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Nakshi pitha
Carved fried rice cakes in syrup
নকশি পিঠা (nakshi pitha): Mymensingh's hand-carved rice cakes, fried and soaked in syrup
Nakshi means embroidered, and in Mymensingh and Kishoreganj these winter cakes are as much craft as food: women carve flowers, leaves, fish and paisleys into thick rounds of rice dough with a date-palm thorn or a sharpened bamboo stick, and a family's most beautiful pitha are set aside for a visiting son-in-law or a new bride's first winter. The carved cakes are fried slowly until crisp and then dipped in syrup, so the lines of the pattern fill with sweetness. They are crunchy outside, chewy within, and keep for days in a tin. Dough that is too dry cracks along the carving, which is the most frequent problem, so keep it covered with a damp cloth as you work. Chef's tip: fry over a low heat; hot oil browns the surface before the inside cooks and blurs the pattern.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 pinch salt
- 10 ½ oz fine rice flourplus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
For the syrup
- 10 ½ oz sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 green cardamom podslightly crushed
To fry
- 2 cups vegetable oilfor deep frying
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Bring 1 ¼ cups water, 1 pinch salt and 1 tsp vegetable oil to the boil, tip in 10 ½ oz fine rice flour and stir hard over a low heat for 1 minute until it forms a lump. Cover and rest off the heat for 10 minutes.
3 minStep 2: Knead the warm dough for 5–6 minutes until perfectly smooth and pliable.
6 minStep 3: Roll the dough out to about 1 cm thick and cut into 7–8 cm rounds, diamonds or leaf shapes; keep them covered with a damp cloth.
5 minStep 4: Using the tip of a small sharp knife, a toothpick or a skewer, cut patterns about 3 mm deep into the top of each piece: flowers, leaves or criss-cross lines.
45 minStep 5: Simmer 10 ½ oz sugar, 1 cup water and 3 green cardamom pods for 8–10 minutes until slightly sticky between finger and thumb, then keep warm.
10 minStep 6: Heat 2 cups vegetable oil in a wok to about 300°F and fry the pitha 4–5 at a time for 6–7 minutes, turning, until crisp and pale gold.
30 minStep 7: Drain and drop them straight into the warm syrup for 1–2 minutes, then lift out onto a rack to set. Store in an airtight tin for up to 5 days.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does nakshi pitha take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 70 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 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 sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of green cardamom pods?
- A pinch of ground cardamom per 2 pods.
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