Chitalagi Amabasya : |
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Pithe or Pitha are a kind of home made dessert or snack from Bangladesh, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and the general Northeast Indian region. They are usually made from rice flour but there are some preparations which will use normal wheat flour.
The pithe preparations have a base made of starch (either rice or wheat) and a raw uncooked batter is prepared out of these, which will eventually be used to make a kind pouches where some additional filling will be put (sweet, vegetable, meat etc). The pouch is called "khol" (means the container) and the fillings are called "pur" (the filling). This pitha is offered to Lord Jagannath in Puja on Chitalagi Amabasya. Chitalagi Amabasya is also known as Chitau Amabasya. Chitalagi Amabasya is celebrated on the new moon day of the lunar month of Shravana. A special type of rice cake called 'chitau' is offered to Lord Jagannath at the temple. This cake is prepared and relished in almost every household. Gendeisuni, the goddess of snails and oysters is duly worshipped. These creatures are offered cakes and requested not to bruise the feet of farmers when they go to remove weeds from the fields. |
