Patishapta is a classic Bengali winter dessert. Delicate eggless crêpe filled with creamy solid milk (khoya), jaggery and coconut – Patishapta is one of my all-time favorite Bengali desserts. To make it extra special, I made a creamy jaggery sauce with the leftover filling and drizzled it on top of the Patishapta. It’s so delectable at every bite, with the flawless aromatic sweetness from date palm jaggery making it almost melting in the mouth.
What is Patishapta?
Patishapta is typically a winter treat. It falls in the category of pitha/pithe! Bengali Pitha or Pithe are special types of Bengali sweets that are typically prepared using seasonal harvest.
There is a special day in January dedicated to such delectable treats. Having said that, Patishapta pitha is one such Bengali desert that I prepare all year round because it’s so easy and quick!
What is required to prepared Patishapta Pitha?
This eggless crêpe needs a very few basic ingredients:
All-purpose flour: It is always prepared with all-purpose flour, but you can use whole-wheat flour. It will surely change the taste a little.
Semolina: A little quantity of semolina goes in to add a mild crunchy bite to the pitha.
Sugar: A small amount of sugar goes in the batter, which can also be replaced with jaggery or honey. If you add jaggery, keep in mind that the color of the patishapta will turn brown instead of white.
Date Palm Jaggery: Date Palm Jaggery is typically available during winter season, and that’s the time when it’s harvested. If you are in Kolkata, you can surely find the more semi-liquid version of the jaggery known as Khejur’er Gur. When the same jaggery is processed a little further to turn it into a solid block, it’s nose as Patali Gur, which these days, is quite easily available in Indian stores (look in the freezer section). If you cannot find this particular variety of jaggery, feel free to use whatever you can find. Or try date syrup, which is more easily accessible in Middle Eastern stores.
Solid Milk (Khoya): Solid milk is a luscious treat that is nothing but reduced milk. My Mom used to make this at home with gallons of milk simmering for hours in a big brass wok. These days, you get unsweetened solid milk in the freezer section quite easily.
Coconut: I used frozen grated coconut, but you can use the fresh ones too for better taste.
Milk: A bit of milk is added to make the batter, along with water.
Ghee: A very tiny amount is required to grease the pan.
How to make Patishapta Pitha/Pithe?
The batter requires a quick mix in a bowl, and it needs to be rested for 30 minutes. Although, some may say that it needs a couple of hours of resting, but I have tried both and both of the varieties taste equally good.
Take a non-stick pan to prepare the patishapta (eggless crêpe). You could swirl the pan or use the back of the spoon to spread it around nice and thin.
One important point to remember is not to grease the pan too much or else, the batter won’t stick to the pan when you try to swirl. So, use just a tad bit after every few patishapta.
The filling!
It’s the filling that makes the Patishapta so tasty. You can fill Patishapta with kheer (just solid milk) or with jaggery coconut mixture. I personally love to mix both solid milk and coconut with date palm jaggery (kheer narkol gur).
The solid milk can be grated or roughly chopped and then cooked in low heat to melt it to creamy consistency. As the solid milk melts to a creamy texture, you need to keep stirring to avoid it from sticking at the bottom of the pan.
Once it melts, add the jaggery, cardamom and coconut. Cook it just for a while as it thickens up and the filing is ready.
The left over patishapta needs to be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Patishapta (Eggless Crepe with Coconut Jaggery Filling)
Ingredients
for the patishapta batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup semolina (sooji)
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup and 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup milk
for the filling and the jaggery sauce
- 1 cup solid milk
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 1 cup grated date palm jaggery
- 2 tablespoons milk for the filling
for the jaggery cream to drizzle on top
- 1 cup of milk for the jaggery sauce
- ¼ cup grated date palm jaggery
- ¼ cup grated solid milk (khoya)
Instructions
- Prepare the batter by adding all the ingredients listed under the patishapta batter in a mixing bowl and whisk until its smooth. Depending on the variety of flour and semolina that you are using, you might need more or less water. So, add little by little and adjust accordingly.
- Cover the bowl and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
- For the filling, place the grated coconut, jaggery, solid milk and milk on a skillet at medium low heat and keep stirring around for 7 minutes, until the jaggery melts, the solid milk melts and everything come together. Once done, keep aside in a bowl.
- To prepare the patishapta, place a flat non-stick skillet at medium heat. Once the pan heats up, brush the pan with a tiny dot of ghee. Pour ¼ cup measurement of the batter into the pan and, with the back of the ladle, swirl it in one direction to form a thin circle.
- It cooks really fast. So, immediately spoon 2 and ½ tablespoons of the filling in one line on one edge of the patishapta. Using a spatula, gently fold the edge on top of the filling and keep rolling. Place the hot patishapta in a serving plate and continue making the rest.
- For the Jaggery cream, in a pan, pour all the ingredients and place the pan at medium heat. Keep stirring and simmering in low heat until the jaggery and solid milk melts and the sauce comes together creamy, delicious.
- The left over patishapta needs to be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
