Pitha
Encyclopedia
Pitha (Sanskrit
: पिष्टा, अपूप) 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
).
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
, cashew
s, pistachio
s, sweetened vegetable
s, or fruit
s. 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 dessert
s or holidays.
.
While some pithas can be made any time of the year in Bengal
(Bangladesh
and India
n West Bengal
), there are special pithas strongly associated with harvest festival
s 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:
, Pithas 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:
. 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:
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: पिष्टा, अपूप) or pithe ( piṭhe) is a type of cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
or bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
common in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, especially the eastern states of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, and the northeastern region. Pithas are typically made of rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....
, although there are some types of pitha made of wheat flour
Wheat flour
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. More wheat flour is produced than any other flour. Wheat varieties are called "clean," "white," or "brown" if they have high gluten content, and they are called "soft" or "weak" flour if gluten content is low...
. Less common types of pitha are made of palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
or ol (a local root vegetable
Root vegetable
Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...
).
Preparation
Pithas are primarily made from a batterBatter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
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
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...
, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, radish
Radish
The radish is an edible root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family that was domesticated in Europe, in pre-Roman times. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, color and duration of required cultivation time...
, or potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
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
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, jaggery
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
, date juice, or palm syrup
Palm syrup
Miel de palma is an edible sweet syrup produced from the sap of a number of palms. It is produced in the Canary Islands and coastal regions of South America.-Species:...
, and can be filled with grated coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, cashew
Cashew
The cashew is a tree in the family Anacardiaceae. Its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree, caju, which in turn derives from the indigenous Tupi name, acajú. It is now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.-Etymology:The...
s, pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
s, sweetened vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, or fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s. Sweet pithas are also often flavored using cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
or camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
.
Depending on the type of pitha being prepared, pithas can be fried
Frying
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g...
in oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
or ghee
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....
, slow-roasted
Roasting
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting usually causes caramelization or Maillard browning of the surface of the food, which is considered by some as a flavor enhancement. Roasting uses more indirect, diffused heat , and is...
over a fire, steamed
Steaming
Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. Steaming is considered a healthy cooking technique and capable of cooking almost all kinds of food.-Method:...
, or baked
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
and rolled over a hot plate.
Pithas are often eaten at small meals such as breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
or as a snack with tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, although there are many sweet varieties that are reserved for dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
s or holidays.
Regional variation
Pithas vary considerably across the regions of the eastern Indian SubcontinentIndian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
.
In Bangladesh and West Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
(Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
), there are special pithas strongly associated with harvest festival
Harvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
s such as Nabanna
Nabanna
Nabanna is a Bengali harvest celebration usually celebrated with food and dance and music. It's a festival of food; many local preparations of Bengali cuisine like pithe are cooked and offered.-Celebration:...
( nôbanno, lit. "new rice" or "new food") and the Poush parbon (the Poush
Poush
Poush is the 9th month of both the Bangla calendar and the Nepali Calendar. It overlaps December and January of the Gregorian calendar. It is the first month of the winter season....
festival). Pithas are often served with sweet syrups such as date
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
tree molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
( 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
- Chui Pitha or Chutki Pitha (Traditional Old Dhaka Pitha)
In Orissa
In OrissaOrissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Pithas are special delicacies in an Oriya
Oriya people
The Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
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:
- Arisa piṭha : deep-fried pitha made from rice flour with jaggery or sugar.
- Manda PithaManda PithaManda Pitha , is a steamed Pitha which is prepared in every parts of Orissa during festivals falling on Monsoon and Post Monsoon seasons like Manabasa guruvar, Durga Puja, Kumar Purnima, Gamha Purnima etc....
: steamed pitha made from rice flour, often with a grated coconut and jaggery/sugar filling or a fresh cheese (chhenaChhenaChhena or Oriya: ଛେନା ) or Chhana is fresh, unripened curd cheese widely used in India and Bangladesh. A crumbly and moist form of farmers cheese or paneer, it is used to make desserts such as rasgulla. It is created in a similar process to paneer except it is not pressed for as long...
) filling. - Kakara pithaKakara pithaA very sweet deep fried cake from Orissa offered to God and served hot or cold on many festivals.-Ingredients:Atta – 300 gmChinni -250 gmNadia – ½ a CoconutGujurati – 4 pcsChhena-100 gm...
: very popular fried pancake made from wheat flour/semolina, often with a sweet cocunut filling.http://www.odiakitchen.com/category/oriya-cakes/http://www.odiakitchen.com/wp-content/themes/newodtheme/thumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/suji-kakara_10.jpg&h=210&w=250&zc=1&q=90 - Enduri PithaEnduri PithaEnduri Pitha is a variety of Pitha made in the Indian state of Orissa on the occasion of Prathamastami.-Ingredients:Turmeric leaves, Black Gram, Rice flour, Coconut, Jaggery, Black pepper, Chhena-Benefits:...
: pitha made from rice flour and black gram, often with a jaggery and coconut or cheese filling, steamed in a turmericTurmericTurmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
leaf. Enduri pitha is a special delicacy of the PrathamastamiPrathamastamiPrathamastami is a rite is held in Orissa, India, for the life and prosperity of the eldest child who is offered a lighted lamp ovation by the senior female relatives followed by elaborate rituals during which the Mantras are recited...
festival. - Chakuli PithaChakuli PithaChakuli Pitha is an Oriya flat, rice based fried cake traditionally made in the state of Orissa.-Ingredients:Rice flour , black gram , refined edible oil most favorable will be ghee or mustard oil,salt .It traces its origin during early 4th Century BC when Buddha had tasted the Chakra apoopa from...
: (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 dosaDosaDosa or Dhosai is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is indigenous to and is a staple dish in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, as well as being popular in Sri Lanka...
s. 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 ParvaRaja ParvaRaja Parba or Mithuna Sankranti is a four day long festival and the second day signifies beginning of the solar month of Mithuna from, which the season of rains starts...
. - Chitau piṭha : fried pancake made from rice flour, coconut, and milk, often offered in pujas to Lord JagannathJagannathJagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
on Chitalagi Amabasya (or Chitau Amavasya). - 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 rice batter
In Assam
In Assam, pitha is a special class of rice preparation generally made only on special occasions like BihuBihu
Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...
. Assamese pithas are often made from bora saul
Bora saul
Bora saul is a variety of glutinous rice found in Assam. It has an important role in Assamese traditional occasions like Bihu. It is used in Jolpan and Pitha . Soaked and ground bora saul is used in preparing Pitha. Boiled bora saul is served as Jolpan with curd or milk, jaggery or sugar...
, a special kind of glutinous rice
Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...
, 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 sesameSesameSesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
seeds, ground coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, dried orangeOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
rind, and jaggeryJaggeryJaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
. Also called hesa pitha since it is rolled and pressed. - Ghila pitha (lit. "knee pitha"): a fried pitha made from bora saul and jaggeryJaggeryJaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
. SaltSaltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
can also be used instead of jaggeryJaggeryJaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
for a savory variant. - Sunga pitha: a special pitha made with both xaali saul and bora saul, which are mixed with water and jaggeryJaggeryJaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
and churned thoroughly before being placed in a young bambooBambooBamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
tube corked with bananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
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 coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, and powdered milkPowdered milkPowdered milk is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated, due to its low moisture content. Another purpose is to reduce its bulk for...
. Ground cardamomCardamomCardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
and dried orange rind can also be added. The pitha is steamed in an earthenwareEarthenwareEarthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
pot set on a hearthHearthIn common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
. - Xutuli pitha
- Bhapotdiya pitha
- Lakhimi pitha
- Tora pitha
- Muthiya pitha
- Kholasapori pitha