Bhaja Pithe

5 from 2 votes

Course Dessert

Cuisine Bengali

Diet Vegetarian

Keyword authentic bengali moong daal-er bhaja pitha recipe, Bhaja Pithe recipe, Bhaja Pooli recipe, Debjanir Rannaghar

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings Pitha

Calories 183kcal

Cost Rs 400

Get Recipe Ingredients

Take two coconuts and, after breaking them, scrape the coconuts.
Please note that with 2 coconuts and 350g patali gur, you will make coconut stuffing in bulk to make around 60 Pithas. To make less, use one coconut and 175g of Gur instead.
Place the scraped coconut in a pan and cook for 2 minutes over a low flame.
Now, add 350g Patali Gur, also known as Date Palm Jaggery.
Mix the gur with Coconut using a spatula (called a Khunti in Bengali).
Continue mixing and cook for 7-8 minutes over a low flame to create a sticky stuffing.
This stuffing is known as "Chhai" in Bengali.
Switch the flame off.
Wait until the mixture comes to room temperature before using it further.
You can prepare the stuffing in advance and make pitha as needed.

Remove the skin of the Sweet Potato and cut it into small pieces.
Now, heat a pan and dry-roast the moong dal on a low flame.
Do not over-roast the daal. 2 minutes would be sufficient.
The moong deal must have a nice golden color after roasting. Switch the flame off.
Stir to avoid browning.
Now, add water and wash the daal at least three times, then discard the water.
Transfer the washed daal to a pressure cooker.
Now add ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and ⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder.
Now add Sweet potato chunks.
Add water to cover the daal. Do not add extra water. Please check the video recipe to understand the water level.
Put the Lid on, along with the vent weight.
Cook on low flame till the pressure cooker releases pressure 3 times (3 whistles).
Switch the flame off and open the lid when the pressure drops completely.
Check the dal. It should be properly cooked with no extra moisture in the cooker by this time.
Now start adding Rice Flour when the daal is hot.
Start with 1 Cup and mix. Add another cup of rice flour in between.
Mash sweet potatoes properly.
Transfer half of the dough to a flat surface.
Keep adding rice flour and keep kneading.
For the entire daal and sweet potato, you need around 500g of rice flour.
The dough should be soft and pliable yet smooth.
Keep it covered with a wet cloth for 10 minutes before making the balls.
Make small balls (2-inch diameter).
You can see in the video how smooth these balls are.
Around 50 balls will be made with the ingredients we have used.

Now heat around 350ml of Vegetable Oil.
Check the oil by frying a tiny portion of the dough.
Depending on the diameter of the kadhai, start frying 4-6 moong dealer bhaja pithe at one go.
Keep the flame medium.
Fry the pithe till they turn golden in color.
Flip in between.
It will take around a minute to fry one batch.
Strain the moong pithe and fry the next batch.
Serve Bhaja Pithe hot or at room temperature.
I prefer Bashi Pithe more! This means I prefer to keep the pithe at least for one day after frying and then serve it. This time helps the pithe to season.

In the Bhaja Pithe recipe video, we have shown the traditional process of scraping coconut. You can for sure use packaged coconut.
Sweet Potato works as a binding agent and gives a subtle sweet flavor to the outer coating of bhaja pooli.
Instead of a Pressure cooker, you can use another utensil to boil the daal. Using a pressure cooker is an effective and efficient way to do it and can save time. However, if you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use a heavy-bottomed utensil to boil the daal. This will take longer, but it will work.
In my family, we do not soak bhaja pithe in sugar syrup any further. Moongmasali (soaked Bhaja Pithe) is prepared separately at ours.