Pithla Bhakri

The dish and how it is eaten

In rural Maharashtra, pithla bhakri has long been farmer's food: cheap, quick and made from what is already in the kitchen. It has also become a treat in its own right: trekkers on Sahyadri forts such as Sinhagad near Pune eat it at hilltop stalls, with raw onion and thecha on the side. Pithla comes in two common styles. This recipe gives the softer patal pithla, a pourable curry. A thicker version, close to zunka or tava pithla, is cooked with less water until it can be scooped. Bhakri is usually jowar in the Deccan, bajra in drier parts and rice in the Konkan, and is pretty much always eaten by hand.

Keeping pithla smooth

A lumpy pithla is what most beginners fear. It is easy to avoid if you mix the besan into cold water first, instead of sprinkling it into a hot pan, and if you stir without stopping while the mixture thickens. Keep the heat low at that moment. You will see it go from thin to creamy quite suddenly, around the 4 or 5 minute mark. Then comes the second thing: it needs the full cooking time. Besan that is just thickened tastes of raw flour even if it looks finished. Smell it and taste it; it should smell toasty and savoury rather than like wet flour, and it often helps to let it stand for a few minutes covered.

Patting jowar bhakri

Jowar has no gluten, so the dough has no stretch at all. That is why you knead each bhakri fresh; a large batch dries out and cracks before you reach the end. Hot water gelatinises the starch and gives the dough the only cohesion it will ever have. Knead with the heel of your hand until the surface looks smooth. Beginners should start with a thick 5 inch bhakri and aim for thinner rounds once the hands understand it. If patting feels impossible, press it between two sheets of baking paper, or roll with a rolling pin over a dusting of flour. Those are shortcuts, but they will still give you a good meal.

Common mistakes and their rescues

If lumps appear in the pithla, turn off the heat and whisk hard for a minute, or press it through a strainer into a clean pan and cook on. If it gets thick and gluey, stir in hot water a quarter cup at a time. If it tastes flat, add more garlic fried in a little oil, or a squeeze of lime. A bhakri that cracks at the edges usually means dry dough; wet your hands and knead again. If it stays stiff and does not puff, the tawa was too cool or the water layer too thin. A hard bhakri softens when wrapped in a cloth for a few minutes, and it is still good dipped in the warm pithla.

Substitutions and a lighter version

Bajra flour works the same way and suits winter meals, while ragi flour gives a darker bhakri. Rice flour makes the softer Konkan type, using boiling water and a brief steam. If you have a jar of thecha, the coarse pounded relish of green chilli, garlic and peanuts, do bring it out; a spoonful sits at the edge of the plate. Pithla is already light. To make it lighter still, use 1 tablespoon of oil and more water. To add protein, stir in chopped spinach at the onion stage, or eat it with sprouts salad. This is plain vegan food as written, though some cooks finish it with a spoon of ghee, which you would then need to leave out.

Serving it

Serve the pithla in a thali with a hot bhakri, a slice or two of raw onion and a green chilli, and make a small well in the curry if you like. Thecha, a lump of jaggery and some curd are common on the side, and so is bharli vangi on a day with more time. It also goes well with hot rice and a little thalipeeth on the side.

Storing and reheating

Pithla sets firmly as it cools, so reheat it on low with a splash of hot water, whisking until it loosens and starts to bubble. It keeps for 1 to 2 days in the fridge in a closed container. Bhakri is best fresh. Wrapped in a clean cloth, it stays good for a few hours, and once cold it gets hard but softens if warmed on a tawa with a sprinkle of water. Do not freeze it, as it crumbles.