Maharashtrian Besan Pitla | Spicy Chickpea Flour Mash

This is a perfect side for Bhakri (made with millet flour). Besan Pitla is a Maharashtrian dish made with chickpea flour. It’s easy to make & very delicious.

This dish is my absolute favorite Maharashtrian dish made with chickpea flour (besan). Pitla also known as Pithla, Pithala, Pithle, Zunka or Jhunka is nothing but a simple porridge or a mash. Besan Pitla when served with Bhakri is considered as the quintessential peasant fare of Maharashtra. If you ever visit any part of Maharashtra, you are bound to come across Zunka Bhakar food stalls at various places and I highly recommend you try it. Pitla or Zunka tastes the best when its teamed with bhakri. What is a bhakri? Its a round flatbread made with millet flour.  It is coarser than a regular wheat roti and is gluten-free. Zunka or Pitla Bhakar is traditionally a farmer’s food. The farmers carry it to their farms at the crack of dawn and eat it for both breakfast and lunch. It’s often paired with sliced raw onions and a spicy chutney called Thecha. I can eat this besan pitla everyday if I had a choice! If you are wondering what the big deal about this dish, I urge you to give it a try! It’s something you will not regret but will love! Plus, its a great alternate way of using chickpea flour to cook up something new and different!

Maharashtrian cuisine has a healthy mix of mild and spicy recipes. Although I love most of these dishes, Besan Pitla is really one of my favorite dish. I still remember the first time I tasted this dish. It was at my neighbor’s house and I was 12 years old. My culinary exposure had just begun to widen, thanks to my cosmopolitan neighborhood. Until then, I had largely tasted South Indian recipes. Even I would have had meals from other cuisines, I would not have remembered. Our neighbor’s had invited us for dinner as they were celebrating their daughter’s birthday. It was a full on Maharashtrian menu and we all were looking forward to the dinner. Even today, I can still remember exactly what was served because it was that good. There was this Besan Pitla, Pathrode | Patra | Colcassia Rolls which was cooked in their style, then there was Maharastrian Kokum Amti/Dal, Maharashtrian Koshimbir | Indian Veggie & Yogurt Salad, Masale Bhat Maharashtrian Style and my another favorite – Vegan Matki Usal | Indian Sprouts Salad Dish which was served with soft round chapatis made with whole wheat flour. It was one of my best meals ever!

Although that day I had pitla with chapati, I then always preferred it with Bhakri. Because, after that day, whenever my neighbor aunty prepared zunka or pitla, she would send some over for me along with bhakri. My mom never made bhakri but she learnt how to make pitla and would then make it for my lunchbox. The day I would see this in my lunchbox, I would be the happiest! Now let’s take a moment to talk about chickpea flour now, which is the core ingredient of this recipe. We call it besan or gram flour but the west knows it as chickpea flour. It’s a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chana dal known as Bengal gram. This flour contains a high proportion of carbohydrates, high fiber in comparison to other flours, contains no gluten and has a higher proportion of protein than others. For this recipe, its advisable to use roasted chickpea flour as it gives more flavor and omits the raw flavor. Just heat a dry pan and add chickpea flour in it. Roast it for 2-4 minutes on low flame. Be careful to not burn it. You can even roast the flour in advance and store it in an airtight container. That ways you are always ready to make Pitla!

Since I connect with dish at a personal level, I wanted to keep this recipe as authentic as possible. I had to call my neighbor and ask her to walk me through her mom’s recipe so that I could at least attempt to make it taste like hers! So here is how you can make Maharashtrian Besan Pitla or Spicy Chickpea Flour Mash at home in just a few minutes. In a deep bowl or vessel, add water, paprika and turmeric powder. Stir it all together till it dissolves in the water. Then gradually add the roasted chickpea flour to it. Blend it in with a whisk and ensure there are no lumps formed. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they begin to crackle, add chopped garlic and cook till it becomes light golden. Then add a finely chopped jalapeno along with chopped onions, paprika and turmeric powder. Saute till the onions becomes translucent. Now add the flour batter to the pan and quickly mix it. Add salt too at this point. Lower the flame and cook it covered for 5 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken and become a lump. Once the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan anymore, consider it done. Garnish it with chopped cilantro.

Serve Maharashtrian Besan Pitla with bhakri (most preferred combo) but it tastes good with any bread or rice. Spread it on a bread and enjoy it like a sandwich or use it as a dip. If you do try this recipe, please do share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. This will keep me motivated to develop more interesting recipes. Click a pic and post it with the hashtag #cookiliciousveg . I would love to see your pictures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Maharashtrian Besan Pitla or Spicy Chickpea Flour Mash

This is a perfect side for Bhakri (made with millet flour). Besan Pitla is a Maharashtrian dish made with chickpea flour. It's easy to make & very delicious.

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Course: accompaniment, Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Indian, Maharashtrian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2 people

Author: Priya Lakshminarayan

INGREDIENTS

For the chickpea flour batter

• 1 cup chickpea flour/besan
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp paprika

To make Pitla

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt as required
• 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the chickpea batter

• In a deep bowl or vessel, add water, paprika and turmeric powder. Stir it all together till it dissolves in the water.
• Then gradually add the roasted chickpea flour to it. Blend it in with a whisk and ensure there are no lumps formed.

To make Pitla

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• Once they begin to crackle, add chopped garlic and check till it becomes light golden.
• Then add a finely chopped jalapeno along with chopped onions, paprika and turmeric powder.
• Saute till the onions becomes translucent. Now add the flour batter to the pan and quickly mix it. Add salt too at this point.
• Lower the flame and cook it covered for 5 minutes. The mixture will begin to thicken and become a lump. Once the mixture doesn't stick to the pan anymore, consider it done.
• Garnish it with chopped cilantro.
• Serve Maharashtrian Besan Pitla with bhakri (most preferred combo) but it tastes good with any bread or rice. Spread it on a bread and enjoy it like a sandwich or use it as a dip.

NOTES

• For this recipe, its advisable to use roasted chickpea flour as it gives more flavor and omits the raw flavor. Just heat a dry pan and add chickpea flour in it. Roast it for 2-4 minutes on low flame. Be careful to not burn it. You can even roast the flour in advance and store it in an airtight container.
• This step is important - After adding the batter to the pan, the mixture will begin to thicken and become a lump. Once the mixture doesn't stick to the pan anymore, consider it done.
• Add green chillies if a jalapeno is too much.
• Adjust paprika based on your spice tolerance level.
• Do not skip adding garlic, it gives this dish a nice flavor.

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Fried Besan (Chickpea Flour) & Potato Squares Recipe, Savory Chickpea Flour & Mushroom Pancakes, Vegan Crispy Onion Pakoda | Fried Kanda Bhajiya, Besan Chutney/Bombay Chutney Recipe and Broccoli Oats Chilla/Pancakes are some interesting recipes that you can with chickpea flour or besan. Here are some of my favorites from the Maharashtrian cuisine – Masale Bhat Maharashtrian Style, Maharashtrian Koshimbir | Indian Veggie & Yogurt Salad, Maharastrian Kokum Amti/Dal, Maharashtrian Spicy Veg Kolhapuri Gravy, Vegan Sabudana | Sago | Tapioca Pearls Khichdi Recipe, Vegan Matki Misal in an Instant Pot and Vegan Malvani Style Green Chana | Chickpeas Masala.