How to Prepare Bengali Pitha

The festival season of Makar Sankranti will soon be upon us. In Bengal,  this festival is celebrated as Poush Shankarnati and is one of the classic winter occasions. To make it really special, traditional sweets called Pitha are prepared at home and enjoyed on the day of celebration.

Poush Sankranti is celebrated by worshiping the almighty, singing various ancient songs of  folklore and Rabindra Sangeet, poetry and enjoying a lavish feast which includes a variety of Pitha. The pitha in very traditional households are made by the older women of the house. If you are not so inclined to make your own there are often plenty of pitha sellers on the street indulging our tastebuds. Chitoi pitha (steamed pancakes) seems to be one of the most popular although a bhapa pitha will give it a run for its money.

Aloo Pitha

To the untrained eye this looks and feels like Gulab Jamun however there are subtle differences which mark this Pitha from its illustrious counterpart. It is prepared from a dough of mashed potato, warm milk, sugar, fennel and madia. The dough is rolled into Gulab Jamun sized balls.

The recipe below is one of the simplest I know of and was prepared by friends of ours as an example. I wanted to see what it might taste like without the spices but our hosts insisted that without possibly cardamom it would taste like a sugary fried potato chip ball. Not bad I thought!  It will be filled with a stuffing of grated coconut and melted jaggery dates (khajur gur). The balls are deep fried to a golden brown.

The sweetness is best contributed by a sugar syrup (sheera) which is poured over these balls. The dessert is best eaten warm.

Ingredients:

•  2 large starchy potatoes – peeled. The variety Maris Piper, King Edward and Desiree are both good.
• 2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter or a if not available, butter
• ½ tsp cardamom powder 
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 200ml water
• icing sugar 

Preparation:

1. To a large saucepan containing water, heat to a boil and add potatoes which have been roughly chopped after peeling.
2. Boil until reasonably tender but not mushy.
3. Remove from the saucepan, throwaway the liquor and add the potatoes back. Mash to a fine consistency.
4. Add a tablespoon of ghee, sugar and cardamom powder
5. Heat a skillet or large frying pan over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of ghee or butter.
6. Make and shape small balls of mashed potato and pan fry in the butter.
7. Allow to brown and form a crispy coating.
8. Roll in sugar or icing sugar. Serve with a sugar syrup like gulab jamun.