Which Bengali does not love her ‘Pithe?’ Tell me this. I suppose, none. It is a tradition that is as far-fetched as our memory can go. We connect the festival of ‘Sankranti’ with Pithe. Dumplings, fritters, or pancakes – You can call them whatever you want to.
Recipe
Time Taken – 60 minutes Serves –8
Ingredients:
- Bhog Rice Powder – 150 gm
- Easy-cook Rice Powder – 150 gm
- White Sesame Seeds – 150 gm
- Jaggery – 100 gm
- Sugar – 100 gm
- Cloves – 3
- Amul Milk – 1 litre
- Water – 150 ml
- Salt – 1/ 4 tsp
For Decoration:
- Rose petals
- Leaves Of The Date Plant
- Gamcha
- Paddy leaflets
How To Prepare ‘Tiler Chandra Kala Pithe?’
You have to grind the two types of rice, into powder. Add some warm water and salt, to the mixture. Now, fry the white sesame seeds and mix it with a paste of dates. Grind everything together. Now, roll out the dough, and make small pancakes. You have to spoon in the sesame and date mixture into the pancakes. Take two spoonsful for each one. Give the Chandrakala shape to the ‘pithe.’
In the next step, you need to take some milk, and boil it. Add the requisite number of cloves, add cardamom, and sugar. Now, add the pithe and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and serve. You can serve the ‘Pithe’ in a platter, and decorate with the ones listed above.
A short Story:
We visited our grandmother in Madhya Pradesh during the winter holidays. My grand mom wanted to make a sweet savoury dish for my father. She wanted to make ‘pithe.’ However, she could not find coconuts to prepare the filling. Thus, she hit upon the idea to make the filling with dates and sesame seeds paste. Thus, I have made it in the same manner.
