Pithla: Indian Hummus

Pithla, also known as jhunka or zunka, is a classic Maharashtrian Indian dish made with gram flour (chickpea flour) and spices. It’s commonly served with bhakri, a style of flatbread made with jowar (sorghum), bajra (millet), or tandalachi (rice) flour. Together, the meal is called pithla bhakri, and it’s entirely gluten free, as long as you skip the asafoetida! It’s also vegan and makes for a very well balanced, filling, and easy to prepare meal.

In this article, you’ll find information about the origin of pithla, as well as links to recipes and the supplies you’ll need to make the dish. It’s comfort food and very easy to prepare. Hopefully you’ll give it a go!

Pithla is a very humble dish, traditionally eaten by rural farmers. Because the farmers didn’t have much time to make food or money to purchase ingredients, pithla was a great option. It’s very filling and provides sustained energy due to the complex carbohydrates and protein in the whole grains and chickpea flour. This makes it the perfect dish for long days of physical labor, like farming.

There’s huge variation in the styles of pithla across India. Like most country’s foods, Indian dishes are highly regional. Because of this, some varieties might include yogurt, buttermilk, or ghee, or even a wheat roti. So if you’re eating pithla bhakri someone else has prepared, always make sure to ask about the ingredients!

All of the main ingredients in pithla are gluten free, you just need to watch out for asafoetida. This spice is often cut with wheat flour, but as long as you’re using a gluten free variety of asafoetida, you’re golden. Pithla is made with a simple mix of chickpea flour, spices, water, and onion. Bhakri flatbread is made with either sorghum or millet flour, plus some water. If you have these gluten free flours and some spices at home, then you’ve got yourself a delicious pantry dinner.

Gluten Free Pithla Bhakri Ingredients

We’d recommend exploring our gluten free flour and asafoetida articles for more information about each ingredient. But to make it a bit easier for you, we’ve provided some direct product links to gluten free options below. To find the most affordable and extensive selection of Indian spices, head to your local Indian market!

• Chickpea flour

• Sorghum flour

• Millet flour

• Pure asafoetida powder (hing)

• Garam masala

• Turmeric

• Chili powder

• Black mustard seeds

• Cumin seeds

• Curry leaves

Pithla Bhakri Recipes

Pithla can vary in texture and spices, but the dryer versions are usually called zunka or jhunka instead. Occasionally jhunka is thick enough that it’s sliced and served in pieces! Most of the recipes linked below include recipes for bhakri, but we’ll also linked a couple separately. Serving pithla with rice is another popular option. We highly recommend making an accompaniment like thecha (peanut chili chutney), bhurrka (chili oil), or tomato chutney, if you have the time.

• Pithla from Whisk Affair

• Pithla from Ministry of Curry

• Jowar roti from Dassana’s Veg Recipes

• Indian chickpea stew from Annada Rathi via Food 52

• Jhunka vadi from Indian Veggie Delight

• Marathi zunka from Hebbar’s Kitchen

• Tandalachi bhakri from Archana’s Kitchen

• Pitla from Curry Affairs