Chushi Pitha Kheer

Chushi Pitha is traditionally made during Paush Sankranti. This is a Bangladeshi sweet dish. There many types of Pitha made during this season with the new harvested rice and date jaggery which is made during this winter season. Chushi Pitha or Chutki Pitha or Chui Pitha has to be made in advance as the small rice dumplings are made first and then sun dried. It is time consuming to make them so the traditional method is becoming extinct. Now a days the dried rice dumplings are available in the market. 

Traditionally it is made with Gobindo bhog rice flour or Basmati Rice flour. The dough is made by cooking the flour in hot water and then kneading it well. A pinch of the dough is taken and then shaped. There are many traditional and faster ways of making it, but since I being a Prabasi Bangali (out of the state), I am not very acquainted with all the methods.  The dumplings are sun dried and it can be stored. These are used to make Chushi Pitha Kheer. To make the kheer date jaggery is used as it is the season for this jaggery. Milk is boiled and reduced and sugar and date jaggery is added to the milk, it stirred till the sugar and jaggery is dissolved. The dumplings are fried in ghee and added into the milk and cooked till the milk has slightly thickened. 

Here I have mixed the flour and salt together and add hot water to the flour. I have mixed it and microwaved it for 30 seconds. Then kneaded it in to a dough... 

For the Chushi Pitha

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 1 tsp Rice Flour ( Gobindo bhog RiceFlour / Basmati  Rice Flour )

Salt to taste

Hot water as required

Method

Take bowl.  Mix 1/2 cup flour and salt. Add little hot water at a time and mix it till it forms a wet dough. Microwave the dough for 30 seconds. Let cool down a bit. Knead it well for 5 minutes.  Cover the dough and keep it for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on a platform. Take a small pinch of the dough and roll it into a ball. Keep it on a platform and with the help of the heel of the palm,  gently roll it from the edge and make it into a oblong shape. Then turn the dough and using the heel of the palm, roll it from the edge. It is pointy at the edges and thick in the centre. Follow the same process to make the other dumplings. Sprinkle some flour on them and sun dry. These can be stored in a jar and kept until Chushi pitha payesh is made out of it.

Chushi Pitha Kheer

Ingredients

3/4 cup Chushi pitha

1 1/2 liters Milk

3/4 cup Date plam Jaggery grated

3 tbsp Sugar or more as required

1/4 tsp Cardomom powder

Pinch of Salt

Few Raisins

Few Broken Cashewnuts

1 tbsp Ghee

Method

Take a heavy bottom pot. Let the milk simmer, stir it occasionally.  Meanwhile take a pan. Add ghee and stir fry the Chushi pitha till light brown in colour. Keep it aside. As 1/4 cup of the  milk reduces, add the sugar, cardamom powder, salt, jaggery, raisins and cashwenuts. Stirring the milk occasionally, dissolve the jaggery. Add the chushi pitha and keep stirring it as it should not form a lump. As the milk thickens, switch off the flame and let it cool. If you feel that the chushi pitha has absorbed the milk, then please add some more milk and stir it.

P .S. Some times due to the jaggery the milk curdles. So in that case if you are not sure of the jaggery, it is better to melt the jaggery with little water and then add it to the milk.