Pithala

Pithala is a traditional Maharashtrian dish made with a spicy base of garlic- green-chillies and onions is cooked with gram flour besan) and water until thick. Served with bhakri, (flattened bread made up of rice or millets) it is a staple in Maharashtra, and makes for a quick, easy, nutritious and a full filling meal. Pithala is the poor mans food. Made with the simple ingredients and hearty. Pithala Bhakari is traditionally a farmer’s food. It’s often paired with raw onions (broken using your palms)and a spicy chutney called Thecha.

Pithala bhakri is the comfort food for most Maharashtrian families. It is a complete meal. Over the years, it has become a culinary delight has become immensely popular that has appeared on menu cards of small roadside eateries (The Zunka Bhakar Centres) to five-star hotels.

Pithala Bhakari and Sinhagad Fort, Pune

Talking about Pithale Bhakri and not thinking about Sinhagad seems unfair. Apart from the scenic and historic beauty that Sinhagad offers, the hands-down best Pithale Bhakri is served here. Cooked on the chul (wood fire), and the bhakri ,the taste is impeccable. Raw onions coated with red chilli powder and seasoned with a dash of lemon juice, the crisp kanda bhajis (onion fritters), aka khekda bhaji (called due to the shape) and thecha (green chilli and garlic chutney) are great sides to eat with this meal. And who can forget the luscious matka dahi -The curd set in earthen pots. After a long stroll on the fort, this meal is a must try.

Pithala and Traditions

Pithale is never made at my parent’s place. Pithale is often taken to the house in mourning. My Aaji (grandmother )was very strict when it came to these customs. As per traditions, the house in mourning usually eat simple basic food and pithala happens to fit the bill. I think, since Pithala uses very basic and readily available ingredients from the pantry this could be the reason. However, at my in laws place it is considered as a delicacy. It is made on a lazy kitchen day or on the day when you don’t have any veggies left and need something quick and tasty.

Zunka v/s Pithala

Both, Pithale and Zunka are prepared in the similar manner. The ingredients for both the are almost same. But there is some taste and viscosity variation for each type. Pithala has more water added while cooking. The consistency is thin and contains less chili and oil than zunka. Zunka is usually dry.

What is Bhakri? The perfect accompaniment to Pithala

Bhakri is a round unleavened flatbread.  It is coarser than a regular wheat roti and is gluten-free. It is usually made from bajra, jowar, ragi or rice flour, is a staple in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat. You can follow our Bajra Bhakri recipe to make bhakri. Just substitute Bajra withyour choice of flour.

Some important tips for making Pithala:

Pithala is a very simple recipe but it is also very easy to mess up. You don’t want to eat a clumpy mass of dry flour.

• When adding water to the besan, add little water at a time and mix well. Repeat this step until you achieve the desired consistency.
• The consistency of pithala is usually very thick when it is served with any flat bread like roti or bhakri but when serving with rice, you might want to add more water to the pithala.
• Pithala will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Leftover pithala will become thick. To reheat, heat some water in a pan and add pithala to it. Stir until well combined and cook till heated through.
• After adding the batter to the pan, the mixture will begin to thicken and become a lump. Once the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan anymore, consider it done.

Pithale

Recipe by Samrudhi MaheshCourse: MainCuisine: MaharashtrianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

25

minutes

A staple Maharashtrian delicacy

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon Oil

• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds

• A pinch of Hing

• 1 – medium sized – chopped

• 8~10 Curry leaves

• 1 cup Besan

• Garlic-Green chili paste (8-10 Garlic cloves & 4-5 Green chilies) -Check Notes

• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

• Water – 2.5 cups – 3 cups or as required

• Salt to taste

• Finely chopped Coriander leaves

Directions

• In a bowl add besan and a little of the water to make a paste. Gradually add the rest of the water so there are no lumps in the mixture. 
• Heat up oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add mustard seeds and let them pop up.
• Add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves, and onion. Mix well and fry until onion is translucent.
• When the onion begins to turn light golden add garlic-green chili paste, turmeric powder, and mix well.
• Fry everything well for about a minute.
• Add the besan – water mixture, salt, and mix well.
• Cook on medium heat stirring continuously until it thickens up a little.
• Cover and cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes.
• Add coriander leaves and mix well.
• Turn off the gas and pithale is already.

Notes

• You can use chopped garlic and green chili if you want.
• To make green chillies and garlic paste, I usually use a mortar and pestle. You can use a mixer grinder if you like.
• Leftover pithala will become thicker. To reheat, heat some water in a pan and add pithala to it. Stir until well combined and cook till heated through.

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SUGGESTED SERVINGS:

Pithala pairs really well with Bhakri and simply with rice too.

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