Foxtail and Mutton Pitha

Wipe the banana leaves with a damp tea towel and lightly grill both sides over an open flame. This makes the leaves pliable enough to work with.

Remove the thick end of the leaves and compost them. Now, depending on the size of your iron pan or tawa, cut the leaves into smaller pieces.

Make a coarse paste of the ginger, garlic, and all the dry spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, whole peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods, cloves, and red chillies) using a mortar and pestle or a mixie. Set it aside. Do not add the bay leaves to this paste.

Add two tablespoons of mustard oil to the wok or kadhai. Once the oil is hot and turns pale yellow, add the sugar. This helps to caramelize the onions.

Add the hand torn bay leaves to the hot oil, and after a few seconds, slide the sliced onion into the wok.

Fry the sliced onions until they are partially caramelized, and look golden brown.

Add the coarsely ground paste to the onions, along with the turmeric powder. Mix everything thoroughly with a spatula and saute for two minutes.

Turn the flame on high, and add the ground meat to this mixture. Cook for five minutes.

Turn down the heat, and cover the wok with a lid. Cook the meat until it is done, about 15 minutes. Stir every three to four minutes so it does not stick to the bottom of the wok.

Once the meat is cooked, check its flavour, and add salt. Remember that the millet flour will go in after this, so the salt needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Take the wok off the stove and turn off the flame. Add the foxtail millet flour and water to the meat and mix well. The mixture should come together to form a soft, sticky dough.

Use a pastry brush or your fingers and use some of the remaining mustard oil to coat the banana leaves. This ensures that the pitha dough does not stick to the leaves.

Divide the pitha dough into two parts. Put one half on the oiled surface of the banana leaf and press gently with your fingers to shape and spread it across the center of the leaf in a circle. Cover the pitha with another oiled leaf, ensuring that the oiled surface is the one in contact with the pitha.

Turn on the stove and heat the frying pan on a medium flame. Once hot, pour some oil on it and let it coat the pan well. Place one banana leaf on the pan, and then position the leaf-wrapped pitha on top of this leaf. Cover the pitha with another leaf, so that it does not get burnt.

Cover the pan with a lid. Place a heavy weight or pestle on top of the lid—first horizontally, then vertically—for five minutes each. This will allow the pitha to cook for ten minutes on a low to medium flame.

Carefully remove the pestle. and gently remove the leaf wrapped pitha onto a plate. Turn it over, and place this uncooked side back onto the pan and cover with the lid again. Repeat the previous step by placing the pestle onto the lid.

Repeat steps 13 through 16 for the remaining pitha dough.

Place the pithas on a large plate and peel away the banana leaves.

Serve the pithas warm with a side of salad, raita, or raw onion.