Bhapa Pithe / Coconut Stuffed Sweet Idlis

I remember the first time I made this, my ex-neighbour loved it so much she practically announced it to everybody she came across or knew.

I make this coconut mixture very frequently ... and use this to make laddoos or to stuff any kind of pithe ( cooked sweetmeat made of lentils & rice) .

So once while making idlis I thought of stuffing them with this filling .... a new sweet for my hubby. And the juicy, sweet filling was such a good foil to the usual bland idlis ... I have been making these regularly ever since .... whenever am making idlis .... sweet idlis are made too.
I have used jaggery for the filling ..... if you want you can use sugar too.

There is a Bengali pithe called the Bhapa ( steamed ) pithe that is made this way.

I don't know why the colour did not turn too dark ... the snaps would have looked even better. But the sweetness was perfect .... too much jaggery may have turned it slightly bitter.

Need :

For the idlis : Idli batter, a little cooking oil.

For the filling : Grated coconut, crushed elaichi / cardamom, jaggery.

How to : Heat a non stick kadhai/vessel. Put in the grated coconut with the jaggery and elaichi and cook well. Add a little water if you feel the need to melt the jaggery.
Take an idli stand. Apply a little cooking oil to the moulds.

Pour in a little batter. Place a spoonful of the filling on it. Now cover it with another spoonful of batter.

Steam like regular idlis.
Done ! :-)

Enjoy folks! And have a great Sunday! :-)