Bet you don’t know all the pithas of Bangladesh

For hundreds of years, the Bangalis have been making hundreds of different kinds of pithas  that are unique to this land.

Traditional Bangladeshi pithas are mostly  made of rice flour, molasses, milk, coconuts and other indigenous ingredients. While the bhapa pitha (a steamed pitha) or puli pitha, there are actually many kinds of pithas in the country that you might not have seen before.

The Mojo Pitha Festival in Dhanmondi held Friday and Saturday was arranged just for that, to show off the remarkable variety of pithas from different regions.

This festival brought together some 50 pitha makers from different districts of the country—from north Bengal to the south and from Dinajpur  to Comilla.

And if you wanted to eat as much without paying anything, you could do that too. Visitors at the festival could join a competition to eat all you can pitha for free!

Various Bangladeshi traditional pithas. Photo: Zahed Khan

Some of these pitha included a strange jawbreaker pitha named “Muittha pitha” or “kukur Dhela”. This hard pitha is made of rice, coconut and molasses.

Other lesser known pithas include: Pakon, Morog Shongshar (made of chicken meat), Calcutta Puli, Dil Khush, Ridoy Horon etc.

Making of pithas in Bangladesh typically coincides with the new harvest in autumn. It brings together families and friends in the celebration of nature's bounties in Bangladesh.

Pithas are made and shared together from the rural areas to the metropolises.