A winter evening with various kinds of pithas, a lively performance by a folk troupe singing traditional folk songs, and a live pitha making station where you can see how your favourite pithas are made from the scratch, all of these and more were at display at 'Afroza's Pitha Utshab', held at the premises of Khazana restaurant situated at Gulshan 2 on 25 December. As we Bengalis love pithas of all kinds, let's delve into the reasons why we love our pithas so much, especially in winter!

The quintessential winter staple

Pithas, or traditional handcrafted cakes, are a wintertime treat that Bengalis love. Without the aroma of the pithas grabbing everyone's attention, winter is incomplete. Pithas can be made from different ingredients such as rice, coconut, jaggery, and sugar, and are generally served as snacks or as part of a main meal. The flavours of the pithas vary depending on the region in which they are made, and each have a unique and delicious taste. Hence, pithas are the perfect way to add some sweetness and delight to your life, especially on a chilly winter day.

An abundance of traditional delicacies

"We have brought more than 26 types of pithas here today, with other local foods like murir moa, teel er naru, among other things. I think that if more people are exposed to the wonderful varieties of pithas in our culture, the more they will be interested to try it out and be pleasantly surprised," remarked Afroza Parveen.

Alongside the most known ones, there's the kuli pitha with spicy chicken stuffed inside for those who prefer to have a nice alternative to the sweet ones. Want to have a pitha that's dipped in sweet, thick soup? Try out the sujir roshmalai. How about a pitha that feels more like biscuit but with our local pitha's taste, then try the biscuit pitha for that! Pithas show that so much fusion is possible beyond the normal ones we always crave for.

A chance for future generation to experience the pitha culture

With busy lives taking precedence, resulting in a decrease of interactions between family members, it's the children who suffer the most. Unlike our previous generations, they are deprived of the chance to see how pithas are made by elders on a winter morning, or how the process starts from scratch, beginning with getting the rice flours to mixing all the sugar, oil and spices to make the most mouth-watering of pithas!

"I really want our children to get that experience of having pithas with family, like we used to have. Pithas acted as a bridge with our loved ones and it signified how something as simple as waiting for a warm pitha to arrive, so that we can have it together, made us feel happier than anything else. I hope there will be more opportunities like this for children, and everyone to experience the wonderful heritage of pithas," said Afroza, when asked why the pitha experience is so important.