Pitha

Pitha
Varieties of Pitha for a wedding in Bangladesh
CourseWhole meal, snack or dessert
Place of originIndian subcontinent
Associated cuisineAssamese cuisine, Bengali cuisine, Odia cuisine, Bhojpuri cuisine, Jharkhandi cuisine, and Maithili cuisine
Main ingredientsRice flour or wheat flour
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Pitha

Pitha (piṭhā; also called piṭhē) are a variety of food similar to pancakes, dumplings or fritters, originating from the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent (i.e., South Asia). Pitha can be sweet or savoury, and usually made from a dough or batter, which is then steamed, fried or griddled. Very few varieties are oven-baked or boiled, and most are unleavened and cooked on a stovetop (or equivalent). Some versions may have a filling, garnish, or sauce. Few may be set or shaped after cooking. They are typically eaten as a snack with chai, or as treats during special occasions (similar to mithai).

Pitha is especially popular in the eastern region of Indian subcontinent, like Bangladesh and Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and the Northeast Indian states, especially Tripura and Assam. 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 khōl (literally "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 contain sugar, jaggery, date juice, or palm syrup, and can be filled with grated coconut, fried or roasted sesame seeds, 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 during breakfast, as a snack with (often with tea), and in dinner or lunch. Although there are many sweet varieties that are reserved for desserts or holidays.

Different pithas from each region

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

In Odisha

In Odisha, pitha are a group of festive preparations, usually prepared on ritual days as part of an Ōṣā or Brata. Pithas are part of the Mahaprasada and are prepared every day by the Mahasuaras in the Roshasala of the Jagannatha Temple, Puri. They have been prepared in the same method for several millennia in the temple kitchen. Several pithas owe their origin to the state. Some common pithas are:

In Assam

Til pitha

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, sun-dried rice. Some pithas commonly found in Assam include the following:

In Bangladesh, West Bengal, Tripura

Puli Pitha
Taal Pitha
Bhapa pitha
Patisapta pitha, Kolkata, West Bengal

It is also called pitha (Bengali: পিঠা; piṭha). While some pitha can be made at any time of the year in Bengal (Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal), there are special pitha strongly associated with harvest festivals such as Nabanna (Bengali: নবান্ন nôbanno, literally "new rice" or "new food") and the Poush parbon or Makar Sankranti, celebrated on 14 January every year. During the autumn and winter seasons, festivals dedicated to pitha called pitha mela or pitha utshob are held locally all over Bangladesh.

Some common ingredients in pitha are rice flour, milk, coconut and jaggery. It is often served with sweet syrups such as date tree molasses (Bengali: খেজুরের গুড় khejurer guṛ). A few of the most common pitha found in Bengal include the following:

There are thousands of different pithas in every region of Bengal; these are just a few examples.

In Bhojpuri region

There is a tradition of preparing Pitha on the occasion of Godhan in Bhojpuri region. It is prepared with soaked and then ground rice and pulses. Pitha is also used as a ritual offering in the region. During Budhwari Puja, observed in the month of Sawan, jayi pitha (barley pitha) is marked with vermilion and offered as part of the ritual. Pitha is also offered with plain tasmai during the Amarpitha puja in the month of Katik. In the Bhojpuri region, Pitha is also offered as part of the worship of the Ganga river.

Some pithas commonly found in Bhojpuri region include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Debi, Prasanna Kumari (1997). Odisi Randhana Kala ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ ରନ୍ଧନ କଳା [Art of Odia Cuisine] (in Odia). Odisha.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ "Anguli Pitha from Babita's Kitchen - Assamese Sweet Dish". 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ↑ K̲h̲udā Bak̲h̲sh Lāʼibreri jarnal. K̲h̲udā Bak̲h̲sh Oriyanṭal Pablik Lāʼibreri. 2007. Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  4. ↑ Ojhā, Satyadeva (2006). भोजपुरी कहावतें: एक सांस्कृतिक अध्ययन (in Hindi). Vaṇī Prakāśana. ISBN 978-81-8143-562-0.
  5. ↑ Shrivastva, Dr Shailesh (2009-01-01). Bhojpuri Sanskar Geet Aur Prasar Madhyam (in Hindi). Radhakrishna Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-8361-309-5.
  6. ↑ "गोजा पीठा (goja pitha recipe in Hindi) रेसिपी बनाने की विधि in Hindi by Rekha Burnwal". Cookpad (in Hindi). 2021-05-16. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  7. ↑ Smita (2019-10-30). "Dal ke Phare / Dal Pitha". myspicetrunk. Archived from the original on 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  8. ↑ Smita (2019-10-30). "Dal ke Phare / Dal Pitha". myspicetrunk. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2023-11-24.