Pithas are the mainstay of Odia festive food. And Raja is just another occasion to reinforce the fact that we Odia's love our pitha . From the sweet to the savory, and from the frugal to the opulent, there is a pitha for every budget and every occasion.
Though I personally prefer the savory ones over the sweetened variety, the Lau Poda pitha is one of my favorite Pithas. And according to a story that dates back to my childhood days, I ended up burning my forearm trying to get it out of the hot oven, In fact I still have a burn mark (though it has lightened considerably over time) to vouch for the authenticity of this tale.
In those days, it was my grandmother who prepared the pitha and she used to make this one in a round electric oven with a glass window on top. The whole contraption used to glow red during the time it was being operated. And it was a real magnet for a curious kid like me. You can very well decipher the rest of the tale.
Quite easy to prepare and with the additional health benefits of bottle gourd puree, I opted for a Sugarfree version this Raja as my MIL is diabetic. But one can use sugar or jaggery as one pleases.
[ IMPORTANT - For more Pitha recipes, click HERE ]
Read on for the recipe -
Preparation Time - 1 hour
Ingredients -
Preparation - Peel and cook the bottle gourd pieces for 1 whistle. Once steam escapes, drain off the water and puree the boiled bottle gourd.
Cooking - Take the bottle gourd puree in a wok and cook it on a low flame for 4-5 minutes before adding the milk.
Once the mixture gets bubbling, add the rice flour, salt and sugar. Cook till it gets to a dough like consistency.
Remove from the flame before adding the cardamom powder, pepper powder, ghee and coconut slices. Mix in and keep aside till it reaches a bearable temperature.
Rub ghee on your palms and start kneading it thoroughly for 5 mins.
Grease a baking dish. Press the dough into it and drizzle some ghee on top.
Preheat for 10 mins at 180 degrees.
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake at 180 degrees till a reddish crust forms.
Remove and keep aside till it cools down. Cut into pieces.
Serve cold. Tastes best the next day and can be refrigerated for up to one week.
Though I personally prefer the savory ones over the sweetened variety, the Lau Poda pitha is one of my favorite Pithas. And according to a story that dates back to my childhood days, I ended up burning my forearm trying to get it out of the hot oven, In fact I still have a burn mark (though it has lightened considerably over time) to vouch for the authenticity of this tale.
In those days, it was my grandmother who prepared the pitha and she used to make this one in a round electric oven with a glass window on top. The whole contraption used to glow red during the time it was being operated. And it was a real magnet for a curious kid like me. You can very well decipher the rest of the tale.
Quite easy to prepare and with the additional health benefits of bottle gourd puree, I opted for a Sugarfree version this Raja as my MIL is diabetic. But one can use sugar or jaggery as one pleases.
[ IMPORTANT - For more Pitha recipes, click HERE ]
Read on for the recipe -
Preparation Time - 1 hour
Ingredients -
- 1 3/4 cup Chaula chuna (rice flour)
- 3 cups Bottle gourd chunks
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup coconut slices
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tsp freshly pepper powder
- 1/5 tsp salt
- 6-7 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp ghee
Preparation - Peel and cook the bottle gourd pieces for 1 whistle. Once steam escapes, drain off the water and puree the boiled bottle gourd.
Cooking - Take the bottle gourd puree in a wok and cook it on a low flame for 4-5 minutes before adding the milk.
Once the mixture gets bubbling, add the rice flour, salt and sugar. Cook till it gets to a dough like consistency.
Remove from the flame before adding the cardamom powder, pepper powder, ghee and coconut slices. Mix in and keep aside till it reaches a bearable temperature.
Rub ghee on your palms and start kneading it thoroughly for 5 mins.
Grease a baking dish. Press the dough into it and drizzle some ghee on top.
Preheat for 10 mins at 180 degrees.
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake at 180 degrees till a reddish crust forms.
Remove and keep aside till it cools down. Cut into pieces.
Serve cold. Tastes best the next day and can be refrigerated for up to one week.