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“There is only one difference between a long life and a good dinner: that, in the dinner, the sweets come last.”
– R.L. Stevenson
I discovered a jar of rice flour a couple of days back. I don’t remember since how long it had been there in my kitchen, but the flour looked good, and the texture was also perfect. So, I thought of preparing some patishapta to have a sweet tooth feast. Patishapta reminds me of those Poush Sankranti days at my grandparents house. There would be a feast for three days and my Dida (my mom’s mom) would prepare those patishapta sitting near the brick stove (she preferred the brick stove over the gas oven) all day long. I have never seen such perfect patishapta after her. Those more so soft and moist and the colour was a perfect tinge of very very light brown. It was almost like a ritual for all the kids at home to steal some of those hot patishapta.
Before going to the recipe details, just a little note about patishapta. Patishapta is the most popular among all pitha (also, pithe) prepared during Sankranti (Sankranthi, in South India). In simple words, patishapta is actually a rice flour crepe with coconut and jaggery fillings. The softness of the crepe and the sweet filling inside makes it the best pitha and most commonly prepared pitha. Though cakes, pastries and various other sweets are in vogue in almost every household, but I would say those who have at least tasted patishapta ones will never say no to it.
Preparation time: 10min
Cooking time: 25mins
Makes 10 patishapta
Ingredients:
For the filling-
- Grated Coconut (Narkel Kora): 3cups
- Jaggery (Gur): 1cup
- Cardamom powder (Elaich): 1/4 teaspoon
For the crepes-
- Wheat flour (Maida): 1cup
- Seomlina (Suji): 1/2 cup
- Rice flour (Chal guro): 1/2cup
- Milk (Dudh): 1cup
- Sunflower oil for frying
Preparation:
For the filling-
- In a wok heat the jaggery, as it start melting add the coconut
- Put in the cardamom powder and stir till the coconut mixes well with the jaggery
- Cook till the coconut feels sticky
- Take out of flame and keep aside
For the crepes-
- Add all dry ingredients together and mix well
- Pour the milk with constant stirring to avoid lump formation, the batter should be smooth and freely flowing (add excess milk if required)
- Heat a frying pan (preferably non-stick) and pour in 1 tablespoon on oil, spread it with a kitchen paper
- Take a small bowl of batter and spread it evenly on the pan to make a round shape, do it quick before the batter sets
- Place the filling lengthwise at the center of the crepe
- Fold the crepe from both sides and wait till it turns light brown
Hot tips – If you don’t have a non-stick pan, don’t worry. Cut the upper part of an egg plant, keeping the stalk intact and spread the oil over the pan using it instead of a kitchen paper.
Further Reading – Poush Parboner Patishapta, Pithe, Harvest food, Food During Sankranti
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Hey Anu once again thanks for awseome recipes I made peanut ladoo,cocunut n semolina ladoo,seven cup burfi and anjeer burfi and all turned out perfect thanks a ton for mkng diwali special with such fab and quick recipes looking fwd for more new post happy diwali.
Thank you. I was remembering the sweet smells of my grandmother’s kitchen and wanting to recreate. Lets try.
Hi Sudeshna,
Today is Sankranti. I will definitely prepare the patisapta today. I like to eat sweet v much and patisapta is one of them. I thank you for posting this recipe.I do not have the nonstick pan right now but have “CHATU” which I use to prepare the hand made roti.Can I use this? Also pl let me inform which rice flour I have to use-is that ” atap chal gura”. I will be thankful if you advice reg this.
Reply
Atap chal guro will be good, but if you don’t find it any type will do. As for the nonstick pan, you can always use chatu. My ma always uses that one and not the non-stick ones.
Hii i am going to try this recipe today before that i want to know do you know where in bangalore would i get khoya?
Sangeeta,
You’ll get it at Misti. If you dont get you you can use a little condensed milk depending upon your liking for sweet
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. I was trying it but it seemed that I couldnt figure out how long do I fry it before putting the filling. Some of mine remained “kacha” 🙁 and some of them became really hard. Any suggestions?
The trick is to make the batter flowy so that you can spread it well. Its just like frying an omelet, as soon as bubble start forming put in the fillings. Make the crepe as thin as possible.
Hello Sudeshna,
Thanks a ton for sharing this recipe!!!! I prepared it at home in Pune (Maharashtra) during ganesh puja and it turned out to be darooon.. dishes like these keep us attached to the Bengali culture inspite of staying outside Kolkata..Thanks again and I am all excited to try out the other dishes posted by you. 🙂
Hi, your recipie definately looks bongolicious! Just cant wait to try it! I have one question for you. The rice flour, do I have to soak the rice over night or just grind in the mixer without soaking? Is there any specific kind of rice or any is good?
Hi Abeera,
Generally you get rice flour in any grocery shop, but if you want to make it at home then dry grinding or even soaking the rice for sometime and then grinding it works well both ways. So choose which one you prefer . There is no specific rice for it, but if you are using a scented rice then it would add a flavor to the recipe.
Thank you so much for for this recipe me and my wife were searching for it and ended on this page thank you thank you. Also is it better to leave the batter to soak for a bit?
Hi there, my name is also Sudeshna. I missed the patishapta here in US.
your recipe is fantastic. I want to mention that there are many places where you won’t find jaggery like in here. I don’t use the rice flour. I usually prepare the filling with grated coconut (frozen) and sweetened condensed milk with cardamom powder cooked with constant stirring in medium heat until the mix become sticky. Then leave it for cool down. you may try this because this filling will be a bit softer one and you may like this too.
Thanks for the great great tip. I can,t wait to try it now.Yes, I have problem to find jaggery too.
If you are staying outside India then try searching in any Asian/Indian store, and if you are within India outside Bengal, then Spencer’s is the best option. You wont get the dark brown one but Spencer’s have the sugarcane jaggery bars.
Hii Sudeshna-di!!
Thanks for the recipe…this makar sankranti wont feel homesick in terms of food!!
Just 2 quesns…1)any modification needed if I substitute jaggery with sugar and 2) I have to use grated coconut available in packets in the market instead of the freshly grated ones..so any modification i need to make for that??
Thanks once again.
Hi Sreemoyee,
If you are using sugar instead of jaggery, then you probably need a little more quantity of sugar than as mentioned in the case of jaggery. But, then it all depends on how sweet you want to make the filling. But, there is only one glitch. Sugar tends to burn out very easily, so you better mix the sugar and coconut together and then place the pan over a simmering flame. Just keep it for a little while till the coconut changes color. If you are using the frozen coconut, there is no problem as I have tried that too and it tastes the same. Just defrost the coconut before you use it.
Happy Sankranti.
dear sudeshna,
ur patishapta recipe was nicely put. i would like to share a variation of this. i make the crepe ( flour batter) just as u mentioned but instead og going for gur-nariyal filling, i prepare a maccher kalia( minced fish cooked with spices and tomato, dried to the consistency of chutney) as a filling . do let me know what do u think of it .
Hi Gul,
Thanks for sharing the recipe with us. May be the next time when you prepare it you can send us some photos and the detailed recipe to us. We can post it in here with due credit to you.
HI,you recipes look fabulous.
I am very eager to try this one.Thanks for sharing
BB,
Thanks for dropping by. Just wanted to add, that its better to leave the batter for about 4-5hrs to soak, otherwise the crepes tend to get hard
My mom used to make this for tea, when we came home from school. It reminds me of crepes, but when we make it we just mix the coconut with sugar and cardamom and then fill the crepes. It is so yummy! Thank you for the memories 🙂
Tina,
You are most welcome. I have never had the crepes mixed with coconut and sugar, but once you said so I’ll prepare it soon :).
my neighbour is a bengali and i often taste lovely bengali cuisine..love ur blog..
.-= sheba´s last blog ..Ragda Pattis =-.
Sheba,
Thank you so much for dropping by. Hope to get more feedbacks from you. Do let us know if you want any particular recipe.
Nice recipe …for patisapta …but I always use natun gur (khejurer gur) that gives the authentic flavour…. anyway amar malpoa recipe te comment karar jonye thanks! cottage cheese er pariman ta dekhe nyo amar blog theke …khub kam debe but ektu dile khoyar sathe … it becomes soft and tasty….Keep blogging.
also visit my main blog.sonartoree.blogspot.com ekhon pujor opore likhchi….bhalo lagbe …
.-= Indira Mukerjee´s last blog ..আমার তুমি =-.
Indira,
Tomar oe blog ta amar khub bhalolage, majhe majhei visit kori :). Thanks for your comment. Amar barite ma patishapta korle khejurer gur diyei banai, kintu ae garam kale, r Bangalore e ota pawar kono ashai chilona, tai emni akhi gur diyei chesta korechilam:).
Dear Sudeshna,loved ur recipe on macher dimer bada but was unable to make it as i dnt knw how to clean the fish roe coz i am a punjabi married to a bengali and just dnt eat non veg but am learning and cook only for my husband
I am at a loss as the fish that i ordered (rohu) came with the egg dnt knw how to clean and cant therefore proceed
would love it and also be grateful if u cld help me out
thanks & regards
Deepa
Hi Deepa,
Most of the time when you buy it from the market, they clean it and give it to you. You can just put it in a sieve and keep it under running water for sometime. If you see any membrane or chord in the roe, then just take those out and wash it as mentioned above.
Ohhh, I love Patishapta, this is the best India recipe. Thanks for that great recipe 🙂
Yeh patishapta is really a great sweet dish, but you can’t tell it to be an absolutely Indian recipe, as there are many other types of crepe recipes, similar to patishapta in different states of India. Patishapta is particularly from Bengal.
Looks yummy sudeshna. We make this too 🙂
.-= sunita´s last blog ..Minty babies- a healthy snack for hungry kids =-.
All at home just love patishapta, and me and my sis used to fight for it. 😛
Looks yummy and soft…The name is totally unique…Love to try it..
The thinner you make it, the softer it becomes. Even though I am a Bengali, I don’t know how this word was derived. You gave me a new idea, I’ll try and search for the etymology of this word
Hi Sudeshna,
Today is Sankranti. I will definitely prepare the patisapta today. I like to eat sweet v much and patisapta is one of them. I thank you for posting this recipe.I do not have the nonstick pan right now but have “CHATU” which I use to prepare the hand made roti.Can I use this? Also pl let me inform which rice flour I have to use-is that ” atap chal gura”. I will be thankful if you advice reg this.