AARISA PITHA

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (chaula)

1 cup sugar (chini)

½ litre refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

Method:

Soak the rice in water for about 2 to 3 hours. Wash it with water and then drain all the water. Keep the rice in room temperature to dry for about 2 to 3 minutes. Grind  it to make a semi-rough powder of it by using a grinder. Heat ½ cup of water and add 1 cup of sugar. As you go on stirring on medium flame, the boiling water forms a syrup. The syrup should be consistent. Slowly add 2 cups of rice powder to the syrup and stir continuously to form a batter. Take the batter in small portions and flatten the same with the help of your palms in the shape of small thick puris/ kachoris . Fry the thick puris (pithas) in oil till they become golden brown. Take them out and serve hot. The pitha also tastes great when served after cooling. A hard pitha may also be preserved in room temperature for about two weeks. (Feedbck from a visitor says that she couldn't prepare this pitha in proper manner after following the steps. The solution lies in getting the right consistency ("paga") of the dough that you get after adding sugar syrup to the rice powder. As you try again and again, experience will tell you how to reach the right consistency.)