Ranga Aloor Puli

Red Potatoes ( Ranga Aloo in Bengali ) are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B6 and Potassium, and a very good source of Vitamin C and dietary fibres. It is widely used today because of its anti carcinogenic properties.

Here is a very simple recipe with Red Potatoes. This is  a typical fried sweet dish that is widely used in West Bengal during the winter season.

Ingredients :

Red Potatoes (medium size)-6
Maida- 4 tsp
Rice Flour- 2tsp
Khoya- 4 tbsp [ you can make it by dehydrating 2 cups of milk ]
Ghee- 2 tsp
Sugar Syrup [made by boiling 1 cup Khejurer Gur in a cup of water and cooled ]
Refined oil for frying
Coconut (grated)
Khejurer Gur (Date Palm Jaggery Liquified )

Procedure

Boil the red potatoes in a pressure cooker for  2 minutes only. Open the lid of the pressure cooker to avoid melting of the potatoes as they are very soft once boiled.
Peel of the skin of the boiled red potatoes and mash them.
Meanwhile make the thick Sugar Syrup and let it cool.
Boil the liquified date palm jaggery (khejurer gur ) and add the grated coconut. Stir continuously until the mixture attains a consistency thick enough to be made into balls that can be stuffed into a shell  of the pithey.  (Ranga Aloor Puli )
Take a platter and place all the ingredients except  coconut, khejurer gur, oil and the sugar syrup along with the bolied red potatoes and mash them together. Make a dough and cut small balls from it . Take each ball and fill it up with the coconut-khejurer gur filling and wrap it up to   make Ranga Aloor Puli) ( it is having a special shape as shown in the picture). Roll the Ranga Aloor Puli. on a dash of extra flour and rice flour and refrigerate for half an hour.
Fry them in hot refiend oil and place into the sugar syrup.

Ranga Aloor Nikhuti

Here is a very simple recipe with Red Potatoes. This is a sweet called Nikhuti, a typical fried sweet dish that is widely used in West Bengal

Ingredients :

Red Potatoes (medium size)-6
Suji- 2 tsp
Maida- 4 tsp
Rice Flour- 2tsp
Khoya- 4 tbsp [ you can make it by dehydrating 2 cups of milk ]
Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp
Black Cardamom -crushed
Ghee- 2 tsp
Sugar Syrup [made by boiling 1 cup sugar in a cup of water and cooled ]
Refined oil for frying

Procedure :

Boil the red potatoes in a pressure cooker for  2 minutes only. Open the lid of the pressure cooker to avoid melting of the potatoes as they are very soft once boiled.
Peel of the skin of the boiled red potatoes and mash them.
Meanwhile make the thick Sugar Syrup and let it cool.
Take a platter and place all the ingredients except the oil and the sugar syrup along with the bolied red potatoes and mash them together. Make small Nikhuti. Roll theNikhuti on a dash of extra flour and refrigerate for half an hour.
Fry them in hot refiend oil and place into the sugar syrup. You can sprinkle a little more ghee from top and also some Rose Water ( optional)

Samosa Pithey

Ingredients :

Flour - 200 gms
Refined Oil for frying and 2tbsp for the dough
Ghee 2tbsp
Baking Powder 1/2 tsp
Coconut (grated) - 1 cup
Khejurer Gur

Procedure :

Knead the maida with ghee, 2tbsp refined oil and baking powder to make a tight dough. Cover it with a soft wet cloth for 1/2 an hour. Meanwhile make the filling of the samosa(singara) by heating khejurer Gur and coconut together till no syrupy liquid is left. Let it cool.
Cut the dough into small balls (normal size of a puri(luchi) ) and flatten each ball like a puri and cut into two equal halves. Then fold each of the semi-circular puri in a triangular way and fill it up with the coconut stuff. Deep fry the samosas in refined oil.
Serve hot with NALEN GUR.

Doodh Pooli

Ingredients :

Milk - 1 litre
Semolina ( sooji ) - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 2 cups
Date Palm Jaggery Liquified ( Khejure'r Gur ) - 2 cups
Date Palm Jaggery Solid ( Patali Gur ) - crushed
Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Flower ( Maida ) - 2 teaspoon

Procedure :

Boil the milk in a flat pan (dekchi ) for about 30 mins to "thicken" it somewhat ....
Meanwhile, knead the semolina with hot water and 1 teaspoon ghee to make a soft dough
Boil the liquified date palm jaggery (khejure'r gur ) and add the grated coconut. Stir continuously until the mixture attains a consistency thick enough to be made into balls that can be stuffed into a shell -- to be made in the next step
Make 12 small balls from the semolina dough and after dusting it with the flower, make them into flat discs that can be converted into shells to hold the stuffings made in the previous step.
Make the "pooli" by placing the stuffing (step 3) inside the shell (step 4) and sealing it
Place the  "pooli"s one-by-one into the pan of boiling milk ... do not stir, simply let them simmer for about 5 minutes
Add the crushed Patali Gur, to the "pooli"s in the boiling milk and simmer for another 5 minutes
Remove from the heat and allow the pan of  "pooli"s to cool down to room temperature before serving.

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Makar Sankaranti marks the transition of the Sun into Capricorn on its celestial path. This is significant considering the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day. Traditionally, this has been one of many harvest days in India.

In West Bengal, Sankranti, also known as Pous Sankranti after the Bengali month in which it falls, is celebrated as a harvest festival Pous Parbon . The freshly harvested paddy along with the date palm syrup in the form of Khejurer Gur and Patali  is used in the preparation of a variety of traditional Bengali sweets made with rice flour, coconut, milk and khejurer gur and known as Pithey . All sections of the society participate in a three-day begins on the day before Sankranti and ends on the day after. The Goddess Lakshmi is usually worshipped on the day of Sankranti.

Doodh Pooli is a universal favourite during Pous Sankranti celebrations in Bengal

Patishapta

Ingredients:

Flour 4tbsp
Semolina 2tsp
Khejurer Gur 1/2 cup + 2tsp for the pancake
Sugar 2tsp
Deshi Ghee 2tsp
Milk 8tbsp
Coconut (grated, 1cup)
Khoya 1/4 cup

Procedure:

In a large wok mix the khoya, khejurer Gur and grated coconut together and make a smooth paste with the help of a spatula over a high flame. The Patisapta Pur is ready.
Meanwhile make a smooth paste of milk, flour, semolina, khejurer gur (2tsp), ghee and sugar.This is your pancake batter.
Heat a nonstick tawa and grease it with ghee and fry the pancakes one at a time from the smooth batter you have made. Stuff each pancake with the Patisapta Pur.
Serve hot as a winter dessert.