Payeshpata, it was much later that I came to know they were far more familiar as Pandan leaves in the culinary universe, grew unbridled in our backyard.
Sometimes, Maa would just drop a couple of leaves into the rice pot as the water gurgled in anger. The rice that day would have a faint lingering aroma, nothing more than just a hint, but one that we quite liked.
On other occasions, Grandma would tear a leaf or two, give them a wash, tie a knot and plunge them into the payesh. Letting the subtle fragrance of the leaves unhurriedly infuse into the milk as it bubbled away on its own on the oonoon. The outcome, the Payesh would be blessed with a whiff of a pleasant scent, one that I too had started to enjoy over the years.
Other than these, the shrubs were largely left on their own, unperturbed, till they threatened to overrun their designated corner, thereby attracting Manikkakas attention. Whereupon, he would give the shrubs, as a barber on a mission would to a truant school kid, a mean trim.
And that’s all the childhood reminiscences I have of the humble payeshpata.
Fast forward by a good decade or two.
We are on vacation and a pale green inviting dessert on the breakfast counter catches my eye.
Brushing aside the momentary guilt pang of going (yet again) for sugars during breakfast (I had pledged to abstain from sugars), I go for it.
The cruel knife carves a slice.
A bite.
And the dessert that was foreign just a moment ago all of a sudden feels very very familiar.
A patishapta, I squeal in delight. And u know what, they have used payeshpata in the crepe.
S smiles.
The patishapta that we Bengalis adore is Payeshpatar Patishapta or Kuih Dadar (the Chef had later clarified), some tweaks, yes, but the same soul.
I am brimming with joy.
And back home, I whip up my version of the Kuih Dadar.
Payeshpatar Patishapta. A Bengali patishapta. Kissed with a hint of payeshpata.
And that’s nostalgia served on a plate.
Payeshpatar Patishapta
Ingredients
For the crepes
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup plain flour
- 2 tbsp semolina
- 1.5 cups milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp pandan leaf juice
- a pinch of salt
- ghee for greasing
For the stuffing
- 1 cup coconut freshly grated
- 1/2 cup patali or date palm jaggery
- 1/2 cup khoya
For the Pandan leaf juice
- 3 pandan leaves washed
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
For the stuffing
- Place a heavy bottomed pan over a medium flame, add the freshly grated coconut and jaggery, cook for 2-3 minutes or so, with frequent stirring.
- Add the grated khoya, cook till the khoya is well incorporated into the coconut. 5-7 minutes I would reckon.
- Allow to cool to room temperature. Keep aside.
For Pandan juice
- Cut the Pandan leaves into thin strips, grind with water. Strain the juice, keep aside.
For the crepe batter
- Mix the rice flour, plain flour, semolina and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add the milk, Pandan juice and grated gur to make a smooth medium-thick batter, taking care there are no lumps.
- You need to whisk the batter for 5-7 minutes with a whisker or hand blender to get a smooth and soft crepe. The consistency of the batter will be neither too thin or thick .
- Keep aside for an hour.
Assembling the Patishapta
- Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat, brush with very little ghee.
- Give the batter a hearty stir.
- Pour 11/2 small ladle full of batter onto the middle of the pan, spread it evenly around the pan by rotating it. (This needs to be done real quick before the batter begins to set.) Cook till the batter is set and cooked nicely.
- Remove the crepe from the pan. Allow it to cool down.
- Place the coconut filling lengthwise along the crepe, gently fold the crepe as shown in the picture .(You can also simply roll like a normal patishapta.)
Notes
I have used store brought rice flour here for this recipe. If you are using freshly made rice flour , do note that the water / milk required to make the crepe batter shall be a little less.
Your narration is very good……and the recipe is very different….never heard of payeshpata since childhood. Thank you.