Pitha

Pitha

bhapa piṭha
Origin
Place of origin India, Bangladesh
Region or state Dhaka, Rangpur, Assam, Bengal, Orissa, Bihar
Dish details
Course served served as whole meal, as a snack, or as a dessert
Main ingredient(s) rice flour or wheat flour

Pitha (Assamese: পিঠা, Bengali: পিঠা piṭha, Oriya: ପିଠା), (Sanskrit: पिष्टा, अपूप) or pithe (Bengali: পিঠে piṭhe) is a type of cake, dimsum or bread common in Bangladesh and India, especially the eastern states of Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the northeastern region. Pithas are typically made of rice flour, although there are some types of pitha made of wheat flour. Less common types of pitha are made of palm or ol (a local root vegetable).

Contents

Preparation

Pithas are primarily made from a batter of rice flour or wheat flour, which is shaped and optionally filled with sweet or savory ingredients. When filled, the pitha's pouch is called a khol (lit. "container") and the fillings are called pur.

For stuffed vegetable pithas, ingredients such as cauliflower, cabbage, radish, or potato are usually fried, baked, or steamed, and then mashed, cooled, and formed into small balls to stuff into the pithas.

Sweet pithas typically include sugar, jaggery, date juice, or palm syrup, and can be filled with grated coconut, cashews, pistachios, sweetened vegetables, or fruits. Sweet pithas are also often flavored using cardamom or camphor.

Depending on the type of pitha being prepared, pithas can be fried in oil or ghee, slow-roasted over a fire, steamed, or baked and rolled over a hot plate.

Pithas are often eaten at small meals such as breakfast or as a snack with tea, although there are many sweet varieties that are reserved for desserts or holidays.

Regional variation

Pithas vary considerably across the regions of the eastern Indian Subcontinent.

In Bangladesh and West Bengal

While some pithas can be made any time of the year in Bengal (Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal), there are special pithas strongly associated with harvest festivals such as Nabanna (Bengali: নবান্ন nôbanno, lit. "new rice" or "new food") and the Poush parbon (the Poush festival). Pithas are often served with sweet syrups such as date tree molasses (Bengali: খেজুরের গুড় khejurer guṛ). Some of the most common pithas found in Bengal (both in Bangladesh and West Bengal) include the following:

In Orissa

In Orissa, Pithas (Oriya: ପିଠା) are special delicacies in an Oriya home. On traditional festivals sweet pithas form a part of the celebrations. Even pithas are also routinely prepared and served in Oriya homes in normal days. The pitha may be broadly put in the category cakes. Some Oriya pithas include the following:

In Assam

Main article: Assamese Jolpan

In Assam, pitha is a special class of rice preparation generally made only on special occasions like Bihu. Assamese pithas are often made from bora saul, a special kind of glutinous rice, or xaali saul, or sun-dried rice. Some pithas commonly found in Assam include the following:

Image gallery

References

  1. ^ "Making of Sunga Pitha". http://www.kavitasaharia-myroom.com/2010/01/bhogali-bihu-of-assamuruka-bhoj-and.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 

External links

Indian breads
  • Recipes on WikiBooks
  • Category:Indian breads
  • The Food Portal
  • The India Portal
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