Chosir Payesh|| Chushi Pithar Payesh

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Winters are not always an epitome of monotony. Rather, it is that part of the year which also brings forth the seasonal bounties and in a bong household, winter signifies perfume of nolen gur and gobindobhog rice. And also, the festival of Makar Sankranti. Makar sankranti also reminds us about the effort of a farmer . It reminds us of all the labors put in by our farmers from sowing of seed to reaping of grains., tireless days, industrious nights which he spent to give us our daily bread.

Chosi or chushi pithe is one of those preparations which is gradually losing its place from modern Bengali kitchens. While these days, chushi is easily available in the market, you can also hand roll them if you want. This is particularly for many Bengalis like me who stays away from West Bengal. Hand rolling them is absolutely a time killing job. But if you have kids around, you can ask them to help you. For my 3 rs old son, it was absolutely fun and he did help me in rolling few choshis

Once rolled and dried, they can be easily stored for at least six months in an air-tight container. If you do not have nolen gur with you, yo can also replace nolen gur with sugar.

Choshir Payesh

Course: Dessert                          

Cuisine: Bengali (Indian)

Preparation time: 10 minutes + chosi making time              

Cook time: 45 minutes 

Servings: 5-6

Ingredients

For chusi/chosi

  • 1 cup of rice powder
  • 2 tablespoons of semolina
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ cup of hot water or as required

For the payesh

  • 2 litres of full fat milk
  • ½ to 1 cup of date palm jaggery (nolen gur) grated to powder or small pieces (according to sweetness you desire)
  • ¼ cup of coconut (optional)
  • 2 bay leaves

Directions

For the chosi/chusi

  1. In a small pot take water and add salt to it.
  2. Once the water starts to bubble, add the rice flour and semolina to the pot with continuous stirring. Cover the flour and let it rest for 5 minutes. Also, by this time the temperature should come down and it will be easy to work on this dough.
  3. Now, knead the flour to a pliable and smooth dough. If the dough looks dry, add little water and knead again. And, if the dough is sticky add about a tbsp. of flour.
  4. Dust your working surface with some rice powder.
  5. Now, take a portion of the dough and roll it to a thin rope.
  6. Pinch out a pea sized portion of the dough from the rope and rub it between your palms or your working surface to give it a shape of a long grain of rice.
  7. Continue doing this for the whole dough. This will take sometime. I had engaged my 3 yrs old son to help me and did them in rounds.
  8. Once done, let the pithes dry in the sun for a good 2-3 hours for a couple of days. After they are sun dried you can store them in an airtight container for as long as six months.

For the Payesh

  1. Bring the milk to a boil. Throw in the bay leaf as the milk starts boiling. Let the milk reduce to 2/3 of the volume. Keep stirring in between to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom.
  2. Now, add the pithe and let it cook on medium flame for 10 mins.
  3. Add the gur to the milk and continue simmering till all the gur melts down. (Notes)
  4. Now, add in the coconut, if you are planning to add them and give it a hearty mix.
  5. Turn off the flame and let it cool. You can also serve it the next day. Chusi pithe like other pithe tastes best when served the next day.

Notes

  1. The dough should be covered with a wet towel. The rice flour dough tend to become dry sooner.
  2. The chusi/chosi shold not be very long while rolling, else they will break while cooking in milk.
  3. Gur or jaggery sometimes has adulteration which causes the milk to split. Take some hot milk in a bowl and to it add the jaggery, before adding them to the entire milk. If the milk splits, this jaggery cannot be used for the payesh. In that case, what you can do is, in a separate pot add water, heat it and to the water add the jaggery. Let the jaggery melt. As the jaggery melts, turn off the flame. Also, turn off the flame of the payesh before adding jaggery, and let the payesh cool a bit. Once, the payesh and the jaggery cools, add the jaggery to the payesh and stir.

Step by step instructions to prepare chusir payesh

In a small pot take water and add salt to it.

Once the water starts to bubble, add the rice flour and semolina to the pot with continuous stirring. Cover the flour and let it rest for 5 minutes. Also, by this time the temperature should come down and it will be easy to work on this dough.

Now, knead the flour to a pliable and smooth dough. If the dough looks dry, add little water and knead again. And, if the dough is sticky add about a tbsp. of flour.

Dust your working surface with some rice powder. Now, take a portion of the dough and keep the remaining covered under a wet towel.

Pinch out a pea sized portion of the dough from the rope and rub it between your palms or your working surface to give it a shape of a long grain of rice.

Continue doing this for the whole dough. This will take sometime.

Once done, let the pithes dry in the sun for a good 2-3 hours for a couple of days. After they are sun dried you can store them in an airtight container for as long as six months.

Bring the milk to a boil. Throw in the bay leaf as the milk starts boiling. Let the milk reduce to 2/3 of the volume. Keep stirring in between to prevent the milk from scorching at the bottom.

Now, add the pithe and let it cook on medium flame for 10 mins.

Add the gur to the milk and continue simmering till all the gur melts down. Now, add in the coconut, if you are planning to add them and give it a hearty mix.

Turn off the flame and let it cool. You can also serve it the next day. Chusi pithe like other pithe tastes best when served the next day.

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