Patishapta for Makar Sankranti

Winter time is especially busy for the sweet shops in Kolkata, with a plethora of 'nolen gur' or 'first harvest jaggery' sandesh and rossogollas. While in law school, couple of my friends and I would often walk to the nearest sweet shop after dinner and devour freshly prepared 'notun gur-er rossogollas' for dessert. We frequented the shop so much, that the server stopped asking for our order, and would simply bring out plates full of warm rossogollas. Ah! Those 'mishti dates' are long gone...

During the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti, the sweet shops would sell 'patishapta' - sweet crepes filled with coconut-jaggery inside. This year, having just returned from India, we simply could not sit and crave for the sweets that are synonymous with Makar Sankranti. So, one of my friends and I decided to make some patishapta, even though it was bang in the middle of the week. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

Crepe batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup semolina/ suji
1/2 cup milk plus more to get desired consistency
1/4 cup jaggery or sugar

Filling:
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1/2 cup grated jaggery
1/2 cup khoya ie dried whole milk(optional)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds powered
1 tbsp ghee

Khoya gravy for dipping/ garnishing (optional)
1/4 cup khoya grated
4 tsp sugar
pinch of cardomom seeds, powdered
dash of milk

Method:

Filling:

• Heat ghee in a medium fry pan. Add cardamom powder and grated coconut in quick succession.
• Saute for a few minutes till the coconut is light brown in color. 
• Add jaggery and sugar and mix well. 
• Continue to cook till the mixture is evenly cooked and the jaggery/ sugar is completely incorporated. Set aside to cool. 

Alternatively, you could go the shortcut method, and crush some home-made coconut - jaggery laddoos brought from India, add some khoya, and warm it with some milk and call it a filling. That's what we did. :)

Crepe batter:

• Whisk the all purpose flour and semolina in a medium bowl. 
• Add milk gradually and mix together for a very thin batter. 
• In a small bowl, mix jaggery/ sugar and two tablespoons of milk and microwave for 15 seconds, till the jaggery/ sugar melts completely. Add to the batter and mix well. 

Khoya gravy

• In a small pan, heat the khoya, sugar and milk together until well incorporated. 
• Add cardomom seed powder and set aside. The gravy thickens as it cools, so you might have to add more milk or warm it up while garnishing.

Making the patishapta:

• Once all the preparation is done, heat a non-stick tawa or flat bottomed skillet to medium heat. 
• Brush on a little bit of ghee or oil, and pour a small ladle full of batter. Rotate the pan to spread the batter in a thin layer. Cook till slightly golden brown in color.
• Gently place a tablespoon of the filling on one edge of the crepe. Roll it like a frankie and gently pat it to spread the filling evenly inside the crepe. Repeat process with remaining batter.
• To serve, place the patishapta in a plate, and gently drizzle the Khoya gravy on top. 

Bon Appetit!

Hetal from Houston

Doi Begun -Bengali Style Eggplant in Yoghurt Gravy

Eggplant has been one of my favorite veggies though my husband who does not like it much  keeps saying it is 'begun', meaning of no quality in Bengali! So I never miss an opportunity to make baingan when he is not around and I am with friends who relish it as much I do. In one such recent gathering we made this typical Bengali dish which I learnt from my mother in law.

Serves: 4-5 persons
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant/ baingan, cut horizontally in round medium sized pieces.
1 cup vegetable oil (Bengalis SHOULD use mustard oil for the authentic taste we like ;))
1 cup yoghurt
4-5 green chillies
1 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Cilantro, to garnish

Method:

• Heat oil in pan and deep fry eggplant /baingan. I just learnt that a friend's mom who makes this dish often actually shallow fries the baingan, making it the healthier option.
• Arrange baigan in a glass container and soak/drain oil in paper towel (the healthier option).
• Blend yoghurt, chillies, mustard seeds, sugar and salt. Add water to blender to make the gravy thinner.
• Pour gravy on baigan.
• Garnish with cilantro. This dish tastes the best when complimented with hot rice.

Enjoy :)

Doi begun with bhaat ...aaah!!!!! 

Ajanta from Amherst

Posto Boda - Spicy Poppy seed cutlet

Posto boda or spicy poppy seed cutlet is probably my favourite Bengali side dish. It is a staple in most Bengali households, including my in-laws'. It is usually served with rice and daal. I learnt how to make this from my mom-in-law who is a fantastic cook! Here it goes.
Serves - 2-4 persons
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time:10 minutes
Ingredients:

1 cup Poppy seeds

1 red onion (small size, finely chopped)

2-3 green chillies

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying (I used mix of light olive oil and mustard oil)

Posto paste with onions and green chillies

Method:

• Soak poppy seeds in water for atleast 30 minutes. Grind soaked and strained poppy seeds and salt in a mixer/grinder until a coarse paste is formed.
• Add chopped onions, green chillies and mix well. Gently form 1-11/2" diameter flat cutlets.

• Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan.
• Shallow fry the cutlets on medium heat till crispy golden brown on each side. Place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
• Serve with steamed rice and daal.

Crispy golden Posto Boda

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

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

'Doi Potol' aka 'Dahi Parwal'

Potol or parwal was never a childhood favorite but since last few years the scarcity of this particular veggie in this part of the world makes me crave for it ! Changes in life keep surprising me :)


Here is a simple Bengali recipe I inherited from my in-laws family for potol or parwal cooked with yoghurt.


Serves: 3 to 5
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins


Ingredients:

Peeled and sliced parwal

• Parwal / Potol/ Pointed gourd ( 1 lb) - longitudinally and  alternately peeled  and sliced in halves
• Oil for deep frying - I mixed mustard oil and olive oil (You can use any oil)
• Whole cumin seeds (1 tsp)
• Green chillies 
• Bay leaves (2-3)
• Cumin powder (1tsp)
• Coriander powder (1 tsp)
• Turmeric (1/2 tsp)
• Yoghurt (1 cup) - Well beaten
• Ginger paste (1 tsp)
• Sugar and salt to taste
• Garam Masala 1 tsp
• Ghee (1/2 tsp) : Optional 

Method:

Fried parwal

Yoghurt Gravy

• Cut parwal longitudinally after alternately peeling ( it gets very soft  with complete peeling) .
• Fry well and drain off excess oil . 
• Separately fry whole cumin, bay leaves and a green chilli .
• Make a paste of coriander, turmeric and cumin and add it.
• Then add ginger paste and yoghurt.
• Now add fried parwal and rest of the chillies.
• Add sugar and salt .
•  Cook well in low flame.
•  Before turning off flame add ghee and garam masala .



Doi Potol

You can also substitute parwal with veggies of your choice like baigan / eggplant.
Enjoy !


Ajanta from Amherst

'Phulkopir Dalna'- Bengali Style Cauliflower Curry

This is one popular vegetarian dish in Bengal especially in winter. I cook it quite often here; thanks to all year long cauliflower supply in this part of the world! Recipe courtesy goes to my mother-in-law who has not yet tasted the one I cook so it might not be as authentic as her's :) but a few friends of mine really like this dish, I thought it might be worth sharing!


Ingredients :

•   One cauliflower cut into medium sized florets
•   2-3 potatoes cut into medium sized cubes ( Skip if you are not a big fan of potatoes)
•   2 tomatoes cut into medium sized pieces
•   Ginger paste 1-2 tbsp
•   Whole garam masala 1 tbsp
•   Cumin , coriander. turmeric, red chilli powder 1 tbsp each
•   Canola oil
•   Salt and sugar to taste

 Directions :

•  Shallow fry cauliflower and potatoes separately till they turn golden brown. 
•  Heat oil in a non stick pan and add whole garam masala. Fry till the oil is flavored for ~ 3 mins.

Fried poatoes and cauliflower ; Flavoring oil with whole garam masala

•  Mix cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder in little water to make a paste. Add this to oil and fry for around 2-3 mins.

Make a paste of cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder

• Add ginger paste an fry for -2 mins.
• Add fried cauliflower and potatoes and saute for 5 mins.

Stir potatoes and cauliflower with spices

• Add tomatoes and mix well.
• Add salt and sugar to taste. 
• Add 1/2 cup of water and cook with lid closed for 15-20 mins . Add more water and stir in between if you think it is becoming too dry

Serve with rice or any kind of Indian bread.

Alu-kopir Dalna

Happy cooking and eating  !!


Ajanta from Amherst