Another popular sweetmeat is the peetha. Peetha holds a special place in every Bengali household during Durga Puja festivities and other festivals including Makar Sankranti. Nevertheless, the traditional styles of Peetha making on mud ovens. And using hand-grounded ingredients by our grandmothers has slowly died down. What we now have the modern tweaked versions.
Although Peetha is typically served all over West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, Jangalmahal has a different variety. It has a non-vegetarian stuffing. Peetha is the most famous the Indian tribal cuisine in Odisha.
Generally, small balls of rice flour dough are rolled out, filled with a sweet stuffing of khoya, paneer or grated coconut, rolled up and steamed or fried. But the tribals make an altogether different savoury version of this treat – and it’s equally delicious.
A non-vegetarian filling is rolled up in rice flour dough and fried
Sabuj Soren, a small-time trader from Banspahari, gives up the method. “Cut up chicken, mutton or pork in small pieces, marinate and deep-fry, retaining some juice.” This lip-smacking filling is rolled up in the rice flour dough and fried again to make a Jel Peetha which is also known as the Indian tribal cuisine in Odisha.
Soren even has the hierarchy clear. “Sukri (pork) peetha is esteemed more than naram (mutton) peetha, while sim (chicken) peetha is more common – it would energise any Adivasi festival or occasion,” he lists out with a grin.
