Pitha

Name	Pitha
Caption	bhapa piṭha
Country	India, Bangladesh
Region	Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam
Course	served as whole meal, as a snack, or as a dessert
Main ingredient	rice flour or wheat flour

Pitha (Assamese: পিঠা, piṭha, Oriya: ପିଠା) or pithe ( piṭhe) is a type of cake 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).

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 ( 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 ( khejurer guṛ). Some of the most common pithas found in Bengal (both in Bangladesh and West Bengal) include the following:

Chitui/chitoi piṭha

তেলের পিঠা Teler piṭha (lit. "oil pitha")

ভাপা পিঠা Bhapa piṭha (lit. "steamed pitha") or dhupi

Pakan piṭha: fried

পুলি পিঠা Puli piṭha: dumplings

বেনি পিঠা Beni piṭha (lit. "braid pitha")

দুধের পিঠা Dudher piṭha (lit. "milk pitha") or ভিজা পিঠা bhija piṭha (lit. "wet pitha")

চন্দ্র পুলি Chôndro puli

মুগের পুলি Muger puli

দুধ পুলি Dudh puli

Paṭi shapta

Mug pakon

Gokul

In Odisha

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

Arisa piṭha: deep-fried pitha made from rice flour with jaggery or sugar.

Manda piṭha: steamed pitha made from rice flour, often with a grated coconut and jaggery/sugar filling or a fresh cheese (chhena) filling.

Kakara pitha: very popular fried pancake made from wheat flour/semolina, often with a sweet cocunut filling.

Enduri Pitha: pitha made from rice flour and black gram, often with a jaggery and coconut or cheese filling, steamed in a turmeric leaf. Enduri pitha is a special delicacy of the Prathamastami festival.

Chakuli Pitha:(ଚକୁଳି ପିଠା) (chakuli) thin/thick pancake(set dosa) made from fermented rice and black gram, often eaten for breakfast. Thinner varieties are called saru chakuli, and resemble plain dosas. Often served with dalama(vegetable mixed with pulses)nadia chatni (coconut chutney) or kheeri, a rice dish.

Poḍa piṭha (lit. "burnt pitha"): slow-cooked pitha made from fermented rice and black gram, with chopped coconut. Its crust is slightly burnt, while the inside is soft and white,mostly during Raja Parva .

Chitau piṭha: fried pancake made from rice flour, coconut, and milk, often offered in pujas to Lord Jagannath on Chitalagi Amabasya (or Chitau Amavasya).somewhat similar to Appam of kerala.

Gaintha godi - Small balls made of rice flour dipped in seasioned sweet milk.speciality of pausha amavasya(baula amavasya)[12]

Karanji-A Dumpling made of maida and stuffed with coconut,cashew raisins.

Malpua - Sweetened deep fried batter of a mixture of bananas and flour

Suji Kakara Pitha - A sweet dish made of suji with coconut stuffing

Tala Pitha - A sweet dish made of palm fruit

and many more..

Visit the page for all sorts of Odia Pithas and also other sweet delicacies from Odisha/Orissa.

In Assam

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:

তিল পিঠা Til pitha (lit. "sesame pitha"): a baked pancake made from bora saul and filled with sesame seeds, ground coconut, dried orange rind, and jaggery. Also called hesa pitha since it is rolled and pressed.

Ghila pitha (lit. "knee pitha"): a fried pitha made from bora saul and jaggery. Salt can also be used instead of jaggery for a savory variant.

Sunga pitha: a special pitha made with both xaali saul and bora saul, which are mixed with water and jaggery and churned thoroughly before being placed in a young bamboo tube corked with banana leaf and roasted in fire. The resulting tube-shaped cake is then cut into pieces and served with hot milk.

Tekeli pitha (lit. "earthenware pitha"): a special pitha made with both xaali saul and bora saul, mixed with coconut, sugar, and powdered milk. Ground cardamom and dried orange rind can also be added. The pitha is steamed in an earthenware pot set on a hearth.

Xutuli pitha

Bhapotdiya pitha

Lakhimi pitha

Tora pitha

Muthiya pitha

Kholasapori pitha

Image gallery

Category:Bihari cuisine

Category:Cuisine of Assam Category:Bengali cuisine Category:Oriya cuisine Category:Indian desserts Category:Indian breads

A Pitha Lover's Tale