Suara Pitha

Suara Pitha.

Preparation Time - 20 minutes

Soaking time - 4 hours

Cooking time - 25 minutes

Ingredients

1. 1 cup split black gram with skin (urad dal)

2. ¼ cup rice flour

3. 1 inch ginger, grated

4. ½ teaspoon salt

5. ½ teaspoon asafoetida, soaked in 1 tablespoon water

6. ¾ cup ghee

Method

1. Soak one cup of split urad dal with skin for 4 hours. Rinse it well, gently rubbing to remove most of the black skins. It’s okay if some skins remain.

2. Transfer the dal to a mixer grinder and grind it into a thick paste, adding water gradually—up to about ½ cup as needed.The batter should be dense and slightly coarse in texture.

3. Transfer the batter into a bowl. For this delicacy, the batter need not be stored for fermentation.

4. Add ¼ cup rice flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 inch of grated ginger, and the previously soaked asafoetida water. Mix everything thoroughly, ensuring there are no lumps and all the ingredients are well combined. 

5. Switch on the stove and on a deep pan add ¼ cup of ghee. Let it heat nicely. 

6. Pour the batter into the pan. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.

7. Open the lid—the top layer will still be slightly uncooked. Carefully flip it over.

8. Using a knife, make a few holes on the top of the pitha. Gently pour the remaining ghee into these holes. This helps the thick pitha cook evenly on low heat.

9. Cover again and cook for another 10–15 minutes on low heat. Then open the lid and flip the pitha once more. By now, both sides should be cooked. Cover again and cook for an additional 2–3 minutes on low heat.

10. Turn off the heat and transfer the pitha to a plate. Let it cool to room temperature. The Suara Pitha is now ready to be offered to Lord Jagannath.