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Koat pitha
Mizo banana and rice-flour fritters with jaggery
Koat pitha is Mizoram's favourite tea-time snack, sold in Aizawl's bakeries and street stalls and fried at home whenever bananas go soft: mashed ripe banana is mixed with rice flour and jaggery into a thick batter and fried in spoonfuls until crisp, brown and puffed. Inside they are soft and sticky-sweet. They are served at church gatherings and with red tea on wet afternoons. Chef's tip: the riper the bananas the better; spotted, almost black ones give the most flavour and sweetness.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananasabout 300 g peeled
- 5 ½ oz rice flour
- 2 ⅛ oz jaggery or brown sugargrated
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tbsp waterif needed
- 1 ¾ cups vegetable oilfor frying
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Mash 3 very ripe bananas to a smooth pulp. Mix in 2 ⅛ oz jaggery or brown sugar, 1 pinch salt and 5 ½ oz rice flour to a thick, sticky batter that holds on a spoon; add 3 tbsp water only if it is too stiff to drop. Rest 10 minutes.
10 minStep 2: Heat 1 ¾ cups vegetable oil in a kadai over a medium heat until a drop of batter rises with steady bubbles. Common mistake: hot oil; the sugar burns before the middle cooks.
Step 3: Drop in tablespoons of batter, 6–8 at a time, and fry for 4–5 minutes, turning, until deep brown, crisp and puffed.
15 minStep 4: Drain on a rack and serve warm with tea.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 56 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does koat pitha take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of very ripe bananas?
- 120g (½ cup) apple sauce per banana (less banana flavour).
- What can I use instead of jaggery or brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
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