The festival of Bihu brings with it a wholesome community feast for all the Assamese people. Along with the delicious jolpaan and laddoos, pithas are a must-have during Bihu. These pithas are generally made with sticky rice flour called Borasaul. Borasaul is first washed properly to remove all the impurities, then drained and finally dried before grinding it into a fine powder. However, the culinary culture has now evolved with time and people can buy Borasaul rice flour from the market too. Here are five delicious pithas of Assam that you need to try at least once in your life.
1.Narikolor pitha
Being the most popular and flavourful pitha amongst all, Narikolor pitha is quite easy to make. A disc is made on a tawa and is filled with a fried mixture of coconut and sugar. This disc is then folded in half to give it a half-moon shaped and is served hot.
2.Tilor pitha
Similar to the Narikolor pitha in terms of procedure, Tilor pitha is every Assamese’s favourite. Filled with a paste of sesame seeds and jaggery, Tilor pitha is quite rustic in its way. The pitha is rolled before serving it.
3.Khulasapori pitha
Made with a thin batter of Borasaul rice flour, water and salt, Khulasapori pitha has a savoury flavour profile. The batter is spread in the form of a disc on a hot tawa. Finely chopped onions and coriander leaves are added when the pitha is halfway cooked.
4.Laopala pitha
This melt-in-mouth pitha is made with bottle gourd and jaggery. The bottle gourd is finely chopped, boiled and made into dough along with grated coconut. The dough is then divided into medium-sized balls, fried and soaked in a jaggery mixture before serving.
5.Pani pitha
As the name suggests, pani pitha is boiled in water. A mixture of rice flour, salt and sugar is made and is brought to a consistency of a dough. This dough is then shaped into long balls, like the shape of a pointed gourd and is then boiled in water to cook.
The pithas of Assam are generally served hot as the rice flour becomes a little hard in texture on cooling down. You can also serve them with any chutney or curry if you want.