Air fryer recipe · Desserts & Bakes · Assam
Assamese Ghila Pitha
Round, chewy rice-flour and jaggery cakes from Assam, a Magh Bihu favourite that suits winter festive gatherings too. Air-fried, they are chewier and less puffed than the fried original.
- 35 minTotal time
- 180°CAir fryer
- 4Serves
- VegetarianDiet
- AssamState
Part of the Diwali across India collection
Nutrition per serving
- 345kcal
- 3.7 gprotein
- 70.7 gcarbs
- 5.6 gfat
- 1.3 gfibre
Per serving, about 4 servings. Figures are estimates from standard ingredient databases, not medical, dietetic, or nutritional advice.
Ingredients
- Rice flour (sticky rice flour if you can get it)1.5 cups
- Grated jaggery1/2 cup
- Water1/2 cup
- Sesame seeds1 tbsp
- Cardamom powder1/4 tsp
- Oil, for brushing1 tbsp
Method
Melt the jaggery
Warm the water and stir in the jaggery until it fully dissolves. Strain it through a fine sieve to catch any grit. Let it cool until just warm to the touch.
Make the dough
Put the rice flour, sesame seeds and cardamom in a bowl. Pour in the jaggery water slowly while mixing with your hand. Stop when you have a soft but firm dough that holds its shape, not a batter. Sticky rice flour gives the classic chew, but regular rice flour also works.
Rest and shape
Cover the dough and rest it for 15 minutes so the flour soaks up the liquid. Wet your palms, take small lemon-sized portions and flatten each into a disc about 1 cm thick. Smooth any cracks at the edges with a damp finger.
Prepare the basket
Line the basket with a piece of perforated parchment so the jaggery does not stick. Brush both sides of each pitha with a little oil. Lay them out in one layer with gaps between.
Air-fry until set
Air-fry at 180°C for 10 min, turning once halfway, until the outside is deep brown and set. Jaggery browns quickly, so check at 8 minutes and pull them early if the edges darken too much. Break one open to check: the centre should look cooked and slightly sticky, with no raw white flour. Let them cool for 5 minutes before eating, as the inside is very hot.
