There are many varieties of gur in Bangladesh. Gur was what the people of this land used as sweetener before sugar became available following the technological inventions. This land was the largest exporter of this sweets and some say that the old name of this land Gouro came from gur, as in the land of gur.
There are more than one source for obtaining gur:
Khejur gach or date palm tree, of the khejur gur;
Tal gach or palm tree, of the tal michri;
Sugarcane, of the akhai gur.
Khejur gur
Of these three kinds, the gur obtained from date palm tree known as khejur gur come in different forms and texture. In winter the top part of a date palm trees, just below the leaves, are scraped with a very sharp cutting tool known as a 'cheni'. In this process the top layer of the skin of one side of the tree is taken off very gently with the ultra sharp cheni. It is done immediately before the sun set. When the outer skin is taken of the tree, it starts secretion of a liquid. This liquid is known as khejurer rosh, or just rosh , in some areas as roi, meaning date palm nectar. This is a popular delicacy among the people which is drank fresh without any processing of any sort. It does not keep well in refrigerator or otherwise and must be drank when the morning is still cool. This is sweet, but not overpowering, and has a fresh fragrance not at all related to the date palm tree or its leaves or fruits. This khejurer rosh is drank fresh, made into payesh when cooked with fine rice and grated coconut, or thickened a little on fire and made into a syrup called adhroi meaning half rosh or reduced secretion. It is eaten with rice etc. At this stags it is very sweet, similar to .
It s then reduced further in fire by evaporation and made gur. At this stage it is a thick liquid quite sticky and fragrant. This is the first season gur, the virgin khejur gur, often known as nolen gur or new gur. It takes a chocolate like colour. This gur is stored in earthen amphora like pot known as a hanri. These hanries would contain about five kilograms of gur.
Some of these gur would be kept in these earthen hanries for maturation and by the end of a year these gur would form grains in them and take a new texture and flavour.
In another form this gur would be reduced in slow fire to solids into patali of slabs of gur and would be known as patali gur. Patali gur come in two shapes, flat slabs and a half moon shape. It also has a chocolate colour.
Tal michri
The same way a secretion from the palm tree is collected and evaporised on slow fire and turned into crystals. This extremely sweet crystals are known tal michri. This is famous as a home remedy for dry cough beside being enjoyed as lozenges.
Akhai gur
The last kind of gurs, which is produced in the highest quantity is the sugar cane gur. Sugecane juice is extracted from the sugarcanes and then reduced on fire to form slabs of gurs, known as akhai gur, from the bangla name of sugarcane, akh.
All gurs are eaten with muri, puffed rice; khoi another form of puffed rice, chira or flatened rice, rice with milk or amsottwo or leathered mango and coconut, in various pitha or cakes, payesh or rice puddings, and many other sweet dishes. Gurs are also used in making shorbots. Only the tal micri is produced in small quantity and used in making sharbots or drinks or as lozenges.
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