Bhapa Pitha Recipe

Ingredients

Bhapa pitha (also known as dhupi) a sort of steamed cake made with rice flour, jagerry and fresh grated coconut. Bhapa Pitha is actually eaten in winter time with new harvest rice and fresh jaggery (khejurer gur). All Bangladesh people have sweet memory to make Pitha in their childhood. In Bangladesh you can few hundred types of pitha. khejurer gur and fresh grated coconut are the essential for making Bhapa Pitha.

It is one of the dessert items that truly represent Bengali cuisine. Bhapa pitha is a special sweet dish that is prepared usually on the winter.



- 2.5 cups rice flour (coarse preferable)
- Jaggery (Khejurer gur)(small pieces)
- Fresh grated coconut
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Also need small bowl, strainer, cheese cloth, traditional bhapa pitha Hari or rice cooker steamer.

Method

1. Mix salt with 5 tablespoon water. Add salty water with rice flour bit at a time and crumble flour. Water amount vary on rice to rice. I used all together 8 tablespoons water.

2. Sift flour (wet flour is not supposed to sift easily, use your hand to sift flour). You should get grainy texture. If you are not get grainy texture you should use more water.

3. Fill half rice cooker pot with water and turn on. Let it comes to boiling point. We need to close the rice cooker lid hole to keep steam inside the rice cooker.

4. Take small bowl spread grainy flour to cover the bottom, put some grated coconut and jaggery, and cover it with flour and press gently to make it plain on top. Now cover the top of the bowl with dump cheese cloth.

5. Flip the bowl on the rice cooker steamer and steam it 5-6 minutes (if you are using traditional bhapa pitha Hari, it will take 4 minutes or less).

6. Take out rice cake and remove cheese cloth. Repeat the process to finish rest ingredients. It will make about 8 large pitha.

7. Enjoy hot Bhapa Pitha the flavor of Bangladesh.