Oh the Pitlas of the Thanjavur Marathis!
No, not the besan Pitla. We call that Jhunka. Regular Standard Maharashtrian pithla is called Jhunka and is commonly had with puris.
Sometimes I think, our ancestors missed the original pithla for whatever reason and came up with these varieties. ( This is not a fact, just my imagination).
Then what is it we call pitla. It is somewhat close to what the Kannadas call Kootu.
But make no mistake, our Pitlas are fiery, hot, spicy and rich!......
........And Varied.
We have the regular Pitla, made with myriad vegetables, and pepper .
Then there is the Sappak Pitla .
Who can forget Goddu Pitla.
And there is the Doodh Pitla.
Regular Pithla is a rich dish made with lots of pepper and lots of vegetables. It is made on special occasions like festivals and weddings. Kadi -pitla is a given for all festivals and celeberations.
In fact there is baby game one plays with a baby or toddler to make him/her eat.
It goes like this....holding the young ones hand, palm upwards and a pretence of serving all the food on it.
Mothaa paan maanduna
Kosambari, bhaaji, ambode, pappad, vhaaduna
kheera vhaaduna, bhaath vhaaduna, kadi pithla vhaaduna
khadicha paal phutla phutla phutla....
( The baby's hand would be tickled so )
You can check out the recipe for this from http://festnfood.blogspot.com/2008/12/bhogi-cont.html
Goddu Pitla has only one vegetable and no dal added. Contrastingly, it is made when one has run out of all vegetables. It is popularly made with yam.
Sappak Pitla is unlike its name not sappak but very very tasty. made with one or 2 vegetables , it has no tamarind.
Doodh pitla as the name suggests is made with milk and lots of pepper.
Doodh pitla is not often made as many cannot associate milk with a curried dish.
I hope you all enjoyed the culinary travel to the dishes of our ancestors carried down to us and hopefully the next generation will keep these dishes alive!
Or it will get engulfed and buried in Pizzas and Pastas.
No, not the besan Pitla. We call that Jhunka. Regular Standard Maharashtrian pithla is called Jhunka and is commonly had with puris.
Sometimes I think, our ancestors missed the original pithla for whatever reason and came up with these varieties. ( This is not a fact, just my imagination).
Then what is it we call pitla. It is somewhat close to what the Kannadas call Kootu.
But make no mistake, our Pitlas are fiery, hot, spicy and rich!......
........And Varied.
We have the regular Pitla, made with myriad vegetables, and pepper .
Then there is the Sappak Pitla .
Who can forget Goddu Pitla.
And there is the Doodh Pitla.
Regular Pithla is a rich dish made with lots of pepper and lots of vegetables. It is made on special occasions like festivals and weddings. Kadi -pitla is a given for all festivals and celeberations.
In fact there is baby game one plays with a baby or toddler to make him/her eat.
It goes like this....holding the young ones hand, palm upwards and a pretence of serving all the food on it.
Mothaa paan maanduna
Kosambari, bhaaji, ambode, pappad, vhaaduna
kheera vhaaduna, bhaath vhaaduna, kadi pithla vhaaduna
khadicha paal phutla phutla phutla....
( The baby's hand would be tickled so )
You can check out the recipe for this from http://festnfood.blogspot.com/2008/12/bhogi-cont.html
Goddu Pitla has only one vegetable and no dal added. Contrastingly, it is made when one has run out of all vegetables. It is popularly made with yam.
Sappak Pitla is unlike its name not sappak but very very tasty. made with one or 2 vegetables , it has no tamarind.
Doodh pitla as the name suggests is made with milk and lots of pepper.
Doodh pitla is not often made as many cannot associate milk with a curried dish.
I hope you all enjoyed the culinary travel to the dishes of our ancestors carried down to us and hopefully the next generation will keep these dishes alive!
Or it will get engulfed and buried in Pizzas and Pastas.
