Recipe of the day: Vaja (fried) Pithe (A Bengali cuisine made in Poush Sankranti)

Hello friends! At first, very very happy New Year to all of you! May you all have a great year.....

Today I’m going to share a winter special recipe from Bengali cuisins. We make so many type of Pitha or Pithe on the occasion of Poush Sankranti. One of them I share today; hope you like it…..

Vaja (fried) Pithe

Ingredients:

     For the Shell: 

1. Rice flour:                                         2 cups (or to need) 
2.  Green Gram:                                     2 cups
3.  Hot water:                                        to need






For the filling:


1.           Grated Coconut:                       3 cups
2.           Kheer/ condenced milk:            1 cup
3.           Jaggery/ Sugar:                       1cup
4.           Cardamom Powder:                    ½ tablespoon
                   Or
                  Cardamom Pods:                         3-4




For fry:
                Refined oil:                                  500ml.

Process:

For the Filling:

1. In a saute pan, mix the Coconut and sugar/ Jaggery together and then place the pan over a simmering flame stirring continuously.
2. Add the kheer/ condenced milk and Cardamom Powder, and keep stirring till the mixture is moist and turns a little brown and sticky. The consistency should be granular.
3. Take out of the flame and keep aside.

For the Shell:

1. Medioum boil the Green Gram.
2. Knead the flour and green gram into tight and smooth but not very soft dough using hot water.Let it rest for 1 hour or a minimum of ½ hour.
3. Make very small balls from the dough and spread each ball with fingers into a small shallow bowl shape.

Making Puli:

  

1. Stuff the coconut filling into the shells.
2. Fold them and seal the edges so that filling doesnt comes out.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
4. Fry the pulis till all turn brown.
5. Serve hot with tea or coffie.

 * Usually, filling of any pithe is same. Once you cook enough of it, you can make various pithas.

Tips of the day

1.          Don’t waste the leftover Samosas; preserve in freezer. For eating, take out of the freezer two hours in advance and bake them over low temperature.

2.         Put 2-3 cloves in the sugar to keep ants at bay.

Well, time to say good bye! Share your thoughts here, it’s really precious for me! Take care, have a wonderful weekend……Namaskar.