Pitla recipe

Welcome to my blog, the Tanjore Marathi Madhva-Authentic Recipes.

After finding very limited Tanjore Marathi dishes on the internet I decided to contribute my grandmother's authentic Tanjore Marathi recipes.

My grandmother's food is very scrumptious as anyone who simply smells it or tastes it is bound to want more and completely fall in love with it.

For the benefit of Tanjore Marathi people and the Tanjore Marathi Facebook group, let me give you a brief introduction on my grandmother.

My grandmother is Indira Ramarao and she was born and brought up in Kumbakonam, TN and belonged to the Koviladi Madhav Rao family. Post her marriage to C.H. Ramarao she moved to Coimbatore and is currently living in Bangalore,Karnataka.

And now her grandchildren and other relatives relish her cooking almost every sunday and during festivals.

My grandmother-Indira Ramarao

With this let me start my first recipe.......the most famous of all.......

PITLA

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal-1tbsp
• Pepper-1 tsp
• Red chillies-5 long
• Dhania seeds(coriander seeds)-1tsp
• Asfafotida(granules)-1/8 tsp
• Chanadal-1 tsp(optional)
• Coconut(freshly ground)-1/3 cup
• Tur dal- 1/3 cup
• Tamrind- big lime size
• Vegetables-white pumkin,yellow pumkin, cluster beans, sweet potato, bittergourd, jackfruit seeds(smashed), ground nut, raw banana, yam, butter beans(moccha kotai)-1/3 cup
• Salt-as per taste

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves-1 stem
• Pappad- 2 medium sized grilled on open fire

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, cook the tur dal with haldi. Smash and keep aside.
2. Pressure cook all the vegetables. Partially smash them and keep aside.
3. Soak the tamrind in water and take out the pulp.
4. Boil this tamrind water along with salt on a low flame.
5. Meanwhile, on a separate pan heat oil and fry the urad dal, pepper, red chiilis, coriander seeds, and asafoetida. Once fried, let it cool down then add them to a blender along with fresh coconut. Ground them to a smooth paste.
6. Add this ground paste to the boiling tamrind water.
7. Add the vegetables to the mixture and let it come to one boil.
8. Add the cooked tur dal and mix well. Add required amount of water to bring it to a thick gravy consistency.

For Seasoning:

1. Fry mustard seeds in oil till they splutter.
2. Add this to the gravy along with curry leaves.
3. Add broken grilled papad on top of the pitla right before serving.

Tasty welcoming pitla is absolutely ready.

Will be coming up with more of Tanjore Marathi Authentic Recipes.
Do let me know how it comes out.