Monday, January 13, 2014

Kheer Patisapta: Poush Sankranti special.

Today is Poush Sankranti or Makar Sankranti in West Bengal which is the last day of the Bengali month Poush. The same time this day is celebrated in other states of India too. Like Bihu in Assam, Pongal in South India, Lohri in Punjab, Hadaga Festival in Maharastra Etc. Actually this is a harvest festival and different states call it in different names. But all over the India celebrate this harvest festival.


A special day we always celebrate with food from start to end. In Bengal we call this day as PITHE PARBON also, basically long time ago people started celebrating this day with the rice they received from their land. And with that rice they used to make lots of sweet dishes and all those sweet dishes are known as “PITHE”. From my childhood days used to see my maa and grand maa used to make lots of different PITHE and I really tried to make something like them to celebrate the special day. I prepared some Kheer Patisapta which is a traditional Bengali sweet just like Kheer Wrapped Pan Cakes in milk cream.


Ingredients
For stuffing or PUR
1.One large cup shredded fresh coconut.
2.One cup thick milk.
3.Two table spoon milk powder.
4.Half cup sugar.
5.One freshly crushed cardamom.

For Outer part or Pan cakes.
1.All-purpose flour: 1 cup.
2.Semolina or Suji: 4 table spoon.
3.Ghee: 1 table spoon.
4.Milk: 1 ½ cup if needed use some more.
5.Sugar: 2 table spoon.
6.Salt: pinch of.
7.Sunflower oil.

For Kheer:
1.Milk: 2 cups.
2.Condensed Milk: Two table spoon.
3.Freshly crushed cardamom: 1.


Process:
For Pur or Stuffing:

In a large heavy bottomed vessel add the shredded coconut and sugar first and stir with a wooden spoon till the sugar melts completely.
Now add the milk and the milk powder and cook this in medium heat till the coconut milk mixture become dry and sticky now add the freshly crushed cardamom and mix well. Now the pur or stuffing is ready.


Now for the Pan cakes batter:

In a large bowl add the flour, semolina, sugar salt and ghee first then mix with a spoon, then add the milk and make a batter just like pan cake (not so thick not so light)


Now in a nonstick pan sprinkle some oil first and spread the oil all over the pan. Then spread some batter like a pan cake and  then just in the middle add one spoon full of coconut stuffing from one end to another and roll the pan cake or Patisapta with a flat spatula. And then shallow fry both the sides for few seconds. 
Same way make all the Patisapta.





Your Patisapta is ready you can eat them like this also.


Now for kheer add the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and boil this in low flame till it reduce the quantity, then add the condensed milk and the crushed cardamom and cook till it become thick .

Now place the fried Patisapta in a plate and pour the kheer on top of that, and sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top of that.


Poush Shankranti special KHEER PATISAPTA is ready serve hot or cold.