Sunday, 5 January 2014

Vapa pithe (bhapa pitha) or puli pithe is the simplest and basic form of pithe made by Bengalis during Poush Parbon or Poush Sankranti festival. Vapa means steamed. Vapa Pithe (vapa pitha) is a kind of dumpling with the outer shell being made from rice flour and stuffing being prepared with grated coconut. There can be several varieties of stuffing for Pitha. Though the following recipe shows pitha stuffed with coconut and dates jaggery mixture, you can prepare stuffing with sugar and coconut mixture. If you do not like sweets too much or want some variety as neutralizer, Vapa Pithe can be stuffed with  different vegetables also (eg. potato and cauliflower mix). These are called vegetable pitha.

Learn how to make vapa pithe with the easy steps mentioned below.

vapa pithe or puli pithe is a dumpling made of rice flour and coconut made by Bengalis during Poush Sankranti
Vapa Pithe

Vapa Pithe Recipe:

Vapa Pithe (Pitha)- Ingredients:

Grated coconut – 1 medium
Rice flour – 2 cup
Date palm jaggery – 3/4 cup
Warm water

How to make Vapa Pithe (Pitha):

At first mix grated coconut and ¼ cup dates jaggery in a pan and put it in low flame. Stir well for five minutes and take out from flame. The stuffing is now ready.
Then take the rice flour and add sufficient warm water to make smooth dough. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
Now, make small balls from the dough and spread each ball in your plum so that it looks like a small bowl. Stuff the coconut mixture and fold it in a way so that it looks like a half circle. Seal the edges properly. Your pulis are now ready.
Now, place the pulis in a steamer and steam it for 10-15 minutes. If you do not have a steamer, you can take a vessel with wholes. Now place the pulis in it and put the vessel on a handi which is full of water. Put this on flame for 10-15 minutes so that they are steamed properly
Take the pithes out of the vessel and let them cool.
Serve vapa pithe in room temperature with liquid dates jaggery (nalin gur).

There is one more method to make puli pithe. And this is very easy. Take a pressure cooker and fill it with up to 1 inch of water. Then take a Tiffin box, place the puli in it and cover the cooker without whistle. Cook it for 10-15 minutes in high flame. When done, take the pulis out of the cooker. After some time, when the pulis cool down to room temperature, serve with liquid dates jaggery a.k.a. ‘nolen gur’.

Enjoy your Sankranti with vapa pithe with nolen gur. I also prepared Dudh puli or pithe payes and Gokul Pithe. Learn how to make Dudh puli or Gokul pithe using the following links - 
Dudh puli 
Goluk Pithe

Enjoy this Sankranti with various types of pithe and other Sankranti desserts. 

Happy Sankranti..   :)

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