5 quintessential Odia desserts to savour this season

CHENNAI: Nothing compares to the feeling of devouring traditional sweets. Indians have a long tradition of preparing various desserts at homes across the country. Odisha is known for its wide range of seasonal desserts like Rasabali, Kheera Gaja, Chhena Poda, Rasagola and lots more. Here’s a list of Odia desserts for you to try.

Arisa pitha

It is an authentic traditional sweet pancake prepared on the occasion of Manabasa Lakshmi Puja in the month of Margashir. Odia people also prepare it in wedding ceremonies, a popular custom in Odisha where bridegrooms carry a basket filled with Arisa pithas to their in-laws’ houses as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. This dry and hardened pitha is made of rice flour, sugar/jaggery, and sesame seeds by deep frying in refined oil. The crispy and crunchy outer layer surrounds the soft insides of this tasty traditional pancake.

Ata kakara

This traditional sweet pitha is usually prepared with whole wheat flour, ghee, sugar, cardamom, black pepper powder, and fennel seeds and stuffed with coconut and jaggery during religious festivals daily in Puri. Also known as sana kakara, it is one of the Abhada Bhoga (Mahaprasad) recipes offered to Lord Jagannath during Madhyanna Dhupa (a midday meal served from 12.30 pm to 1.00 pm).

Gainthapitha

It is a melt-in-your-mouth dessert made on the auspicious day of Baula Amabasya by using small rice dumplings cooked in creamy milk. Also known as mango flowers, boula phula is offered to Lord Jagannath to get a good harvest. The preparation might seem simple, but it surely needs precision. The rice flour balls are cooked in flavoured milk, with some cardamoms and some strings of saffron in the milk.

Haladi patrapitha

This pitha is a traditional Odia delicacy prepared during Prathamastami, a ritualistic festival of Odisha celebrated by Odia households to pray for the long life of the firstborn child in a family. This pitha is made from rice and black gram batter and steamed within the moulds prepared from turmeric leaves.

Chenna jhilli

It is a very popular and signature Odia dessert that originated from a small village on the way to the iconic Sun Temple of Konark in Nimapada in the Puri district of Odisha. Chenna jhilli is made from fresh chenna or cottage cheese, semolina, and plain flour, followed by frying it in ghee and soaked in light sugar syrup. After having it, one can feel the burst of flavours from the sweetness of chenna and the cardamom-flavoured sugar syrup.