Tekeli pitha

Step 1: Mix 3 ½ oz fresh grated coconut, 3 ½ oz jaggery and ¼ tsp ground green cardamom in a bowl, rubbing with your fingers until the jaggery has broken down and the coconut looks evenly brown and moist.

Step 2: Put 9 oz rice flour and 1 pinch salt in a wide bowl and sprinkle over ¼ cup water a spoonful at a time, rubbing it in. Stop when a handful holds its shape when squeezed but crumbles when poked; it must stay loose and powdery, not a dough.

Step 3: Half-fill a narrow-necked pot or a small deep saucepan with 4 ¼ cups water and bring it to a rolling boil. Tie a clean, damp muslin cloth tightly over the mouth so it sits like a drum skin.

Step 4: Sprinkle half the damp rice flour onto the cloth in a round about 12 cm wide and pat it level without pressing hard. Spread the coconut filling over it, leaving a 1 cm border, then cover with the rest of the rice flour.

Step 5: Cover the cake with an upturned bowl or lid and steam over a medium-high heat for 10–12 minutes, until the top looks matt and set and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.

Step 6: Lift the bowl, leave the pitha for a minute, then slide it off the cloth onto a plate with a flat spatula. Cut into wedges and eat warm with tea.