Dumplings of Bandarban

 

Dumplings of Bandarban

Dumplings or Pithas are foodstuffs similar to other bakery foods common in Bangladesh and India. Pithas are typically made of rice flour, sometimes with wheat and maize flour. Few types of pitha are made of other plant products and even vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, radish, or potato. Pithas can be sweet or savoury and is normally made from a dough or batter steamed, baked, fried or grilled. Some pithas have filling inside with milk cream, coconut or molasses and even garnished with cheese or sauce Different types of pithas have different shapes decorated with different arts and fashions. Pithas are eaten as snacks normally on special occasions or ceremonies. The most popular pithas contain sugar, jaggery or molasses, date juice, or palm syrup, sometimes filled with grated coconut, roasted sesame seeds, cashews and pistachios. Pakan pitha, Puli pitha, Dudh puli, Patisapta pitha or Patibola, Bhapa pitha/Dhupi pitha, Pata pitha, Jamai pitha/chips pitha, Fuljhuri pitha or Fulkuchi pitha etc. are some of the favourite pithas of Bangladesh Let us now see how pithas have takes shapes and types at Bandarban. The main ingredient of hill pithas are flour made of Glutinous rice called Binni or Bini rice. This flour when boiled becomes sticky or waxy. In Bangladesh and especially in the hill tracts, some parts of Sylhet and Brahmanbaria and Netrokona, sticky rice flour is used to make a variety of pithas. In these areas, binni rice is very popular for boiled rice, pilao, payesh (or tortilla) and boiled rice in bamboo cylinders. According to the colour of the hulled rice, binni rice are called red Binni, white binni and black binni. While you will be travelling to Nilachal, Nilgiri or any other distant places, you will be visiting the beauty of jhum cultivation on sky-high mountains. Tribal farmers of Bangladesh grow this type of sticky rice in Jhum system both on hills and plains. This rice is cultivated in jhum system and the rice varieties grown in jhum are called jhum rice. With the jhum rice, tribal people celebrate many of their festivals. Binni dhan or binni chaol or chal is also one of the staple food of Bandarban tribal people. Without Binni boiled rice, no marriage ceremony happens in the tribal area Now enjoy some of the pithas of Bandarban.

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