Koat Pitha

Hope you enjoyed the plain soup from Mizoram yesterday. Let us move on to Nagaland today with some of my personal stories.

In an earlier post I had mentioned that we lived in Assam for 4 1/2 years in a place called Bokajan. It is very close to the Nagaland border and Dimapur in Nagaland was the nearest (10 kms) town for us. We (my brother and I) attended a missionary school (Holy Cross School in the picture below) in Dimapur.


Courtesy plus.google.com
We had a school bus which would take all the kids from the campus in Bokajan to the school in Dimapur and I vividly remember we used to pass through rows and rows of pineapple bushes and lush green Tea gardens. The women workers at the Tea gardens would hang a basket on their backs plucking the tea leaves while some would be smoking tobacco sitting on the side walks, waving to us in the school bus!

(The picture shows a typical tea garden and was more or less the similar landscape through which our school bus used to pass through everyday!)
Courtesy google images
Here is an interesting incident from Nagaland - On a particular day when we used to live in Assam, my mom and several ladies from the campus traveled to Dimapur to get their monthly groceries. My little sister who was about 2-3 yrs tagged along with my mom. While my mom was busy getting the groceries, my sister walked away and got lost.

My mom and her friends were frantically looking around for the little one and describing her to the street hawkers. She was nowhere to be found. It so happened that one person mistook her for another couple's daughter and was carrying her to their house. My mom spotted the man who was hurriedly carrying the crying toddler, ran up to him, snatched my sister and hugged her with relief. After all the clarifications, the crowd dispersed and all was well in the end!!

It is etched in our memories (specially my moms') for the ordeal it would have been!!  Also it was rumored that there were many human eaters in the surrounding villages and they routinely kidnapped the kids and sacrificed them.

On another front, did I talk about the Naga Shawls?? They are the best for the winters in India. They have a typical pattern with Red, Black and white colors. If I am not wrong, the shawl is safe and in excellent condition even today with my dad after almost 3 decades in usage. 
Here is a picture of a typical Naga shawl..
Courtesy google images
Coming to the food part, it was extremely difficult to find vegetarian food to showcase here. After looking up on many websites, I figured out that Koat Pitha is their favored dessert at all important occasions. I am told that they share this addictive dessert with their neighbors in Assam. 

Enjoy this cousin of Adhirasam/Athrasam while I travel to Odisha (Formerly Orissa) and prepare some comfort food.

Ingredients - 

Rice Flour 1/2 cup
Jaggery, Powdered 1/2 cup
Banana 1 big one
Oil to deep fry


Koat Pitha

Method Of Preparation -


Blend the bananas and the jaggery into a smooth mixture.

Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl and slowly whisk in the rice flour to make a thick batter.

Heat oil in a wok/kadai until the oil is hot enough that when a small portion of the batter is dropped, it rises to the top slowly.

Scoop the batter using a tablespoon and gently drop the batter into the oil. Add as many tablespoon fulls as the oil can accommodate.

Fry those dumplings in medium to low heat until they are uniformly browned.

Take care to squeeze the oil out of them when removing them onto paper towels.

When they were just out of the oil, they were very soft. But they hardened upon cooling. So they were crispy on the outside, soft and chewy in the inside.




Preparation Time 25 min
Makes 15

17 comments

  1. That must have been a scary morning for your mom! So glad everything ended well. You ride to school sounds lovely. I remember we had a bunch of those shawls, too warm for Goa weather. Loved reading through the post.

    The pitha look lovely.

     
  2. i have a lil sister and have been through similar ordeal , it was a bigger mess as my sis got lost at juhu chowpatty and till date we think it was some good karma that we found her back amongst the millions..its interesting how these episodes stay with us after so many years...koath pitha is interesting and i am going to stick to this recipe whenever feel like eating anarse

     
  3. Priya Suresh Says:
  4. Omg, wat a scary story, thank god everything went on smooth. It happened for me with my daughter when she was 2years old in Thirupathi,an old man was carrying her in his arms searching for us, my H saw him and my daughter came back to us, i can say how terrific those 15minutes, cant forget it and makes me shiver whenever i think about it.

    Koats pitha makes me drool again, one of my recent favourite.

     
  5. Unknown Says:
  6. that is scary!!! good that it went smooth!! and this pitha looks yumm

     
  7. Suma Gandlur Says:
  8. OMG! Your mother must have had an heart attack and the rumour must have made the situation more graver.
    And I too made these pithas. Originally I had made them for Assam and realized later that many other NE states made these too.

     
  9. jayanthi Says:
  10. scary ordeal really..
    these koat pitha look irresistable

     
  11. Srivalli Says:
  12. Harini, I was looking forward to read your stories about living these parts..and that incident is really so scary..good that everything turned out well..the place looks divine and so unexplored right..your school picture makes me remember mine..:)..the banana fritters look yum!

     
  13. Very interesting to know about your childhood days. The pitha looks so nice...

     
  14. Pavani Says:
  15. Wow, that sure must have been a scary few minutes for your mom. But it is definitely etched forever in your minds. Loved reading about Nagaland and your experiences there.
    Koat Pithas sound simple enough to make and they look crispy and delicious.

     
  16. Kalyani Says:
  17. Lovely to revisit your childhood through this post, Harini ! Must have been a harrowing time for mom to flog thru that brief chaos ! Koat pitha looks great ..

     
  18. Scary story,nice to read about your memories..Koat pitha looks delicious and easy to make..

     
  19. Archana Says:
  20. Wow your mom must have been super scared. But I am glad your sis was found and things ended well.
    Koat pitha looks so yum I wish i can pic some off the screen.

     
  21. That must have been a scary day for your mom and find a stranger running away with your little sister. Good to know it was just a misunderstanding. Banana fritters seem to be a popular snack for the state. :) Looks yum!

     
  22. I made these also and enjoyed them thoroughly. loved the intro and the stories you shared

     
  23. Unknown Says:
  24. omg thats an terrifying story glad that it ended in all gud .. koat pitha looks very very delicious and tempting dear :)

     
  25. Padmajha Says:
  26. Enjoyed reading your post and your mom would have been truly scared and worried! Thank God your sis was found safe and sound :).And that a nice dish Harini...

     
  27. Enjoyed reading your mom's experience..love that Naga Shawl..and the koat pitha sounds so much like one of the south sweets, cant recollect the name though.

     
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