Contest Entry for Cuisinart 2019 Event *
“Dudh” means milk in Bengali and “puli” is another name for pitha. Dudh puli can be described as rice flour dumpling with coconut filling.
by Mitali Kumar
Ingredients:
2 cups coarse semolina
3 cups water
2 cups fresh shredded coconut
1 cup date palm jaggery
2 tablespoon of sugar
3-4 green cardamom
¼ gallon of milk
1 tablespoon of clarified butter( ghee)
Method:
In a non-stick pan heat ghee then sauté shredded coconut for few seconds, add ¾ cup of jaggery, ¼ cup of milk, mix it well. Cook it in a medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens (should not be too dry). Turn the heat off and add cardamom powder. Take it out in a container and let it cool. This mixture will be used as filling for Puli.
Then boil 3 cups of water in a non -stick pan, in a low heat add semolina. Mix it well with spatula first. It will look like a lump. Turn the heat off, wait for a minute or so until it’s not too hot. Knead it with hand for approx. 3 minutes until the dough is smooth. It should be done while the dough is still warm.
After this make round balls( approx.12 balls) out of this dough . Use little bit of ghee just to oil your palm so that the shells will not stick. Roll each ball into flat circular dumpling shell of about 3 inches diameter. Wet the edges using few drops of cold water with the help of your finger. Fill each Puli with 1 tablespoon of coconut mixture or less and seal with all sides nicely. Finish making all the Pulis the same way.
In a non- stick pan add the rest of the milk and let it boil in low medium heat, keep stirring frequently, then after 2-3 minutes add sugar and stir it nicely. After this turn the heat really low, add Pulis in milk very gently. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 6 minutes and turn them once very gently. When you feel the surface of the pulis are little slippery, then you know Pulis are fully cooked. In the end add rest of the jaggery. Let it boil for about a minute in a low heat and then turn the heat off. The whole process of boiling pulis will take about 8 minutes. Delicious Dudh Puli is ready!! You can serve this warm garnished with sliced almond!
Dudh Puli by Mitali Singer
* CUISINART 2019 is another novel concept event from Calcutta Club USA, building on the exciting foundation of CUISINART for the past three years, the live Indian culinary contest. Fusing food, music and art, Cuisinart hosts a fine South Asian style cooking competition among non-professional chefs followed by a live art with music session for charity.
