Pithe

Pithe or Piţha are a kind of rice cuisine of Assam, Orissa, Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the general Northeast Indian region — Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. In Orissa they are called as Pitha. They are usually made from rice but there are some preparations which will use wheat.

The pithe preparations have a base made of starch (either rice or wheat) and a raw uncooked batter is prepared out of these, which will eventually be used to make a kind pouches where some additional filling will be put (sweet, vegetable, meat etc). The pouch is called "khol" (means the container) and the fillings are called "pur" (the filling).

Pitha in Assam

Pitha is a special class of rice preparation generally made only on special occasions like Bihu in Assam. Made usually with soaked and ground rice, they could be fried in oil, roasted over a slow fire or baked and rolled over a hot plate. Some pithas are- Til Pitha, Ghila Pitha, Xutuli Pitha, Sunga Pitha, Bhapotdiya Pitha, Lakhimi Pitha, Tora Pitha, Tekeli Pitha, Muthiya Pitha, Kholasapori Pitha etc.

Misti Pithe

These are the sweet side of the preparation of pithe, these recipes will usually use sugar

* sugar juice or jaggery
* different sweet substances
* Date fruit juice
* palm syrup

etc and also some sweet fruit will be used either with the preparation of the "pur" or even with the rice flour. And usually the pur is made of

* grated coconut
* Sweetened vegetables

etc.

And the additional spices depending on the flavour chosen

* cardamom
* camphor
* cashew
* pistachio

etc.

The sweetened fillings are put into the pouches into small oyster shaped or oval shaped or even flat shaped usually small pithes. A few of the pithes will then be steamed, or fried or baked together to get the full flavour.

The sweet pithe sometime go additional treatment with milk, in a payesh kind of preparation which is called the dudh pully these are probably the most popular sweet with the bengalis only second that to rasogolla.

Vegetable Pithe

The "khol" will be very similar although there are some slight difference in the amount of water will be used in preparing the flour since usually the vegetables have lot of water in them.

"pur" will be prepared in a separate cooking sessions. Usually fried, baked or mashed, or steamed vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage, radish, potato). It will be then cooled and make into small balls will be put into the pouches or "khol". And then the khol will be steamed. Or fried in Oil or ghee. Or even baked in coal fire.

Unusual Pithe

Some pithe are not made from rice or wheat or any starch khol, these are unusual pithes, these pithes include the palm pithe or Ol (a kind of root vegetable) pithe. These are very rich and come in very delicate flavours.

Nabanna

Piţhas are usually a celebration of the new crop or nabanna (literally new crop). The most of the ganga plain is a highly rice producing farmland which made the bengalis celebrate the nabanna with several additional ritual. Though pithe can be made any time in the year and is usually made but often is strongly associated with harvest festivals and also with "poush parbon" (the festival of Poush).

Piţhas are usually enjoyed with the sweet syrups of "khejurer gur" (date tree molasses). They are usually fried or steamed; the most common forms of these cakes include "bhapa piţha" (steamed), "pakan piţha" (fried), and "puli piţha" (dumplings), among others. The other common pithas are "chandrapuli", "gokul", "pati sapta", "chitai piţha", "muger puli" and "dudh puli".