Pithla Gram Flour Curry

Method

1. 1

   Mix gram flour with water: In a bowl, whisk 1 cup gram flour with 3 cups water. Whisk until completely smooth with no lumps. Run a spoon through — no flour should settle at the bottom. Keep this mixture aside. This is the pithla base.

2. 2

   Heat oil and temper: Heat 3 tbsp oil in a deep pot on medium heat. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 10 curry leaves and 1/4 tsp asafoetida. Stir 10 seconds.

3. 3

   Cook onion and green chilli: Add the finely chopped onion and green chilli. Cook on medium heat stirring every 2 minutes for 8 minutes until the onion turns golden.

4. 4

   Add ginger paste and spices: Add ginger paste and stir 1 minute. Turn heat to low. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Stir 2 minutes on low heat.

5. 5

   Add the gram flour mixture: Stir the gram flour and water mixture once more (the flour settles quickly) and pour it into the pot with the cooked onion. Stir immediately as you pour to prevent lumps from forming.

6. 6

   Cook stirring continuously: Increase heat to medium. Cook stirring continuously with a large spoon or whisk. The mixture will thicken as it heats. Keep stirring — if you stop, lumps will form. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the pithla reaches a thick flowing consistency — like a thick soup or thin porridge.

7. 7

   Taste and adjust: Taste the pithla. It should be savoury, mildly spiced and warming. Add more salt or chilli powder if needed. The gram flour should taste cooked and nutty, not raw.

8. 8

   Check consistency: If the pithla is too thick and is not flowing when you tilt the pot, add 1/4 cup more water and stir. If too thin, cook for 2 more minutes. The consistency is a matter of preference — thicker pithla for eating with bhakri, thinner for eating with rice.

9. 9

   Garnish: Remove from heat. Add a generous handful of fresh coriander leaves.

10. 10

    Serve: Ladle hot pithla into bowls. Serve alongside jowar bhakri flatbread. Eat by breaking a piece of bhakri and dipping it into the pithla. Drizzle a small amount of oil on top before serving.

11. 11

    Note: Pithla is the most basic and well liked dish of rural Maharashtra — made in minutes from pantry staples with no vegetable required. It is considered comfort food and is eaten for lunch and dinner alongside bhakri. Pithla is the wet version; zunka (also in this collection) is the dry version of the same gram flour dish. In Maharashtra, when nothing else is available, pithla-bhakri is the meal that everyone turns to.