leaves pan smoothly.

Add khoya or mawa to the pan at this point, if using any at all and mix gently. The mixture will be pale and bit lumpy by now, don’t panic it will be dark again once moisture will evaporate. Scrape off the side & the bottom of the pan, don’t miss it, these are extra delicious, sometimes better than the original filling.

Once mixture is dark yet moist, it is ready as stuffing.

Now, it’s time to forming the Narus:

Let’s do a little test to confirm. Take a very small portion of mixture in your palm and roll it between your palms to form a ball. If it forms a fine crack free ball, your filling is done. Remember it’s too hot now. Apply little ghee on your palm to avoid burning.

Remove the pan from flame and set aside to bring the mixture to room temperature. Don’t forget to cover the mixture with a lid or cling film to avoid direct contact with air. (See Notes)

Take large amount; say 2 tbsp of mixture in your previously greased palms and roll it between your palms to form a ball. Keep it on a greased plate. (See Notes)

Keep it on a greased plate. (See Notes)

Follow the same with rest of the mixture quickly before it dries up.

Serve warm or at room temperature, they are delicious in any ways!

Variations:

1. Use dry fruits of your choice; there are no rules & regulations.

2. Create some variations with coconut, moong dal, semolina or may be a combination of them.

3. Substitute jaggery with sugar or mixed of sugar and khoya or condensed milk.

4. Use cinnamon or nutmeg instead of cardamom.

5. Using khoya is optional, you can skip this.

6. Use full fat milk powder instead of khoya/mawa.

Narkel Naru | Nolen Gurer Narkol Naru | Coconut Laddu | Coconut Jaggery Truffles

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Rimli

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Bengali, Indian

Serves: 20 medium sized Narus

Ingredients

Desiccated coconut: 2½ cups
Finely grated Jaggery: 1 cup (See Notes)
Khoya/mawa: ¼ cup (optional), homemade or store bought
Green cardamom powder: ½ tsp (or essence: 2 drops)
Ghee (clarified butter): few drops (for greasing)

Instructions

Dry Roast desiccated coconut on medium low flame in a deep bottomed pan and stir continuously to avoid burning, add ground cardamom.
Add grated jaggery and stir to incorporate everything. Cook till moisture evaporates and mixture leaves pan smoothly.
Remove the pan from flame and bring the mixture to room temperature.
Take 2 tbsp of mixture in greased palms and roll it between palms to form a ball. Keep it on a greased plate.
Follow the same with rest of the mixture quickly before it dries up.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

1. Substitute the jaggery with equal amount of sugar or condensed milk or ground sugar substitute. If you’re using sugar substitute then add it towards the end of cooking not at the beginning.
2. Do not forget to grease your palms to avoid sticking.
3. Once the coconut jaggery mixture will come in contact of air, moisture will evaporate faster to make turn the mixture dry and hard.
4. Greasing the plate prior making naru will not only help to prevent naru from sticking to the plate but also will help you to clean everything later without creating much mess.