Simple wisdom, simple food :Panta Bhat

I am not a coach. I am not a philosopher either.

But being Indian, of a reasonably 'mature' age and the mother of a eleven-yr old, somehow coaching and philosophizing (if there is such a word) just comes naturally these days. 
May be it is in the blood.

If I add to that a dash of nodding head, I (and the person infront of me) almost feel that I really know what I am talking about.
;-)

This post is not about coaching or philosophy. This is about life's lessons, which in turn does have an element of coaching and philosophy embedded in it. 
But these are not mine.

This post is dedicated to a man I admire and respect.

Over the years, priorities change dramatically. Energy levels fall, the hair loses its natural colour, the eyelids are quite a rough journey for the eyeliner brush, the back experiences frequent aches, the patience fails more often and birthdays are not interesting anymore.

Facing all of the above gracefully while still managing to keep the mind young and fresh is something a few people can do.

He is one of them. 
Last week I attended his farewell at work.

A Russian by birth, an American by passport, an European by residence permit, and a global person by his travel record and information database, he is undoubtedly a very interesting person. He is also one of the most intelligent and witty human beings I have come across in my professional life. He is a senior scientist in the field of materials. He inspired me, encouraged me, loved me, respected me and taught me many things not only professionally but also about life in general.

He is not a person who can boast of his diplomacy. He says what he wants to say and usually gets away with it by pretending that his English is bad (very conveniently using his Russian card). He is known for his blunt comments which made working with him very difficult at times.
....Till he starts to respect you for whatever reason.

;-)

Extremely active and passionate about many things in life including work, he sometimes made the younger folk in the team tired with his enthusiasm and energy. Retirement is difficult for such a man. He looked sad. After all the farewell speeches from the team members were done, it was his turn to speak. I already knew he will speak only little but those few words will have a lot to say.

His farewell speech began with,

"We are all born from one ugly smelly sticky thing and end in another ugly grey useless thing...both equally bad.

Therefore what we do in between these two ugly things is very important ...that defines us as a human being."

People applauded. I am sure we all understood the truth behind the words.

He continued,

" I do not have a long speech but I have three tips to share with you.

1. Love what you do or at least fool yourself to make believe that you love what you do...Otherwise it is a disaster.

2. Keep changing. Change job, change lifestyle, change  drink, change dress, change hairstyle, change wife .....(audience clapped ;-)

3. Live for today and at the most for tomorrow but definitely not for day after tomorrow."

Some words can linger for a very long time after being spoken....these did.
Thank you Mark for everything.

Now, let's eat something. Because life's lessons do not have much of a meaning on a hungry stomach.
In lieu of the simplistic lessons we just learnt, we will eat something simple today. So simple that we do not have to cook what we eat today because it has already been cooked. (!!)

Panta Bhat ( Fermented rice: Poor Google struggled to translate)

I will not go into the history of this rice dish. The way I remember it is in summer, when we had leftover rice from the night before, Ma used to put water and keep it overnight.

Next morning, she fried onions and thinly sliced potatoes and green chillis, mixed it with the rice and served. The rice, a bit fermented due to heat had a faint sour taste. It was supposed to keep one's body cool and protect from the heat waves. Although my mom did not make this frequently, for me it was love at first bite. It is actually the combination of the fried things that made the rice taste super delicious. This fermented rice is called "Panta bhat".

After a long break from it (hostel, japan etc), I got to enjoy the taste of panta bhat again after my marriage when my mother inlaw mixed all the fried ingredients and even added some mustard oil to the mixture....sheer bliss...heaven on a plate.

After that we moved to the Netherlands. Panta bhat was nowhere on our radar till I met this foodie friend (yet-another-A) who claimed to have mastered the art of making panta bhat even in the cold climate of Holland.
When he described the process of how he keeps the rice in a warm pre-heated oven before going to sleep and even wakes up in the middle of the night to switch off the oven so as to achieve the exact fermentation....I was amazed!!
Bengalis are known for their food passion.....hats off to such a bengali person who "creates" panta bhat even in Holland! I know he is smiling while reading the post!
I have to admit I tried it too......
Delicious!

1. Soak the cooked rice in water overnight 
2. Fry some thinly sliced onions, potatoes and chillis, preferably in mustard oil.
3. Mix nicely. The texture should be a bit watery. Garnish with chopped raw onions.

On the bowl, replace the "S" in Pasta with a "N".  Panta is ready to be served!!!!

Camp and Calories with Rabri

The son is going for a camp from school.

11 yr old going away for 4 days.

Without parents.

First time.

Lot of excitement at home.  

The Bengali mother, although extremely tired from the weekend's Bengali New Years program, decided to make "luchi" for the camp going son.

'Aha...Bhogoban jane camp e ki khabe na khabe' (poor boy, God knows what food he will get at the camp).

Haha!

No, these were NOT the thoughts that raced through her mind.

While rolling out each luchi, trying to make them as circular as possible, she realized that she HERSELF was actually craving for luchi for sometime. The camp-going son was an excuse.

The son, who is born and brought up  in Holland loves luchi with "alu-r torkari". He was therefore overjoyed with the "luchi" news.

A-senior, smiled (a broad one) when he heard the "luchi" plan.

A foodie family...no doubt about that.

After a happy luchi meal, mother and son focused on packing. A-senior parked himself on the sofa and appointed himself as the supervisor. The camping list which has been hanging on the refrigerator door for the last four weeks was spread on the table, carefully looked at, each item ticked off the list as it went into the camping bag. 

The sleeping bag, the raincoat, the walking shoes, the pillow, .....and THE TORCH!

The torch somehow got the maximum attention.

The mom tried to convince the boy to take the torch that was already there at home. It was quite a slick-looking small modern torch.

The offer got rejected....Apparently it did not look like a CAMPING torch!!

Learning 1: The torch is the most important thing for a first-time-camp-going 11-yr old.

Packing was almost done.

The last item was a pillow. The parents had really taken the pillow more seriously than the torch. So a "camping" pillow was bought. A very nice one which you can blow up into quite a reasonable size and softness without bursting your lungs. Amazingly handy. So small. So convenient. So exciting.

I remembered the one from my childhood.  Dark brown Duckback. One had to almost empty his lungs to get some decent air into the pillows. We always carried it on our overnight train journeys.

A-senior blew into it and showed off the soft pillow with utter pride. He did it twice to demonstrate what a good choice the parents had made. The mom narrated her childhood air pillow story and mentioned how much better and more camp-friendly this pillow was.

But the teacher had instructed them to take normal small pillows and nothing in the world (no matter what the camp-excited-parents said) could change that!!

Finally the "normal" pillow won.
Learning 2: Never try to impose your own camping wishes on your child.

The Mom asked while packing "Do you want to eat something special when you are back from camp?"
A-junior replied, "Sheddho bhat!! [Boiled rice with eggs and potatoes]"

Learning 3:  Bangaliyana is in the blood. 

The bus came. The boys lined up with excited faces. The parents lined up with excitement-mixed-with-concern faces. The fathers checked the luggage, the mothers huddled around their kids giving last minute instructions "Sleep well (as if camp is about sleeping), Enjoy well (as if they wouldn't if not told to),  listen to your teachers (of course!)"

The bus left. All the parents kept waving. 
The mom could not see the son through the dark window glasses......but kept waving too...sure that an excited boy in the bus was waving back.
Learning 4: When your boy goes camping for 4 days, he surely has grown up. Accept it.

Rabri  

If you are one of those people who count their calories everyday, then this is the right moment to leave the blog and go for a run. This recipe is laden with calories, thousands of them. It is also laden with taste (specially if you love sweets). 
I am not a sweet lover but realized that I wanted to make Rabdi because I love Malpoa. The two of them go together.....
The cooking part is pretty simple, but the main ingredient is patience!!
No, a diet-rabri does not exist, do not search the net!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 liters Full milk
• 3 spoon sugar
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• Finely sliced almonds
• Few strands of saffron

Ready steady cook:

• Boil the milk at high heat in a heavy bottom pan.
• Wait till a layer of cream appears. Move the cream layer to the side of the pan with a spatula.
• Let the milk boil again and a fresh layer of cream appear.
• Move the cream layer to the sides again.
• Repeat this step till the milk is reduced to 1/3 the initial volume. [warned you about patience!!!]
• Add the sugar, the cardamom powder and the almonds.
• Now scrape the cream from the sides into the milk, mix well, cook for 2-3 minutes and then switch off the heat.
• Add a few strands of saffron.
• Let it cool down and then chill in the refrigerator.

I served it with warm Malpoa. HEAVEN!!

A dilemma and a Meat Loaf

As usual, many things happened over the last few days.

Easter came with a short break, good food and great company.

The T20 cricket world cup came with happiness, followed by sadness and a determined decision to officially join the fan club of Virat Kohli.

The Brussels and Lahore incident triggered helplessness and left us not knowing what to feel anymore for these incidents.

The collapsed bridge in Kolkata triggered anger no doubt, but got replaced by frustration very soon after that.

.... and many more things happened.

Amidst all this, life went on.....at its own pace.

..and THAT my friend is the only good news.

Life has been designed in such a way that it never stops for anybody or anything. This actually gives us the strength to face it. We all know in our hearts that there will be a TOMORROW, no matter what!...and that keeps us going.

Monday mornings tend to make me a bit philosophical. On some days I blame it on the weather, on some it is purely the alarm's fault, but on most days it is the emotional stress of knowing that the Sunday is gone. A large cup of Darjeeling tea at home, a bit of complaining to friends on Whatsapp and a cup of the machine coffee at work usually brings me back to normal, ready to face the week. I am able to appreciate life again and smile at the various 'small' things that happen everyday.

The Gift of Life.

A-junior's best friend was spending the weekend with us.

Since he is yet another A, we shall call him AA-junior. 

On the Sunday, A-junior wanted AA-junior to accompany him to the cricket field (ongoing tournament which he could not miss). But maybe AA-junior wanted to sleep in or play at home. Although he looked quite decided on this but every time his best friend asked him to come along there were flickers of dilemma. It was a difficult decision, no doubt.

I really wanted to help the boys to decide. 

Me: Look, if you keep on thinking both scenarios, you will never be able to decide. Why not put both options on  the table together and take a firm decision?

Boys: Sounds good.

Me: Let me make the two options clear. What do you want? Do you want to go along for cricket and spend the day with your friend but stay on the sidelines? Or do you want to stay at home with me and maybe play a bit on the i-pad and help me with household things?

Both boys were silent for a while carefully weighing what the options were and what they were signing up for.

After a few microseconds,

AA-junior said, "Your question does not help at all. Both options are equally good and bad. It is like asking, do you want to be rich and miserable or poor and happy?"

Pin drop silence at my end.

It is easier to face a Monday with a philosophical mood rather than face the young these days!

These newer models are logical, to-the-point and crystal clear!!

Finally he stayed home with me.

;-)

Meat loaf

I have always wanted to make this meat-loaf. Somehow it did not happen. It sounded and felt and looked too difficult. However, on that specific day, I simply had a lot of energy and a lot of chicken keema at home. I geared up my courage and began the journey of making the loaf.

It came out beautiful and tasty.

A-senior gave me a wordless, big smile on seeing it on his plate. 

Ingredients:

• Chicken keema: 350 gms
• Fresh spinach: 1 large bunch (only chopped leaves )
• 1 cup carrots (very small cubes)
• 1/2 cup roasted red paprica(capsicum): optional
• 1 cup fresh coriander (chopped)
• 1 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 large egg white
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 tsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup cream
• Salt and black pepper

Ready steady cook:

• Heat one spoon of olive oil in a pan.
• Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute.
• Add the spinach. Mix salt and pepper and saute for a while.
• In a separate bowl mix all the other ingredients (except the two boiled eggs). Add the sauteed spinach to it.
• Mix very well.
• Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.
• Pack the mix in a oiled loaf can. 
• Half fill it and add the two boiled eggs in between. Pack the rest of the mix on the top.
• Bake for 45-50 mins.
• Slice and serve. (both warm and cold taste good)
• I served it with steamed brocolli and mashed potatoes.

The value (price) of pain with Soba-chicken-noodle-soup

A-junior has bad luck with his teeth. For whatever reasons, his milk teeth refuse to fall out on their own. They want to stay with him forever.

This decision of theirs is totally unknown to the permanent teeth who are lined up already to come out and face the world. Most of them start their journey and find their path being blocked by very stubborn milk teeth who refuse to budge and give way.

This brings the dentist into our life in a permanent sort of way. 

Each and every milk teeth needs to be pulled out.

Painful. No doubt about that.

But what can we do?

After every such event, the dentist usually offers a little something like a small toothpaste or a magnet to pacify him. The parents also promise something, the thought of which helps him to face the pain in a better way and the recovery process goes faster. That "something" started off a bit big during the first such session (mom was in total panic mode when the howling 7-yr old looked accusingly at her as if to say "why are YOU doing this to me?"). So a toy was bought to make the child happy. However, later on as the story of the stubborn milk teeth gradually unfurled, the Mom realized that this is going to be more 'routine'. At some point of time it became so 'routine' that the budget for the "something" got substantially reduced. (I agree, how mean of a mother!!)

Time flew.....

After eight such stubborn milk teeth came a super stubborn one.

Meanwhile the mouth has been through some changes as well. It is now the proud owner of braces with hopes and promises of perfectly aligned white teeth in future which will win as many hearts as he can handle, I hope.

Due to this super stubborn milk tooth, a new character call the "gum surgeon" got introduced into the saga of the 'Stubborn Milk Teeth'. His title sounded so scary that I cannot blame the little boy when his face lost all colour on hearing this new development. The event, because of the complexity, had to be planned not at the dentist's, but at the hospital.

The day came, the event happened, the boy cried, the mom panicked, the dad pretended to be cool.

All ended well.

.....and then it was time for the pain compensation 'something'.

We came back home and opened an online toy store and he started looking for the toy he wanted. I, generously gave him a budget of 20 euros. After all, this time it was complicated!! A-junior, after considerable surfing could only find something of his liking of 32.99 euro.

Nothing else appealed to him. 
This "Transformer" character has been his dream character for a while, etc etc.

Mom reminded him of his budget constraint.

No, but this character can actually shoot small transformer weapons even!!!

Mom reminded the 20 euros again.

Mom:  But I really feel that the whole gum surgeon event was not THAT big. I think the pain was worth about 20 euros.

A-junior (tears filled up his eyes, tears of sadness mixed with tears of anger): But Mom, how do YOU know the pain I went through? I am 100% sure that the pain was of 32.99 euros!!!!!!

I shut up.
Knowing the price(value) of pain, even to the second decimal place is incredible!

Indeed who am I to judge the value of pain? especially the pain which I myself have not experienced?

Dear friends, this is no joke. I became very philosophical after this dialogue, had three more glasses of wine and tried to ponder deeply on this subject. Every time, the question took me deeper and deeper into the matter and I needed another glass to help me......

Before losing myself into the philosophy of life and everything complicated, let me cook some food. Food is needed for everything...

.....and drinks...also needed for everything.

;-)

Chicken Soba soup with Bok choy

I have lived in Japan for a long time. This dish took me years back to Japan, the same fresh taste, the same flavour, the same moments .....warm nostalgia in a bowl.

Ingredients:

• Soba noodles
• 1 Onion (chopped)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 carrots sliced
• 3 baby bak choy (sliced into two)
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• 200 gms of chicken strips
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2-3 tbsp soya sauce
• Chicken or Vegetable broth (Water is also fine)
• Black pepper

Ready steady cook

• Boil the soba noodles for 3-4 mins , drain with cold water  and keep aside.
• In a pan add the olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and the onions. Saute for a while.
• Add the chicken and the carrots. Fry for a while and add the bokchoy.
• Add the seasonings (salt, cayenne pepper, soya sauce, black pepper).
• Add the stock and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
• Put the soba in a bowl and pour the soup on top. Serve hot hot hot.

The exam season and some "flash back"

Yesterday while listening to a conversation of exam-worried mothers (my friends) on Whatsapp, I had a 'flash-back' moment.

Although for me, the board-exam-worried-mother phase is yet to begin [A-junior is still going to elementary school with a lunchbox and a water bottle], but I know that there is no escape. Especially, having studied in that system (in India), I totally  understand what the moms are going through.

Roles have changed. Now, we have become the mothers of the examinees and that is a very different feeling from being the examinee ourselves (this is true irrespective of country, system or culture).

There is stress in both cases but the 'type' of stress is different.

The examinee thinks  'will I be able to answer the questions'?

The Mother thinks "will he be able to answer the questions? Did he study enough? He is always on the ipad, when did he study? Will he have a good future? Am I too strict? How can I help him keep focus? Where can I ...? How can I ....? When can I ..?"

[I can fill the whole page with questions that race through her mind]

The stress is 'different'  .....

On Whatsapp, I wished my friend's son all the best saying "Physics is a piece of cake, cool" and asked my friend to "chillax"!!
In my heart, I went back to my days of stress....drifted into some "flash back " moments.......

Subject: Physics.

Time: Class 12th, pre-board exam

I was terribly stressed. The chapters Heat, Light and Electricity were to blame. So many problems, so many diagrams, so much theory! Really felt like the most difficult day of my life, Physics exam.

After the usual "baba ma ke pronam and doi -er tip"[blessings from parents and yogurt for good luck], I left for the examination hall. 
(Even today, when I am writing about it on my blog for fun, it still gives me the goose bumps, ha ha!). 
Anyway, the bell rang and the question papers were distributed. I quickly glanced through the paper. First glance told me that I knew most of the answers quite well. The good news was there were no problems from the chapters Heat and Electricity! Phew, what a relief, almost too good to be true! 

My pen started rolling. Since most problems were relatively known and within my comfort zone, I took time to draw nice diagrams with all answers, drew straight margins and tried to continue in the best of my handwriting..slow and steady. I even sharpened my pencil once or twice.  Having successfully finished my paper, I walked out of the hall, confident and happy. While riding back home, together with a friend, she asked, "Could you answer the question on coefficient of thermal expansion ?"
I fell from the sky. 
"But there were no questions on heat and electricity", I replied back.

My friend gave me a shocked look and said "What?? About half the questions were from those two chapters!!"

I could not believe my ears.....Hastily took out the question paper from my bag and glanced again. She took the paper from my hands and turned it! Next page had 5 questions on heat and electricity!

In my super-stress-converted-to-super-relief state of mind, I did not turn the page.

I had only answered/attempted half the questions.....

The world around me started becoming hazy as tears filled up my eyes.........
Managed to 'just' pass.

Subject: Physics.

Time: BSc, final exam

Again terrible stress. Exam time. Girls studying everywhere. Home sickness. Power cut. Candles. Mosquitoes. Hostel mess serving shitty food --gourd curry and rice, thats it!

(have to build up the sympathy factor among my readers to make them relate to my stress). 
Parents were not around, so no 'baba ma ke pronam' but friends made sure that we had the 'doi-er phonta' [yogurt luck]. 

A bit of digression here...have to say that friends in hostel become more than family.

The exam hall was as usual - tense.

Question papers were distributed. One quick glance and I realized that I did not know the answers to most of the questions. Read it again, as if reading it twice would trigger the 'light bulb' moment. Still blank. No clue where to start. Heart pounded so loudly .....I was certain everyone could hear it. I did not even dare to look up from my paper fearing that everyone else had started writing. I tried a few seconds of 'ooommmm' with closed eyes and then looked at the question paper again. Still the same unknown questions. Then I heard a hustle beside me. Looked up and saw a friend of mine submitting the answer paper and leaving the room. Within 5 mins another girl left. Looked around to see more blank faces like mine....I did not have the guts to leave a blank answer paper.
Focus focus, there must be something .......you have studied, girl!
There was one question which (on repeated reading) started to feel vaguely familiar.  A tangent galvanometer problem. I tried to solve the problem and then as an after thought wrote about all the different types of galvanometers I studied. 
;-)
At some point of time the stress vanished (surrendered to fate), a new nirvana sort of feeling kicked in and I found a few more things to write.
Have no clue how I managed to pass that paper......

Subject: Physics.

Time: MSc, 1st year
This incident actually comes from borrowed memory of my roomie-best-friend M. During our exam related discussion on whatsapp yesterday, she asked me how could I ever forget my stress during the master's exams?
I do not remember much of it. She does because she was my room mate...and am sure she had her Botany exams that day too!!;-))
Apparently I had serious stress for that paper (must be Electronics) and went for the exams already with a long face. Came back crying ...exams went very bad.  She said 'half of the hostel was there in our room in the evening to comfort you, you were so heart broken'.
;-))

How can a person with such a history even dare to say  "Physics is a piece of cake" and  "chillax"??
The only reason she can is because for her exams are "over" and she is not going to take one single exam anymore ..........kuch bhi ho jaye....
hihihihihi..hahahaha...hohohoho.....

I do not have a recipe today. 
Instead, let me share a photo from my camera which is so serene, so peaceful, so relaxing.....am sure will help to cope with some of your stress, specially if you are a mom and a Physics exam is coming up.....

photo: www.pinterest.com

High school selection and Patishapta

An excited (read 'tense') mother, a very excited (read 'cool') son and a moderately excited (read 'chill and cool') father are currently on a school tour.

According to the system here, junior school ends at the age of 12 and on the basis of a final test and overall performance, the school gives "advice" as to which level of high school the child can/should attend. This means that one needs to visit schools in the area on "open days"and get a 'feel' for it. This day is also a source of lots of  information on basis of which one is supposed to make the right choice for their children.

Haha!

Not so easy....

Carmel School, Durgapur  (my school)

Having studied in one school my entire life, this step is new. Exciting no doubt, but there is an element of 'newness' and 'decision making' which makes the mother 'tensely' excited!

There is an element of 'growing up' and 'not so much to worry about' which makes the son 'coolly' excited.

There is an element of "I know she will handle it"and "just cannot understand what is there to be tense about" which makes the father 'chill AND cool'.

;-)))

Brochures from many high schools have been lying on the living room table for the last few weeks. It was as if having them infront of my eyes 24/7 would already help me make my decision. They were also kept there with the hope (high hopes) that the cool boy would absentmindedly pick up one and ask specific questions to the mother, thus opening up meaningful conversation. None of the above happened.
The mother also discussed this in details with colleagues and friends who are from this system. All answers put together and a few sessions with the school teacher helped her understand the 'system' better and also pacified her nerves to some extent. ( A few glasses of red wine while reading the brochures definitely helped too but let me not digress from the topic).
The choice has been narrowed down to two schools. 
The first open day is a very nice experience. As the trio enter school A,  A-junior though visibly shy at first starts showing considerable excitement.
Within 5 minutes he declares "this is the school I want to come to!"
The parents are really surprised because in 5 minutes they have only reached the central atrium after passing through the main door and one corridor. What is it that triggered such a confident choice? What have we missed? What did we not notice in our excitement?
He understood that we were struggling to understand the reason for his choice.

"Have you seen the cool lockers Ma? Fully electronic operated with own card!! I really want to study in  this school".

Of course!! THAT is the criterion to choose a school...
......and we were thinking of talking to the teachers, visiting the classes, going to the labs and THEN taking a decision......parents can be so "not-cool"!
;-))

The next open day made life difficult. 
Surprise!!!!!!School B also had fancy lockers. 
Electronic, own card..the whole lot!!
What a dilemma for the 11-yr old boy!!

Let him sort it out while I cook something nice.......

Patishapta

This is a typical Bengali dish--it is so traditional, so heartwarming, so authentic...........
Just as the winter is about to vanish mid January, Bengalis celebrate Sankranti with a huge platter of Pithe-Puli. These are extremely tasty and sweet objects which are hard to resist and contribute immediately to the mid region of one's body. Since we are very "calorie conscious" these days and do not allow a single extra calorie intake from what is prescribed by Mr. Atkins, we are gradually moving away from these recipes .To add to that, these recipes also require quite some effort, time and patience to make. In today's fast world, we do not have much left of these three. Hence these recipes are vanishing from our plates very fast.
Not from our hearts though.
As the patishapta melts in my mouth....I feel like saying..."WHAT CALORIES??"
This is purely a "Gift of Life".
;-)

Ingredients:
For batter:

• 1/2 cup Rice flour
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup Semolina
• 1 cardamom powder
• 2-3 tbsp sugar 
• 2 cups milk

• Filling:
• 2 cups grated coconut
• 1 cup sugar/jaggery
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup kheer/khowa/milkpowder/condensed milk(optional but highly recommended)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Ready steady cook:

• In order to prepare the filling, first cook the coconut and milk and sugar in a wok. Add the khowa/kheer.
• Keep stirring so that it does not stick to the bottom.
• The end product should be sticky and like a dough.
• Add the cardamom powder also. Mix well and let it cool
• For the patishapta batter:
• Mix all the ingredients together
• Add milk and keep mixing well such that there are no lumps in the batter.
• Keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Now in a nonstick pan, add little bit of oil
• Pour a small portion and spread it evenly (like dosa, but smaller)
• Add the filling in the center.
• Neatly fold the two sides 
• Let it cook over medium heat till it changes the colour from white to very light brown
• Serve with molten jaggery on top (optional)

School photo:(durgapurcityonlinemobile.bugs3.com)