There are many ways in which we Indians celebrate Makar Sankranti. Astrologically, it is the day when the Sun leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius. In Bengal, it is the last day of the month of Poush, hence this day is more commonly referred to as Poush-Sankranti or Poush-Parbon (the Poush festival) in my land. Last year, on this day, I was in Pune assisting on a film shoot and celebrated this day by having some delicious Pongal courtesy my TamBram friend and editor-extraordinaire A.Whether one is in Bengal or in Southern India, the basic ingredients of celebrating Sankranti remain the same - molasses,coconut and newly harvested rice. The bounty that mother earth generously offers us during this time remains more or less the same throughout this geographically and culturally diversified land that we call home. Bengalis religiously celebrate this day with Pithe and Payesh - Pithe (pronounced Pee-Thay, Th as in Thunder, with a strong T) stands for a broad range of steamed,fried,cooked in milk and dunked in syrup sweet goodies and Payesh is a milk based pudding, made with the first Rice crop of the year and flavoured with Notun Gur (fresh Date Palm molasses).
Most of the traditional Bengali cooking that I know comes from my Dida - my grandmother who was an extraordinary cook and an even better human-being.I like to believe that I've inherited my knack and love for cooking from her, although I'll never be as good as her in every which way..Two of my favourite Pithe-s that form a major part of my childhood memories are PatiShapta and Dudh-Puli. Dida made both of them religiously for every Poush Parbon of the ten years that I had with her,and this day remains one of the days of the year when I miss her the most. Not just for the food, but for the incredible amount of love that used to go into her spendng hours and hours over preparing these two goodies that I used to love so much. Wherever You are Dida, please know that I thought of You throughout the day while making them this weekend.
PATISHAPTA - Bengali Stuffed Sweet Crepes
PatiShapta (pronounced Paa-Tee-Shaap-Taa) is a sweet crepe stuffed with a crunchy coconut-molasses stuffing. Some households and most sweet shops will add Kheer (here it means cooked and sweetened thickened milk, not payasam/rice pudding) to the stuffing.
For The Stuffing -
Grate 1 large coconut. If using pre-grated/desiccated coconut, use sweet and succulent version, and not the very dry variety. Add about 150 gms of fresh Date Palm Molasses* to it. Knead into a soft mixture. Transfer to an non-greased frying pan. On very low heat, stir continuously for 10- 12 minutes, till the mixture turns into a sizzling rich brown colour and gives off an amazing aroma.Take off flame and let it come to room temperature. We will use the same stuffing for the other Pithe i.e, Dudh-Puli as well.
* - Notun Khejur Gur, preferably Jhola Gur of the best standard that you can get. If you aren't Bengali, take the help of a Bong to source/procure this item. Any other Jaggery esp Sugarcane will not do at all.
Make a batter using 1 cup of all purpose flour (Maida), 1/3 cup semolina (sooji/rawa),1 tbsp of molasses and 1 cup of milk.The consistency should be that of a pancake batter, of dripping consistency yet not very thin.
Cover and let it rest for a couple of hours at room temperature. This measurement will yield 8-10 crepes.
1.Put a non-stick frying pan on heat. Grease a non-stick pan using the sliced round end of an eggplant (using the stalk intact as a handle) dipped in ghee or white oil . This is specifically the method used in Bengal for greasing the frying pan whilst making this particular Pithe.
2.Stir the previously made batter once to ensure uniform consistency. Lower the heat to medium .Drop a ladle full of batter into the frying pan and spread into a large circle using the back of the ladle..When the batter turns opaque on the side facing upwards, place the stuffing on it like this.
3. Using a spatula, fold over the end of the crepe over the stuffing.
4. Continue to fold till the shape becomes like this.
Most of the traditional Bengali cooking that I know comes from my Dida - my grandmother who was an extraordinary cook and an even better human-being.I like to believe that I've inherited my knack and love for cooking from her, although I'll never be as good as her in every which way..Two of my favourite Pithe-s that form a major part of my childhood memories are PatiShapta and Dudh-Puli. Dida made both of them religiously for every Poush Parbon of the ten years that I had with her,and this day remains one of the days of the year when I miss her the most. Not just for the food, but for the incredible amount of love that used to go into her spendng hours and hours over preparing these two goodies that I used to love so much. Wherever You are Dida, please know that I thought of You throughout the day while making them this weekend.
PATISHAPTA - Bengali Stuffed Sweet Crepes
PatiShapta (pronounced Paa-Tee-Shaap-Taa) is a sweet crepe stuffed with a crunchy coconut-molasses stuffing. Some households and most sweet shops will add Kheer (here it means cooked and sweetened thickened milk, not payasam/rice pudding) to the stuffing.
For The Stuffing -
Grate 1 large coconut. If using pre-grated/desiccated coconut, use sweet and succulent version, and not the very dry variety. Add about 150 gms of fresh Date Palm Molasses* to it. Knead into a soft mixture. Transfer to an non-greased frying pan. On very low heat, stir continuously for 10- 12 minutes, till the mixture turns into a sizzling rich brown colour and gives off an amazing aroma.Take off flame and let it come to room temperature. We will use the same stuffing for the other Pithe i.e, Dudh-Puli as well.
* - Notun Khejur Gur, preferably Jhola Gur of the best standard that you can get. If you aren't Bengali, take the help of a Bong to source/procure this item. Any other Jaggery esp Sugarcane will not do at all.
The Batter for the Crepes -
Make a batter using 1 cup of all purpose flour (Maida), 1/3 cup semolina (sooji/rawa),1 tbsp of molasses and 1 cup of milk.The consistency should be that of a pancake batter, of dripping consistency yet not very thin.
Cover and let it rest for a couple of hours at room temperature. This measurement will yield 8-10 crepes.
Final Stage - Frying the Patishapta -
1.Put a non-stick frying pan on heat. Grease a non-stick pan using the sliced round end of an eggplant (using the stalk intact as a handle) dipped in ghee or white oil . This is specifically the method used in Bengal for greasing the frying pan whilst making this particular Pithe.
2.Stir the previously made batter once to ensure uniform consistency. Lower the heat to medium .Drop a ladle full of batter into the frying pan and spread into a large circle using the back of the ladle..When the batter turns opaque on the side facing upwards, place the stuffing on it like this.
3. Using a spatula, fold over the end of the crepe over the stuffing.
4. Continue to fold till the shape becomes like this.
5 Fry for a couple of minutes till the Patishapta becomes completely opaque and sizzling light golden in colour. Take out and Serve.
DUDH-PULI - fried stuffed pastry dunked in creamy milk sauce
For the Pastry Shell -
Knead 1 cup of refined/all purpose flour(maida) with 1 tbsp of shortening (Ghee/white oil) and water. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
The Stuffing -
We will use the same stuffing as used in the PatiShapta above.
Making the Puli-s-
1.Divide the dough into little rounded balls. The above measurement will yield about 12 balls.
2.Using a lightly greased rolling pin on a clean, flat surface, roll the balls out to circles of about 4 cm diameter (the approx size of a Puri/Luchi).
3.Place 1 tbsp of the stuffing near the centre of the circle.Fold to bring to the shape of a semi-circle.With slightly wet fingers, fold the lower surface of the curve of the semi-circle towards the upper inner side bit by bit and press to join (refer to pic). Do the same with all the balls of the dough.
4. Heat oil in a large frying vessel for deep-frying. Fry the pastries over medium-heat till crispy golden brown on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon.
N.B.-They can be consumed as it is at this stage.They are called Bhaja-Puli (fried puli) or Chandra-Puli (the crescent shaped Puli). But wait, I am not done yet!
Make the Dunking Sauce -
Bring to boil 1 litre of whole milk.Reduce flame, add a handful of green cardamoms and keep on stirring at regular intervals.Do this for atleast twenty minutes or till the milk reduces to almost half.Add 1/2 a cup of sugar and keep on stirring.After about ten more minutes, switch off the flame, and after a few minutes add 2 tbsp of molasses.The milk mixture will turn beautifully warm-hued.
The Final Step -
Add the fried pulis to the milk sauce. Make sure they are well-immersed.
Cover and let stay for a couple of hours and then freeze for atleast 5-6 hrs before serving.I prefer leaving them in the fridge overnight or maybe even for 2 days, that is if one can resist the temptation for so long. They taste incredible when they are allowed to soak in all the milky goodness for so long. Serve chilled,
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