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Bihar

Summary: Recipes from Bihar. Last updated: 2026-09-30

Dal Pitha

Source: Bihari Dal Pitha Recipe (Traditional Bihari Delicacy) | Archana's Kitchen | Category: Snacks | Serves: 3 | Time: 1 hr 10 min, plus soaking

Steamed rice flour dumplings from Bihar with a spicy, crumbly chana dal filling. They are vegan, gluten-free and high in protein, and make a good tea-time snack.

Ingredients

Rice dough

  • 1 cup rice, soaked for 4 hours (or 1/2 cup rice flour)
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Water to cook

Dal stuffing

  • 3/4 cup chana dal (Bengal gram), soaked for 3 hours
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
  • 1 tsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp oil for greasing

Method

Rice dough

  1. Grind the soaked rice to a smooth paste with about 1/2 cup water.
  2. Thin the batter with about 1.5-2 cups water, then mix in the salt and oil.
  3. Cook the batter in a heavy-bottomed kadai over low heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes a soft dough. It may look lumpy and stick to the ladle, but keep stirring until it is all cooked. This takes at least 12-15 minutes.

Dal stuffing

  1. Drain the dal and grind it coarsely with the green chillies, ginger, garlic, salt, ajwain, cumin and peppercorns.
  2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai over low heat, add the paste and keep stirring until the dal is cooked and crumbly, about 7-10 minutes.
  3. Switch off the heat and mix in the coriander leaves.

Shaping and steaming

  1. Grease a steamer and your hands with oil. While the dough is still warm, shape lemon-sized portions into balls. Keep the rest of the dough covered with a damp cloth.
  2. Pinch each ball into a cup, spoon in the stuffing, and seal the edges well by pinching with greased fingers.
  3. Steam the pithas for 8-10 minutes. Or drop them into boiling water and cook until they float to the top, then drain.

Notes: Serve hot with coriander chutney, tomato chutney or mint chutney. You can also shape them with a gujiya mould, or like dimsums, kozhukattai or modak. Seal them well so the filling does not leak. Keywords: dal pitha, rice dumplings, chana dal, steamed, vegan, gluten-free