Vapa Pitha

Vapa Pitha

Ingredients:

• Rice flour -2 cup
• Warm milk or water-1/2 cup
• Salt- 1 ts
• Sugar- 2 ts
• Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
• Shredded Jaggeryr- 1/2 cup

Needed accessories:

1. Vapa pitha making pan
2. (if you do not have the pan, take a saucepan with lid and some aluminium foil; and follow the alternate way described in the below )
3. Small bowl
4. One piece of cloth

Method:

1. For this pitha the rice flour have to be little coarsely grinned  Back in our country there are lots of place where we can grind the rice grain for this kind of pitha. But in USA I have to make my own coarsely grinned rice flour. So here is the procedure to make your rice flour for this pitha. Take 3 cups of Bashmati rice, wash them well and put in a strainer to drain the water completely   Now place some paper towel on a large tray and spread the washed rice on it. Keep in a warm place to dry the rice.Occasionally spread them. When the rice dried up completely grind them in your coffee grinder. (Remember grind them little bit coarsely, but this rice flour will niether be too coarse nor too fine)
2. Now it is time to make the delicious pitha. Take 2 cups of rice flour in a mixing bowl, add the salt and sugar, and mix them. Now slowly add the milk in the dry mix and start to mix them. This mixture will neither be like a dough nor like a batter, it will just be wet. When you take some mixture in your palm and press them, it will form a ball at first and then break down.
3. Now cover the bowl and set it aside for around 6-7 hours. (In our country this pitha is specially made in the morning in Winter season. Everyone likes to make the mixture at night and make their pitha early in the morning. So if you want, you can also prepare your pitha mixture at night and make delicious pitha early in the morning)
4. Now pour water up to the half of the pan and put the pan on the burner to boil the water. In the mean time grate the coconut and jeggary and set aside. (here I used the special vapa pitha making pan. If you do not have that do not be upset..:) just follow the alternate way describe in the below)
5. Now take a strainer, place it on top of a bowl and put some rice flour mixture (which you prepared earlier) and sieve it trough the strainer with the help of your hand.
6. Take the small bowl spread some flour mixture on it to cover the bottom, put some shredded coconut and shredded jagger, and then again put some rice flour mix on top of them and gently press the top to make it plain. Now cover the top of the bowl with the piece of cloth and carefully flip the bowl with the help of the cloth on the the hole of the pan where vapor started to come out. Then carefully take out the bowl and cover the pan with the lid. (The piece of cloth will hold the bowl shaped pitha on top of the covered saucepan) Wait for around 4-5 minutes to cook the pitha in the steam. Then carefully take it out  from the pan with the help of a big spatula or big spoon.