Indian Cuisine

Patishapta

Name: Patishapta
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour (plus 10-minute batter rest)
Yield: 10–12 crepes
Ingredients: 120 g refined flour (maida); 60 g rice flour; 5 g bicarbonate of soda (a scant tsp); 250 ml milk; null Oil, for pan frying; 100 g fresh grated coconut; 100 g sugar; 100 g soft khoya (mawa), crumbled; 50 g almonds, roughly chopped; 30 g raisins

Bengali Makar Sankranti Crepes with Coconut, Khoya, and Almond Filling

indianbengalieast indiadessertcrepepancakecoconutkhoyaalmondsraisinsmakar sankrantifestival sweetvegetarian

Jump to Recipe

Makar Sankranti (the winter harvest festival that marks the sun's northward journey) has a different sweet in every corner of the subcontinent. In Maharashtra it is sesame and jaggery laddoos. In Andhra it is ariselu. In Bengal it is patishapta: delicate rice flour and refined flour crepes wrapped around a warm, fragrant filling of coconut, khoya, almonds, and raisins, deep-fried until the exterior is golden and the filling is heated through.

Patishapta belongs to the pithe tradition of Bengali winter sweets, a category of preparations made from freshly harvested rice flour and nolen gur (date palm jaggery) that appear only in the winter months when both ingredients are at their peak. The rice flour gives the crepe a faint translucency and a light, slightly chewy texture distinct from a pure refined flour pancake; the touch of bicarbonate of soda gives it lift without bubbles, producing a smooth, even surface that rolls easily around the filling.

The filling is where the richness concentrates. Fresh grated coconut cooked with sugar and soft khoya creates a fragrant, slightly sticky mixture that holds together when rolled but is moist enough to soften into the crepe during the final frying. Almonds and raisins add contrasting textures. The almonds stay firm and nutty through the cooking; the raisins swell slightly and become jammy.

The crepes are made first, filled while still warm, rolled into cylinders, and then deep-fried to seal them and heat the filling through. Serve immediately, while the exterior is crisp and the interior filling is warm, with a spoonful of sweetened fresh cream alongside, or a small cup of date palm jaggery syrup for dipping.

At a Glance

Yield

10–12 crepes

Prep

20 minutes

Cook

30 minutes

Total

1 hour (plus 10-minute batter rest)

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

10–12 crepes

1 cuprefined flour (maida)
2 ozrice flour
1⅛ tspbicarbonate of soda (a scant tsp)
1 cupmilk
—Oil, for pan frying
3½ ozfresh grated coconut
½ cupsugar
3½ ozsoft khoya (mawa), crumbled
1¾ ozalmonds, roughly chopped
3¼ tbspraisins

Key Ingredient Benefits

Rice flour is the traditional base for Bengali pithe. It is made from freshly harvested winter rice ground at home or from a local mill, with a quality different from commercial rice flour. The starch in fresh-ground rice flour hydrates differently and produces a lighter, more delicate crepe. Commercial rice flour works well but produces a slightly denser result.

Fresh grated coconut is the filling's foundation. It must be fresh. Dried or desiccated coconut lacks the moisture and sweetness needed to combine properly with the khoya. Fresh coconut contains medium-chain fatty acids and provides a natural sweetness and moisture that cooked desiccated coconut cannot replicate.

Khoya (mawa) is whole milk simmered until almost all moisture has evaporated, leaving concentrated milk solids. Its richness and slightly caramelised milk flavour bring depth to the filling that sugar and coconut alone cannot provide. Soft khoya (cooked to a lower dryness than hard khoya) integrates more easily with the coconut mixture.

Almonds provide both texture and mild flavour. They are traditional in Bengali festival sweets as a marker of celebratory preparation, an ingredient that signals occasion.

Why This Works

The combination of refined flour and rice flour in the batter is deliberate. Pure refined flour produces a crepe that is too elastic and chewy; pure rice flour produces one that is too fragile and prone to tearing when rolled. Together they balance elasticity (from the refined flour gluten) with a light, slightly crisp quality (from the rice flour starch), producing a crepe that rolls cleanly around the filling without cracking and holds together during frying.

Bicarbonate of soda, in small quantity, produces a faint lift that makes the crepe slightly more tender and pliable than a purely unleavened batter would be, without creating the bubbles that would make it uneven.

Cooking the filling until it holds its shape before rolling is essential. A wet filling will soften the crepe from inside during frying, making it floppy and prone to splitting. A dry, cohesive filling retains its form through the frying process, and the crepe exterior remains structural.

Substitutions & Variations

With nolen gur (date palm jaggery): The traditional Makar Sankranti version uses nolen gur in the filling in place of or alongside sugar. Replace some or all of the sugar with grated nolen gur for an earthier, more complex sweetness.
Without deep frying: Some versions of patishapta are pan-fried rather than deep-fried. The crepe is filled, rolled, and returned to the lightly oiled pan for 2–3 minutes per side. The exterior is softer but the result is lighter.
With khoya only: Omit the coconut and use 200 g of sweetened khoya as the sole filling, mixed with a little cardamom powder.
Cream accompaniment: Sweetened fresh cream (lightly whipped with sugar) is the traditional accompaniment in many Bengali households. Its coolness against the warm, fried crepe is the ideal contrast.

Serving Suggestions

Patishapta is traditionally served warm, immediately after frying, as a festival dessert. Two or three per person is typical. Serve with sweetened fresh cream on the side, or with a small cup of warm date palm jaggery syrup for dipping. In Bengali homes at Makar Sankranti, patishapta appears alongside other winter pithe such as puli pithe (rice flour dumplings in coconut milk) and dudh pithe. The combination of warm, fried exterior and fragrant, yielding filling makes it best eaten within minutes of frying.

Storage & Reheating

Unfried, filled, and rolled patishapta can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before frying. Fry to order. Already-fried patishapta can be reheated in an oven at 180°C for 8–10 minutes to restore exterior crispness. Do not microwave. The crepe becomes soft and the filling may burst. Best eaten on the day they are made.