5 facts you ought to know about the Assamese Rice Cake

Pitha is the most popular cuisine of the land of blue hills and red river, Assam. Here are some facts about Pitha which will compel you to dig into this cuisine the next time you are in Assam.

1. Assamese pithas are often made from bora saul, a special kind of glutinous rice, or xaali saul, or sun-dried rice. It is one of the most sought after traditional Assamese food.

2. Til Pitha is regarded as the King of all pithas. It is long and thin in shape and very unique in look and taste. A tasty mixture of sesame seeds and jiggery is covered with a thin layer of rice power. The rice powder is made out of Bora rice.

3. Bamboo is used to steam some of the Assamese pithas to give it a delicious flavor. Bora rice is put inside a bamboo stem and heated in the steam to make Sunga Pitha which gives a lovely flavor of bamboo.

4. Assamese traditional kitchens normally have two parts. First a proper kitchen to prepare daily meals. The other is an earthen kitchen with at least two earthen fire places (chowka). Chowka is used to prepare Pitha during the time of Bihu. It is believed that earthern chowkas make pithas tastier.

5. The best part about Pitha is the less use of kitchen utensils and spices. That means its friendly to the stomach.