India is a country of so many cultures and cuisines. Yet, there's always a touch of similarity.
So we find South India's Idli replicated in Assam's Pitha. They look the same but taste so, so different, Ronjita Kulkarni discovered on a recent trip to Assam.
Both are made of rice, but while one is savoury, the other is sweet.
Pitha is a snack, which can be had with Chole Chaat or just a cup of tea and its relatively easy to make if you find the right container or pot.
Ingredients
Serves: 2-3
- 2 cups approximately glutinous rice
- 100 gm sesame seeds, roasted
- Jaggery or sugar to taste
Method
- Soak the rice in several cups water overnight.
- Drain well the next morning for maybe half an hour.
Grind without water, so it has a powdery Kerala puthu type consistency.
- Have water boiling in a large saucepan, with a narrow mouth and tie a handkerchief across its mouth.
In a flat katori or bowl add a small quantity of the wet rice powder.
Then add a layer of mixed jaggery and til.
Follow it with another layer of rice powder and invert the katori onto the cloth covering the mouth of the boling pot of water.
- Cover and let it steam till cooked and it holds together as a rice cake.
Serve with chai or Chole Chaat.
Watch the video to see how it's made in traditional Assam style.
Video: Ronjita Kulkarni