POUSH SANKRANTIR PAATISHAPTA

So, tomorrow it is. Poush Sankranti as the Bengalis name this festival. Sankranti is basically a harvest festival celebrated in India and a few other South Asian countries like Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka. A lot of India's economy depends on agriculture and thus, this is a really important festival in the country. It is known by many names in the country like Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujrat, Poush Sankranti in Bengal, Maghi in Punjab and Haryana, Khichdi in Uttar Pradesh and Makar Sankranti in the rest of India. 

For me, Poush Sankranti means lots and lots of sweets in the house. This day is also called the Pithey Parbon in Bengal as every Bengali household creates a wide range of Pitheys on this day. Dudh Puli, Gokul Pithe, paatishaptas and Nolen gurer paayesh are the special delicacies of this festival. Maa used to make some awesome Paatishaptas, and I completely miss them. I generally consider my Dida to be a better cook than Maa, but in this case she beats her truly. Though, since the last two years Dida has been sending me pitheys and paatishaptas as she knew my love towards this. But, this time I decided to try making these myself. I picked up the phone and dialed Dida's number. This his how she makes her Paatishaptas and how I made them, but a bit small in size. I prefer making mini paatishaptas because they look really cute and they even fit in Bonu's tiffin box easily. In the next blog post, I will share the recipe of Dudh Puli. 

Paatishapta

Recipe

Yields: 10-12  patishaptas 

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

What you need?

For the stuffing:

• 2 cups Desiccated coconut
• 1 cup Jaggery 
• 1/2 cup Khoya (Mawa)

For the crepes:

• 2 cup Maida (All purpose flour)
• 1/2 cup Suji (Semolina)
• 1/2 Rice Flour
• 3 cups Milk
• Little oil to fry 

How to make it?

The Stuffing:

• Heat a kadhai or a wok and add the desiccated coconut in it.
• Dry roast it for a few minutes in medium flame. 
• Add the jaggery in the pan. You can also add condensed milk or sugar if you are not adding jaggery.
• The jaggery will melt as it becomes warm and then mix with the desiccated coconut very well. In this step, add the crumbled khoya.
• Keep stirring the mixture in a medium-low flame and see that the mixture does not stick to the sides of the wok. 
• When the khoya is mixed properly, stir it for two more minutes and then turn of the gas. The stuffing is ready.
• Transfer it to a plate or a wide mouthed bowl so that it cools immediately. 

The crepes:

• Sieve the All purpose Flour in a large bowl. To it, add the Semolina and the rice flour. Mix them very well.
• Add milk to it little by little and make a smooth paste of it. You must be careful that there are no lumps in the batter. 
• Heat a non stick tawa on medium flame. Add a few drops of oil to it.
• Take a ladle full of the batter and then spread it in the shape of a pancake. I prefer making small patishaptas ones. You can make it of the size as you wish.
• Let it cook on low flame, and once it turns golden brown on one side, put a little bit of the filling in the center.
•  Make it in the shape of a roll and then flip it to the other side. Cook it properly.
• The patishapta is complete and you can now enjoy it. 

P.S:

• If you do not get fresh coconut, you can use the frozen desiccated coconut. In that case, you need to microwave it to bring it to normal temperature. 
• My mom used the store brought Kanchagollas sometimes when she did not have the coconut at home. You can try that as that also tastes really good. 
• For better results, My mom told me to wipe the tawa with a wet towel in between cooking the crepes.