Modernized 'Pithe' : A Sankranti special for Bengalis

Sankranti is a winter festival celebrated all over India and very close to my heart because of all the joyous childhood memories it brings back...This day's menu in a typical Bengali household solely consisted of plethora of sweets in different shapes, sizes and consistency... Sheer Bliss for people with sweet tooth!!


This year, I tried making this Bengali sweet but in an extremely non-traditional way. The taste was very much the same with minimal effort. I learnt it from a family friend who had been away from India for many years and knows many such taste-tricks to keep us going!
Serves : 8-10 people
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Ingredients:

Lightly toasted crumpets

• A packet of British style crumpets from Trader Joe's (12 count)
• 1&1/2  litre whole milk
• 1/2  litre evaporated milk
  
• 10-15 green cardamoms
• 1&1/2 - 2 cups granulated sugar depending on taste

Method:

• Toast the crumpets on a pan  till they turn light brown ( ~3 mins) . Turn sides in between.
• Arrange on a shallow glass serving dish.

Layered crumpets

• Heat milk with cardamoms in medium flame. Keep stirring till reduced to almost half.
• Add sugar and mix well. Bring to boil and turn off heat.

• Pour on the crumpets. These buns will absorb a lot of milk depending on storage time so you might need to add milk later while serving.
• Refrigerate and serve chilled. The taste is always better the next day.

Our version of 'Pithe'

You may garnish with nuts of your choice and saffron. I did not as I wanted to keep it simple.
Enjoy :)


Ajanta from Amherst