RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA

WHAT IS PITHE PULI IN OUR FAMILY?

In both sides of my family, PITHE PULI is essentially sweet, one or two salty versions are there! The family veterans till date prepare only authentic pithe-puli that requires refined flour, rice flour, semolina, shredded coconut, jaggery these few things. They either use the steamed method or the frying method to cook them. My family cannot think of taking a different path and try spicy versions of these WINTER SPECIAL TREATS! Like, after the father passed away; the mother keeps complaining she does not get an opportunity or reason to prepare pithe-puli as bhai / my brother and his wife are not fond of sweet meats. If I ask her to prepare the spicy version, she would not. I cannot blame her; post seventy, she cannot have the energy to try new dishes. I can understand what makes her feel awkward; Poush Sankranti for us Bengalis or for our family is associated with preparing a number of sweet treats and visiting the local mela / fair! Moreover, she had been in the habit of making them in bulk; in the recent winters, she finds herself jobless because the brother refuses. I ask them to adjust with each other, so the ritual does not get lost! She can prepare something like this RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA ; done mainly with SWEET POTATO, DRY FRUITS, SPICES, REFINED FLOUR.

DOES MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY LOVE BENGALI PITHE-PULI?

They definitely do! Both of my man and the son enjoy sweet meats. The son is severely missed whenever I cook something special. But as I say, the ritual cannot be done away with. Neither, I do them in bulk as the family was used to do! My family never expected that this lazy daughter who never was seen near the kitchen would get so interested preserving her tradition. Today, I consider it my holy duty. What I cannot do is cooking it in bulk. My men also do not like eating the same food for a couple of days even if it is a SWEET VEGETARIAN BLISS called pithe-puli! Our father was opposite of them; he loved picking up now and then from the vessels filled with at least a few varieties kept on the table. How we loved stale sweet meats, and the brother too! I do not know exactly from when he stopped liking these WINTER TREATS!

WHAT IS THIS SPICY SWEET POTATO & DRY FRUITS STUFFED SAVOURY CREPE / JHAL JHAL RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA?

Because it was our deceased father's birthday yesterday and Poush Sankranti in few days, I had to share this stuffed savoury crepe today. I did not want my brother or his wife to keep off from the treat. She is a woman for whom our father lived liked a king in his last few years and took a peaceful exit. Else, the man's family; his sister her spouse are into sweet stuffs! Okay; the in-laws are not allowed to have sweets. The rest of the people's tastebuds are to be taken care of by their own; for me to think about them requires a lot of exercise on their part; nothing in this world comes for free. Any day, I love the jaggery and coconut combination over a salty & spicy one when it comes to pithe! Then, this filling made of boiled & cooked SWEET POTATO with DRY FRUITS & SPICES, GREEN CHILLIES is good too. The man ate four of the RANGA ALOO BADAM KISHMISH ER PUR BHORA PATISHAPTA for dinner with mint-coriander chutney without a noise means it was wow. Wish the son was here, on my lap. 

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING :

SWEET POTATO : 200 GM

CHOPPED DRY FRUIT : 11/2 TBSP

CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 1 TBSP

CUMIN SEED : 1/2 TSP

CUMIN POWDER : 1 TSP

CORIANDER POWDER : 1 TSP

RED CHILLI POWDER : 1/2 TSP

CRUSHED BLACK PEPPER : 1/2 TSP

DRY MANGO POWDER : 2 TSP

CHAAT MASALA : 1 TSP

SALT : AS REQUIRED

OIL : 3 TBSP

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CREPE BATTER :

REFINED FLOUR : 1 COFFEE MUG

SEMOLINA : 1/2 COFFEE MUG

SALT : 1/2 TSP

OIL : 1 TBSP

WATER : AS REQUIRED

THE FINAL PART :

THE FILLING

THE BATTER

VERY LITTLE OF OIL

PROCEDURE :

The first thing we will do is soak the semolina in 11/2 coffee mug of water for an hour.

After an hour; we will add the refined flour to it and mix well. There should not be any lump left in the batter.

Then, we will add the oil and mix again well. 

We will keep the batter covered for about 45 minutes!

Let us peel, cube, wash the sweet potatoes, take in a pressure cooker, add 2-3 coffee mugs of water; close the lid and pressure cook at minimal heat up to 3-4 whistles.

Once the lid opens by itself; we will mash it. We will chop or break the dry fruits!

We will heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and temper with the cumin seeds & the green chillies. We will add chopped dry fruits.

We will add the boiled and mashed sweet potatoes, cumin+coriander+dry mango+chaat masala+red chilli powders+salt and fold in well.

At this stage, it felt crushed black pepper would go well, so I added it.

I cooked it further for sometime and transferred it to a bowl to cool a bit. Once cool, I kneaded it for 2-3 minutes!

We have added 1/4 tsp oil to the pan. 

We will wipe the pan with a piece of moist cloth. 

The pan has to be really hot before we add a spoonful of the batter to it. 

Once it cooks as below, we will add a portion of the filling!

We will now roll it inward and make a stuffed, rolled crepe / patishapta!

Try to have the SAVOURY CREPES fresh & hot!