Jhunka or Zunka is a gram flour porridge or a gram flour curry, similar to polenta. It is a traditional Indian dish prepared in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

North Karnataka North Karnataka is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 13 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhi ...

, and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. It is also known by the name of pithla or pithle. The dish is also referred to as ''jhunka bhakar'' or ''pithla bhakri''. Pithle is also known as ''chun'' in

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

region of Maharashtra. Jhunka with bhakar is considered quintessential peasant fare of Maharashtra. It is accompanied by ''kharda'' or ''

thecha Thecha is a spicy condiment prepared in the state of Maharashtra. It has many variants but the primary ingredients are chili peppers (green or red), peanuts and garlic, often tempered in oil (generally peanut) and a multitude of spices such as cumin ...

''. In recent times, ''pithla bhakri'' has become inseparable part of treks to mountain forts such as

Sinhagad Sinhagad is an ancient hill fortress located at around 49 km southwest of the city of Pune, India. Previously known as ''Kondhana'', the fort had been the site of many battles, most notably the Battle of Sinhagad in 1670. The Sinhagad ...

. Zunka/pithla is considered a nutritious food because of its balanced content of fiber, protein, carbohydrates and potassium.

Preparation

Jhunka is made by mixing

gram flour Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali, ...

(''besan'') with water to form a semi-solid paste. It is then sauteed in oil with any other assorted ingredients like green chillies, red chilly powder, turmeric, salt, fried onions, mustard seeds, ginger-garlic, cumin seeds, coriander leaves. Jhunka is traditionally served with

Bhakri Bhakri () is a round flatbread (roti) often used in the cuisine of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka in India. The bhakri prepared using jowar or bajra is coarser than a regular wheat chapati. Bhakri can be either soft ...

and is also eaten with ''

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinid ...

'' or rice.

Political significance

In 1995, the Shiv Sena Bharatiya Janata Party government launched the Zhunka-Bhaakar scheme in Maharashtra. The scheme was intended to address the state's socioeconomic crisis by allocating over 6000 stalls to the unemployed. The plan was not successful because the stalls were not able to provide the zunka-bhakar at the subsidized price of one rupee, so they began selling other foods instead. In 2000, the Congress-NCP government ended the scheme and the Supreme Court upheld this decision.

References

Maharashtrian cuisine Karnataka cuisine {{Kar-stub