Chuda Kadamba ( Avalakki/Poha Laddoo )

Chuda santula (Poha). Chuda Kadali Chakta. Chuda khera. Chuda payas. While there are many ways of consuming beaten rice ( or 'Chuda') in  Odisha, I came across this one very recently. 'Chuda Kadamba' or laddoos made of powdered beaten rice are not only easy to make, they taste great and are super healthy too!! They do sound like manna from heaven for folks on a strict diet regimen ( one can cut down on the quantity of ghee by half and use skim milk instead ) .

I was inspired to make this for my kid who is on a snacking spree these days. Store bought stuff can be unhealthy at times ( MSG, too much sugar, artificial sweeteners) and he is always looking for more variety. Hence I tried these laddoos which did not call for much effort and are low on white/refined sugar too !!! While I have added some cashews and raisins to my version but one can also omit the same. Read on for the quick recipe -

Preparation time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups thin poha/chuda (beaten rice)
• 5 tsp brown sugar/jaggery
• 2 green cardamoms (powdered)
• 1 tsp ghee
• 4 tbsp freshly grated coconut
• 4-5 tsp warm milk ( or as needed for binding )
• a pinch of edible camphor (optional)
• 3-4 tbsp broken cashews (optional)
• 2 tbsp raisins (optional)

Preparation - Heat 1/2 tsp ghee in a pan. Add the cashews and raisins and fry for 10-15 seconds. Keep aside to cool down.

Grind the beaten rice to a fine powder.

Next add the cardamom and brown sugar/jaggery to the same blender jar and buzz till mixed.

Add freshly grated coconut, ghee, fried cashews and buzz for 1-2 seconds.

Finally add the milk little by little and give it a buzz. All the ingredients should come together like a dough. If not add more milk by the teaspoon ( be careful at this stage ).

Rub ghee on your hands, take a little of the mixture and try to form a ball/laddoo. If it is binding well, remove the mixture from blender jar into a mixing bowl else add more milk . Add raisins and camphor. Mix well.

Make into small balls. Pop into the fridge for a few hours. Keep refrigerated and consume with 2-3 days.

Chuda Bhaja

Whenever I used to fall ill or catch a cold as a kid, my mom would find it a very difficult task to feed me. Everything tasted like sawdust and I refused to open my mouth. It was during those times she gave me mudhi bhaja or chuda bhaja, puffed rice/flattened rice fried with some onions, chilli and topped with some JB mixture/farsan . Now the JB mixture thing is a legend with most Rourkela-ites but sadly not available in other parts of the state. While it was quite simple and healthy, it tasted wonderful to my ravaged taste buds. In fact the taste and the memories still linger on in my mind. And that is why I made this recently when my son was suffering from a cold. The little one quite enjoyed it. Sadly I had to do without the JB mixture as I did not have any in stock. (Even the little one likes it, maybe it is in his genes.)

While I do make this with the addition of oats ( you will find it on my blog ), I never thought of posting it. But this time I made a note to do it. Some of the harried moms' will surely find it useful. Read on -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


1 cup chuda or poha or flattened rice
a fistful of peanuts
4-5 curry leaves
1 dry red chilli (broken into 2-3 pieces)
1 small onion finely chopped
2-3 tsp oil for frying
a bit of red chilli powder  (optional)
Some mixture/farsan for topping
salt to taste


Cooking - Heat oil in a wok. Add the red chilli and curry leaves. Fry a bit.

Add the peanuts and turn up flame so that they start popping.

Add a little chuda at first. Allow then to soak up some oil and get puffed. Then add in the rest of the stuff. Fry for 5-6 mins till they turn crispy. Add salt and mix in.

Add the onions at this stage and fry on high for 1 minutes.

Finally remove from flame and add the mixture.

Serve immediately else it tends to get soggy. (If you want to store it, do not add onions or add them at the beginning and fry to a crisp.)