Til Pitha-A Sesame Pancake

Alike other Indian regions, North-eastern part of our country also has its own culinary heritage. The cuisines which are available in this virgin domain of India reflects its own culture.


Heralded as “the land of seven sisters and one brother”, north-eastern part of India comprises of eight wonderful states. Assam being the political epicentre of the region, is the most popular state. Famed as “the gateway to north-east India”, Assam is a land of vast tea estates, bamboo forests and one-horned rhino.

Apart from its natural treasures, Assam also has its own list of unique cuisines which includes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Along with these veg and non-veg recipes, the state also has no dearth of Pithas, a special kind of pancakes, prepared mostly during the Bihu festival.

There are several varieties of Pithas which are very common in every Assamese household. These are mostly prepared of Bora chawl (a special kind of sticky rice). One such Pitha (Pancake) is Til Pitha or Sesame Pancake.



Ingredients require:

* Sticky rice -1 kg
* Black Sesame Seed - 400gm
* Jaggery (grated) – 750 gm
* Orange rind – as per taste

Method of preparation:

* Soak the rice beforehand for at least 3 to 4 hours. Drain the water.
* Powdered the sticky rice and sieve it at least twice with a very fine sieve.
* Keep it aside in a airtight container.
* Clean,wash and dry the sesame seed beforehand.
* Fry the sesame seeds in a Karahi without oil. When the sesame seeds starts   to crackle,remove take out them from the Karahi and powdered them coarsely.
* Mix the powdered seeds with grated jaggery and orange rind.
* Heat frying pan or griddle. Take handful of rice powder, spread thinly in round shape.
* Sprinkle the sesame and jaggery mixture on the pitha and fold it half.
* Keep it aside for some time, so that the pancake become crisp. Turn once.
* Serve the Til Pitha hot.

Cuisines of Tamil Nadu

Cuisines of Tamil Nadu predominantly includes vegetarian dishes characterized by various ingredients such as rice, legumes and lentils, with added flavors of curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, coconut and rose water. It also provides various non-vegetarian scrumptious food items prepared from mutton, chicken and many varieties of sea food. Cuisines are mostly fat free and avoid spicy garam masala. Meals are served in a very traditional style on the banana leaves and is eaten without using any cutleries.

Rice

Rice forms the basic meal in south India. It is served with variety of vegetable dishes such as sambar, dry curry and many more.

Dosa
Dosa is a famous south Indian cuisine, gaining popularity in north India. It is a crepe prepared from rice and black lentils served with sambar, coconut chutney. Non-vegetarians can include chicken or mutton curry to enhance the taste of Dosa.

Uppuma
Uppuma is prepared from semolina, cooked in oil with mustard, pepper, cummin seed and dry lentils.



Uttapam
Delicious Uttapam is a tasty dish, made by cooking batter along with some other ingredients. Batter includes mixture of urad dal and rice. Barter is seasoned with tomatoes, onion-chili mixture, coconut and some green vegetables which makes the dish more delicious.

Idli
Idli is prepared by steaming the round cakes of Batter. Served with sambar, coconut chutney and other spicy chutneys.

Vada
Scrumptious and crunchy vada is made up of pulses, lentils, gram, flour or potato. It is served with coconut chutney and sambar.

Chutneys
Mouthwatering chutneys prepared from coconuts and other spicy ingredients and served with many south Indian dishes. It is usually spicy and sweet in taste.


Rasam
Rasam is a popular south Indian soup prepared with tamarind juice or tomato pepper mixed with some spices, lentils and many other vegetables.

Payasam
Lip smacking Payasam is a sweet dish made by boiling rice in milk mixed with sugar and some dry fruits including cardamoms, raisins, saffron and almonds to add flavor to the sweet dish.

Pongal
The lip smacking Pongal is popular dish in Tamil Nadu. Pongal is prepared with rice and lentils boiled together and seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seeds.