Winters call for sinful indulgence. This is the time of the year when we keep our health consciousness at bay and give in to the delicacies around. And one such delicacy is the fresh jaggery that one gets in the market. Yes, it is true that jaggery is available in the market year-round but the fresh and tastier ones are available only during winters. In Bengal, jaggery (or gur) is a very famous ingredient to make desserts like payesh (kheer) and pitha (rice cake).
Every household in Bengal gets filled with aroma of 'notun gur' (fresh jaggery) during this time of the year. Here's a very quick recipe of pitha which can be a perfect snack for the winter evenings.
(Also Read: How to Tell that the Gur/Jaggery that You Are Buying is Pure?)
Chakli pitha recipe (Bengali crepe with jaggery syrup):
Ingredients:
- Basmati Rice - 2 cups (washed and soaked for 3-4 hours)
- Urad dal (black gram) - 1 cup (washed and soaked for 3-4 hours)
- Jhola gur (jaggery syrup)
- Water
- Oil
Preparation:
- Take the soaked rice in a mixer grinder.
- Add 150 ml water and make a fine blend into a fine paste.
- Grind the lentil in 200 ml water.
- Mix both the pastes together after grinding them separately.
- Add some more water to the paste (do not whisk).
- Heat a pan on high flame.
- Wipe the pan with a damp cloth.
- Reduce the heat and add a ladle full of batter. Quickly spread the batter to make it paper thin.
- After one minute, apply a bit of oil on the edges of the crepe, when it turns light brown in colour.
- Flip and cook the other side.
- Fold it like a crepe and the chakli is ready.
All you have to do is serve this chakli pitha really hot, with some jaggery syrup in a bowl. Dip the pitha in the syrup and enjoy while it melts in your mouth. Bon Appetit!