Patishapta Pitha

Patishapta is the most beloved of the winter pitha (rice cake) family in Bangladesh, made during the rice harvest season (December to February) when fresh rice flour and new jaggery are available. Thin rice-flour crepes are spread on a hot pan, filled with a mixture of grated coconut and melted jaggery (or sugar and khoya), rolled up while still warm and pliable, and served immediately. The contrast of the soft, thin crepe and the warm, sweet, chewy coconut-jaggery filling is the pleasure. Patishapta is made at home for family and guests during the winter pitha season, and it is the most commonly made pitha because it is simpler than the shaped varieties (bhapa pitha, chitoi pitha). Eaten with a cup of tea, it is the taste of a Bengali winter.

A soft, thin crepe yielding to a warm, intensely sweet filling of coconut and jaggery, the jaggery melted into the coconut, each bite chewy, sweet and fragrant. Eaten warm with tea, the taste of winter in Bengal.

The technique is a thin rice-flour crepe, filled and rolled. Rice flour is mixed with a little all-purpose flour and water (or coconut milk) into a thin batter, rested 30 minutes. A ladle of batter is spread on a hot non-stick pan (like a dosa), cooked 1 minute until set but not crisp. The filling (grated coconut cooked with jaggery until sticky, or coconut with sugar and condensed milk) is spread along one edge, and the crepe rolled around it while still on the pan. The heat of the crepe melts any remaining jaggery. The crepe must be thin enough to be pliable but thick enough to hold the filling without tearing.