Pittha (rice roll or traditional Bihari dumpling)

• Servings: 3-4
• Making stuffing time: 10 minutes.
• Making dough time: 3 minutes.
• Stuffing raw pittha time: 1 minutes(each).
• Cooking time: 12 minutes.
• Total time: 26 minutes.

Dal Pittha holds a special place in Bihari households, often prepared during  chhatha festivals and winter . The dish reflects the region’s agricultural abundance and the culinary creativity of Bihari homemakers. The combination of soft rice flour dough and the flavourful, aromatic filling, makes Dal Pittha a unique and delightful treat. Served with tangy Tamarind chutney or spicy Tomato chutney along with fried green chilli.

“Bihari Dal Pittha.” Originating from the culturally rich state of Bihar, Dal Pittha is a traditional and beloved snack that showcases the simplicity and depth of Bihari cuisine. These savory rice flour dumplings are filled with a spiced lentil mixture, typically made from chana dal (Bengal gram), and then steamed to perfection.

Whether enjoyed as a hearty breakfast, a comforting evening snack, or a festive delicacy, Bihari Dal Pittha continues to win hearts with its rustic charm and wholesome flavours.

Ingredients:

For outer layer:

• Raw rice flour: 2 cup
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• water: 1 cup

For stuffing:

• Chana dal (Bengal gram): 1 cup
• Oil: 1 teaspoon
• Jeera (Cumin seed): 1 teaspoon
• Garlic: 3 flakes (big size)
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Green chilli: 2-4 no.
• Ginger: 1 inch piece
• Turmeric powder: half teaspoon
• Ajwain(carom seed): half teaspoon
• Kalonji: half teaspoon

Preparation:

For stuffing:

1. Soak dal for 3-4 (overnight) hours and grind this dal coarsely along with salt, green chilli and garlic. Keep aside.
2. heat oil in non stick fry pan; when starts to smoke, add cumin, sputter for few seconds, add grounded dal, stir fry continuously till it becomes thick (it takes 3-4 minutes).
3. Add salt, turmeric power, ajwain and Kalonji, stuffing is ready. Keep aside.

For outer layer:

1. Take a big ball. Put rice flour and salt.
2. Boil 1 liter water in a big pot.
3. Take out 1 cup of boiled water, knead the rice flour, make dough similar to chapatti. (You can knead this into the food processor). That will be easy; kneading with hot water is difficult.
4. Make the lemon size ball with dough.
5. Grease your palm with oil and make a smooth bowl shape, fill the 2 spoon full of fillings in the dumpling bowl.
6. Fold carefully and close; give a shape like egg, raw pittha is ready.

Method:

1. Add 5-8 pittha into boiling water, depending on your pot size.
2. Pittha should come up after few minutes, continue to cook for another couple of minutes till it become slightly hard.
3. Check this with spoon or fork.
4. Take it out in the cold water pot; put it on the sieve, so that extra water drains out. Now pittha is ready to serve, garnish with fried green chilly.             

Pittha (rice roll or traditional Bihari dumpling) by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.