Rosh Puli or Manoranjan Pitha

1:38 AM


This by far has to be the best Pithe that I have ever prepared. I mean you can not go wrong with milk and sugar and ghee but still when I set out to prepare it I dint have such great expectations. It turned out so so so good that already my family is demanding me to make it once again.

Now I am not sure if Rosh puli and Manoranjan pithe are same. The Rosh puli recipe that I had handwritten in my recipe diary (dont remember from where, as this goes back to my college days) is exactly the same as of Manoranjan Pithe from 'The Calcutta Cookbook". The only different part for Manoranjan pithe is, you are supposed to shallow fry the semolina dumpling till golden before adding them to the thickened milk. If anyone of you know more about the pithe please let me know.


Now Manoranjan literally means something that pleases your mind. and in it's all true senses this pithe pleases all your gastronomic senses. I tweaked it a little bit and added a couple of table spoon Nolen gur (date palm jaggery) to the thickened milk. Afterall in our household not adding the amazing homemade jaggery that just arrived from our ancestral home is a big sin. So I oblised and was amazed at the beautiful colour, aroma and taste it imparted to this dish. You just got to try it.

This recipe is mainly for all those readers who mailed or messaged me to post some recipe that does not use rice flour (as its not easily source able outsideAsia). Hope this helps.

Manoranjan pithe/ Rosh Puli

Ingredients:
For the puli or the dumplings
Semolina: 1/2 cup
Coconut: scraped, 3/4 cup
Khoya/milk solid: 1/4 cup
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Milk: 1/2 cup or less to make a dough

For the kheer or Thickened milk
Full fat milk: 1 liter
Condensed milk: 3 tbsp (if you are adding the solid jaggery called patali then reduce this amount to 2 tbsp or it would be too sweet)
Nolen gur or Date Palm Jaggery: 2 tbsp (the liquid version called notun gur)

Ghee: 1 tbsp

Method:
Dry roast the semolina till lightly golden. Do this on low flame for 5-6 minutes.
In your blender jar make a paste of the coconut and sugar. Add this to the semolina and mix well. 
Take a heavy bottom pan, a non stick works really well. Add the semolina coconut mixture to it and put on medium heat.
Start cooking this by constantly stirring. Add a tbsp of milk to it and cook till the semolina absorbs it. Even the coconut will leave a lot of juice which will aid in cooking the semolina. check by tasting the semolina if its soft. The idea is to get a dough type consistency not batter. So stop adding milk when you see the semolina is not crunchy any more or does not have much bite to it. 
Then add the grated khoya and mix. Take off from heat when the whole mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
Let it cool.

Now pinch little dough and start giving it the puli shape as shown in the picture. Keep them covered.  

Heat the ghee in a frying pan, again preferably non stick and fry the puli on low till they are evenly browned. Take off and keep covered.

While the dough is cooling start heating the milk with the condensed milk. Cook till it reduces and thickens (approx. 20 minutes). Remember it continues to thicken as it cools down. So take off from heat earlier depending on the consistency you are looking for.
Carefully drop the pulis in it and boil for 2 more minutes. Take off from heat and when it cools down a little mix in the jaggery. Best way to do it by mixing the jaggery to little milk and then adding to the pithe.

Serve at room temperature or cold.
you can also add fried cashews to it for more texture.

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10 comments

  1. Interesting and yummy recipe....

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  2. Interesting and yummy recipe....

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  3. Can you please pass me on that bowl? That is so comforting... yum...

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  4. Pithe looks very unique and traditional. This pithe is very new to me. It looks yummy..

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  5. Pitha is new to me. Looks very yummy and the festival theme behind is also very beautiful.

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  6. This looks quite fabulous! And with all those flavors, I can imagine it would be beautifully fragrant and tasty too :)

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  7. Hi Sayantani
    I chanced upon this blog and liked it so much that I tried two of your recipes in two days.
    My problem with this one is the pulis are falling apart while frying although I have followed your recipe in all its intricate details. Please help me fix this problem.

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  8. @Tania, thanks. I guess you need to press the pulis very tightly while preparing them. also the dough should be dry to touch without any moisture. little moisture in the dough will make the pulis fall off

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