Chhattisgarh is a state where rice cultivation is done majorly. Therefore, Chhattisgarh is also known as ‘Bowl of Rice’ or what you say in Hindi is ‘Dhan ka Katora’. That’s why most of the dishes made in Chhattisgarh are mainly of rice. So, today’s recipe which I am sharing with you all is also a rice dish and one of the most popular dishes of Chhattisgarhi cuisine. Pitha is a combination of rice and lentil ( Urad Dal ). It is generally served as a snack with tomato chutney. So. let’s see how Pitha is made.

A Handful of fresh whole coriander seeds.

First, take a bowl of rice flour and some water and salt to make a soft dough. Knead it well and keep it aside and let it rest for 10 mins. This will be the base of our recipe.

Meanwhile, take urad dal in a bowl, now here we have to use urad dal which is soaked overnight and grounded into a paste.

Now take the garlic cloves and fresh whole coriander seeds which you also call ‘Phar Dhaniya’ in Chhattisgarh in a mixer and make a paste .

Add this paste to the urad dal paste with some salt and make a good mixture.

So, the stuffing is ready for our Pitha and now we have to make the base of it.

To make a base, take a small portion of rice flour dough in your hands and make small katories or bowl from it.

To that small bowls of rice flour add the urad dal stuffing. Now make sure that the urad dal stuffing should be thick and not flowy.

Now, steam this small bowls in a microwave or steamer for 10-12 mins. This is how it looks after steaming.

Our Pitha is almost ready, we have to just tadka it .

For preparing the tadka, take a kadhai and add 2 tbsps of oil. After it gets heated, add a tsp of mustard seeds and a tsp of sesame seeds.

Let it crackle, then add your steamed pitha and saute it for 5-8 mins.

And tada your pitha is ready to serve. Serve it with tomato chutney or tomato ketchup.

Do try this at your home as it not so unhealthy. In fact, it is quite healthy as very less oil is used in this recipe and it is also a steamed dish. So, this was another addition to the list of Chhattisgarhi Cuisine. If you want to read and see more such Chhattisgarhi recipes then you can click on the link given below. Also, do not forget to contact me in all my social medias till then take care and keep cooking.

Chhattisgarhi Pitha

Idhar Kadhi is one of the most popular and delicious dishes of Chhattisgarhi cuisine. It is mostly made during festivals or special occasion or during Chhattisgarhi feast. But, let me first explain to you what is Idhar Kadhi ? So, basically Idhar Kadhi is made up of colocasia leaves or arbi ke patte wrapped with urad dal paste and then steamed and fried and then served with a normal kadhi. People find it a bit difficult to make it as the process is little bit complex and time taking. So, I have tried to simplify the process a little bit. Let’s start cooking.

1 kg of urad dal/split black gram soaked overnight.

Firstly, take the soaked urad dal in a blender and make a coarse paste of it. Gently wash the colocasia leaves by water and allow it to dry.

Take the urad dal paste in a bowl and add 5-6 crushed garlic, 2 tbsps of coriander powder, 2 tbsps of red chili powder and salt to taste. Mix it nicely.

Now, take a colocasia leave and evenly spread the urad dal paste all over the surface. Take another colocasia leave and place it on the top of the first colocasia leave to form a layer. Keep one thing in mind that spread the urad dal paste on the back side of the colocasia leave.

Now, the next step is to start folding it to form a roll like structure. Fold it once and again spread the urad dal paste. Repeat the process till it is entirely done. When the leaves are formed into a roll again spread the urad dal paste on the top and bottom of it.

Next step is to steam the idhar rolls. Now, for steaming you can use any method according to your convenience. I have used microwave to steam it.Microwave it for 5-6 mins and it is done.

Cut the roll into pieces like you cut the swiss roll or cinnamon roll. Heat oil in a kadhai and deep fry it till it gets the golden brown color.

Now for the kadhi, take 3 tbsps of oil in another kadhai and add 2 tbsp of mustard seeds. After it gets crackled, add a tsp of asafoetida and 5-6 green chilies.

Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook for 4-5 mins. Meanwhile, beat the curd nicely to avoid any lumps.

Add the curd into the kadhai and add 4-5 cups of water. Also add a tbsp of turmeric powder, a tsp of red chili powder, crushed 4-5 garlic cloves and salt to taste.

Keep stirring the kadhi to prevent it from getting lumps. Allow it to boil for good 7-8 mins and keep stirring it in between.

When the kadhi is boiled nicely and gets a beautiful yellow color, add the fried idhar and let it boil for good 10-12 mins so that it can soak the kadhi nicely and gets soften.

Idhar kadhi is ready to serve. Serve it with steamed rice or rotis and it will taste delicious.

So, this is one of the best ways to use colocasia leaves in your meal. Do try this recipe if you want to eat colocasia leaves but you don’t know how to use it. You can make a kadhi or simply just fry it and have it as a snack. The only thing that you have to keep in mind that use good quality of colocasia leaves because sometimes it can give you the itchiness in your throat. Wash it nicely before using it to avoid this itchiness. So, this was my take on Idhar Kadhi, I hope that you like this post and don’t forget to check my other posts on this website and also if you want to see this that how it’s made then head over to my youtube channel. All of my social media links are listed below. Do follow me on all of that and give your suggestions and feedback, I would love to see that. Till then takecare and Keep Cooking

Idhar Kadhi : Arbi ke Patte Ki Kadhi

Khurmi is the most popular rainy sweet dish made widely in Chhattisgarh in each and every household. Basically, it is a dish prepared on the occasion of pola festival. Pola is a festival celebrated in Chhattisgarh in which the bulls are decorated and worshipped by the farmers. Generally, people apart from farmers worship the small, cute and colorful miniature idol of bulls made up of mud. Thetri, Khurmi and Biriya are the main dishes that are prepared during this festival to serve as a prasad.

The beauty and uniqueness of the culture of Chhattisgarh is that we have very different dishes, vegetables, desserts for each and every season and festival. Isn’t that so cool ? Due to this factor we get the variation, style and more happiness and the change of taste. Today, I am sharing the recipe of Khurmi.

Khurmi is a sweet deep fried dish or you can consider it dessert or a snack made up of wheat flour and jaggery. Jaggery is said to be very good for health and it is less sweet than sugar. Coconut is added to enhance the flavor and for some crunch. The shape of the khurmi is generally oval. One more interesting fact about khurmi is that the design is made using the woven basket. The lines of the basket make a beautiful texture and also looks more presentable.

Take jaggery in a bowl and soak it in 2 cups of water for 2-3 hours till the jaggery gets dissolved completely. Here I have used jaggery balls but you can also use jaggery powder as you like. But make sure that the jaggery you are using is sticky. Using the jaggery balls will give much better result than jaggery powder.

In an another bowl take 4 cups of wheat flour and sieve it for good two times so that there is no lumps present in the wheat flour.

Add cardamom powder, coconut and the jaggery solution and form a soft dough. Try to add the jaggery solution slowly so that you can keep a control over the softness of dough.

Knead the dough for good 5 minutes and take small portions of it make it into oval shape like this below.

Now, take a woven basket or you can use a fork but traditionally woven baskets are used. Press the khurmi on the woven baskets and you will get a beautiful texture on the khurmi.

Heat sufficient amount of oil in a pan and fry the khurmi on low flame till golden brown.

If the khurmi gets little cracks, do not worry as it is a good sign that they are soft on the inside and hard and crunchy on the outside.

Make this unique and simple yet so delicious khurmi and enjoy the different taste of it. You can store it for good 10-12 days and that’s why it is very nice to carry while travelling or for hostlers. The only thing you should take care is that store it in an air tight box as they will lose their crunch when gets in contact with air. So, this was my recipe of Khurmi. Do try and let me know below in the comments.

Chhattisgarhi Pitha

Idhar Kadhi : Arbi ke Patte Ki Kadhi

Khurmi : Wheat flour and jaggery sweet dish – Pola Special

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