Sugarfree Lau Poda Pitha

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 -

• 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.

Sijha (Muan) Pitha ( And A Happy Raja to All )

The swings have sprung up all over the city. The latest Odia blockbusters are also out. Malls look all spruced up. Ongoing sales have the people coming out of their home in droves. Pretty girls are everywhere to be seen. And there is even a 'Raja Queen' contest to anoint the prettiest amongst them. That's the typical scene in Bhubaneshwar or even the smaller towns and cities of Coastal Odisha during Raja, the 3 day festival that is celebrated in honor of Mother Earth. Being one of the rare festivals that celebrate menstruation, the three days signal a period of complete rest from physical labor ( in accordance with what Ayurveda prescribes and not what marketeers of the extra absorbent winged protection and menstruation cups would like us to believe ) and eating to one's heart content.

Now for a scene from a typical Odia household that boasts of a hell raiser (aka a teenager). Makeup. Check. New outfits. Check. A spring in the step. Check. Pitha. Skip. "It's so loaded with calories", being the most common refrain with teenagers who are turning weight conscious. "What ? Do these teens think that KFC and their ilk fry chicken in water ?", I want to shout back. But then I already know the answers. As do these people.

But then, some wise Odia lady of yore was obviously thinking ahead of her time as she lovingly doled out pithas to her extended family. The humble pitha or the traditional Odia snack ( both sweet and savoury ) comes in a dazzling array of shapes, sizes and flavors. And thankfully, all of them are not ghee-guzzling entities that could give nightmares to any fitness freak. Or for that matter, any individual who believes in a moderate diet. The 'Muan Pitha' or 'Sijha Pitha' is just one among them. A steamed savoury delight with just the right amount of sweetened roasted coconut stuffed into it, it is usually eaten with a yellow peas curry or Ghuguni.

The traditional method of preparing one is to tie a piece of clean cloth over the mouth of a wide vessel containing water. A thick batter is poured over the cloth, covered with a lid and steamed till it is cooked. But I have employed the steamer attachment of a rice cooker to prepare this Pitha with almost identical results. Plus, it is minus the mess caused by the traditional one.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -

• 1 cup urad dal ( skinless )
• 2 cups rice
• 2 cups freshly grated coconut
• 1/2 cup powdred jaggery ( as par taste )
• 2 green cardamom ( powdered )
• 1 tsp black pepper ( powdered )
• 1 1/2 tsp ghee
• salt to taste

Preparation - Soak the rice and urad dal overnight. Wash and grind into a fine paste the next morning. Allow to ferment for 10 hours or so depending on the climate. 

Season the batter with salt just before steaming the pitha.

Cooking - Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the coconut and roast till it starts getting a little brown.

Add the powdered jaggery and cook till jaggery melts and coats the coconut evenly. Finally add the powdered spices,mix in and switch off the flame.

Grease a steamer pan with ghee . Pour a layer of batter about 1 cm thick. Spread a layer of the sweetened roasted coconut over it and finally cover it with another layer of the batter.

Boil water in the main pan. Place the steamer pan over it and close lid. Let it steam for about 15-20 mins.

Switch off the rice cooker/steamer. Remove the steamer attachment carefully. Let it cool down for a while before you cut the pitha into pieces of desired size.

Serve with a curry of your choice.

Ghora Manda

Yesterday was the first Gurubar(Thursday) of Margasira month (2014). The custom in my father's family is to observe Manabasa for every Thursday of this month, so my mother kept the Manaa (which symbolizes Goddess Lakshmi) and offered prasad three times a day. This may vary for some folks who may choose to keep the Manaa only after 'Prathamashtami' has been observed or even others who choose to keep it after Sankranti. Apart from this, these days one may also find some Odia women (m ostly those who are working) observing only the last Thursday of the month.

Each Manabasa Gurubar calls for a special 'bhoga' or offering. While the offering of the 'chakata bhoga' or mashed banana, chenna, milk and sugar/jaggery at the first prasad in the morning is common to all parts of the state, the anna bhoga or afternoon meal offered to the Goddess widely differs. Kheeri, Tarana, Khechudi, Arwa bhata, Dahi pakhala, Kanika are some examples of the 'anna bhoga'. The evening bhoga is usually a type of a pitha like Kakara, sijha manda, Malpua, attakali, gaintha, chakuli, etc. While some folks may also choose to offer the pitha along with the anna bhoga, the general rule it that it should contain rice as one of the ingredients. Though not a hard and fast rule ( and people do have a general tendency to twist the rules as per their convenience ), one can add a small amount of rice flour if making the kakara/manda/malpua with suji or maida.

One such pitha that is very popular in the Sundargarh (or more specifically Bonei) district is the Ghora or Ghura Manda. Made with a watery rice batter (not flour), this one has an amazing texture that it akin to to a pudding. The stuffing or 'pura' can be a mix of coconut, chenna (cottage cheese), sesame and groundnuts. Soft and melt-in-the-mouth types, this takes a few trials to perfect but is very much worth the effort. Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 45-50 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup arwa rice
• 1 coconut (grated)
• 1 1/2 cup chenna (cottage cheese)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• jaggery/sugar as per taste
• 2 tsp ghee
• a pinch of camphor
• 1-2 pinch cardamom powder

Preparation - Wash and soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Drain excess water and grind into a fine paste. Adjust the consistency to a flowing liquid one ( just like Chittau Pitha batter or Neer Dosa batter ).

Take the grated coconut, chenna, camphor and cardamom powder in a mixing bowl. Mash everything together.

Cooking - Slowly drain the batter into a large wok taking care to leave behind any solids (residue) in the bottom of the grinder/mixie jar. (If this residue gets into the wok, it makes the pitha grainy and spoils the overall texture.)

Add salt and a little jaggery to the wok. Switch on the flame taking care to keep it low. Keep stirring at regular intervals so that it does not catch at the bottom. Once the mixture thickens to that of a custard ( or somewhat thicker than Ragi malt ) consistency, switch off the flame.

Pour ladles of the hot mixture onto a greased steel plate or banana leaf. Gently spread (but not too much) using the back of a spoon. Layer with the stuffing of sweetened coconut and cottage cheese. Seal it or top it with more of the hot mixture. (While the more seasoned cooks can afford to touch the hot stuff, the rookies are warned to keep their fingers safe and unscathed)

Allow it to rest till it is completely cool.

Serve. (It tastes even better the next day so do remember to pop in a few pieces into the fridge)

Click here for details on the Manabasa Gurubar Puja .

Chunchipatra Pitha ( an Odia Delicacy )

Today is the last day of Raja, a three day celebration in Odisha. (Click on the link to read more about the festival  ). I have been very busy making various types of pithas (sweet snacks) and hence did not get the time to post anything over the weekend.

This is a special recipe that I learnt recently from Ritu maam and had a chance to make it for the first time during Raja. A very interesting traditional dish, one does not rely on any fancy kitchen tool but a bunch of 'Doob' grass to fashion it. The batter used is a normal rice flour one but with a very runny (almost water like) consistency. One just dips the bunch of grass into it and sprinkles a cross symbol on a flat vessel or a tawa. Now, this 'tawa' should be maintained at an optimal temperature, not too hot nor too cold (quite like a dosa). Then one puts some stuffing ( this can either be sweet like a coconut-jaggery mixture or savoury like potato/paneer/vegetable ) in the center and folds the ends over it to close it like a pocket. But these days we find ourselves living in concrete jungles and grass is tough to come by ( and even if we do, God forbid what chemicals/pesticides people spray on the lawns these day ) . So, a clean piece of thin cloth folded into a rectangle shape will do in place of the grass. What I find most endearing about this dish is the fact that the layers are paper thin (almost transparent) and one can actually see the stuffing inside.

So, read on for a refreshingly different recipe -

Preparation Time - 30-40 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup basmati/jeera/arwa rice 
• 1 whole coconut
• sugar/jaggery to taste
• 1-2 green cardamoms
• 1-2 tsp ghee
• salt to taste

Preparation - Wash and soak the rice overnight.

Drain excess water. Grind it into a very fine paste. Add salt and more water to the batter. Make it quite runny in consistency. Keep aside for 1-2 hours.

Grate the coconut and keep aside.

Cooking - Heat 1 tsp ghee in a wok. Add the coconut and fry till it starts turning light brown. Add sugar/jaggery at this point and keep stirring till it is completely dissolved. Remove from flame and keep aside.

Heat a tawa. Lightly grease with ghee. Use a paper towel to wipe off/remove the excess as it will not allow the batter to spread properly.

Take a thin cotton cloth/handkerchief and fold it into a rectangle. Dip into the batter, remove and brush lightly over the tawa making a cross symbol with it. Keep the flame low to medium. As it gets cooked, the ends will slightly lift up.

Put the coconut stuffing in the center and fold the ends over it. Remove from tawa and keep aside.

Wipe the tawa with a paper towel and proceed with another pitha. (After making 4-5 pithas, the batter gets slightly thicker. Add a few teaspoons of water to dilute it and adjust salt accordingly)

Serve hot with curry/dalma.

Potali Pitha

Potali Pitha is traditional prasad or offering at the Shri Baladev Ji Mandir in Kendrapara. If you are a nature lover of sorts, then you must be aware of this nondescript district of Odisha. It houses the famous Bhitarkanika National Park, home to the endangered Saltwater crocodiles and quite a few other species of animals. This region is also home to a lush and thriving mangrove population, which covers an area of 650 square kilometers on the delta formed by rivers Brahmani and Baitarini.

This was the first time I got a chance to savor this delicacy and i quite liked it. It has quite a familiar flavour ( sweet with notes of edible camphor) that most of our pithas ( especially ones made for prasadam ) have. More specifically, I would say it tastes like a cross between a sweet atta chakuli and a kakara. While I haven't tried making it at home, I got the recipe from one of the regular visitors to this temple ( the same person who got the Pithas for us ). Read on for the recipe ( Loved the original packaging very much...have clicked the picture in the same...a leaf basket ):

For the pancakes (outer layer of the Pitha):
2 cups maida ( all purpose flour )
1 tsp ghee (warm)
a pinch of salt

For the stuffing:
1 cup chenna,
1 cup freshly grated coconut,
5-6 tsp sugar
1 pinch of camphor
2 green cardamon powdered
2 tsp ghee

2-3 tbs whole wheat flour
2-3 tbs molasses (this is a form of liquid jaggery)
More ghee for frying.

Preparation - Take the maida, salt and warm ghee in a mixing bowl. Add enough water to make a pancake batter. Mix carefully to remove lumps if any.

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing (except for ghee in another bowl). Keep aside.

Mix the whole wheat flour, molasses and a little water in a separate bowl. Keep aside.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add 2 tsp ghee. Add the stuffing mixture and roast on medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Remove from flame and allow to cool down.

Heat a tawa or frying pan. Rub in a little ghee for greasing the surface.

Take a ladle of the maida batter and pour on the tawa. Roll the tawa or use the ladle to spread the batter evenly into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Drizzle with more ghee.

Spread some of the stuffing on one half of circle. Fold the circle into half and apply gentle pressure to close the pitha ( Or one can use some of the batter as a glue ).Flip over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove from flame and allow to cool down a bit. Make more such stuffed pancakes with the remaining batter and stuffing.

Now dip each pancake/pitha in the wheat flour-molasses mixture and place on a heated tawa/frying pan. Drizzle and fry each side with more ghee to get a lovely deep brown color.

Biri Poda Pitha ( Sweetened Rice cake from Odisha )

Ratha jatra or the Car festival is one of the most important and eagerly awaited festivals in the Odiya calendar. It marks the annual trip made by Lord Jagannath to his mausi's abode. It is being celebrated on 10th of July this year.

Among the famous offerings being made to the Lord during his visit the one that stands out most is the 'Poda pitha'. This slowly baked cake made by using firewood and an earthern hearth is an intrinsic part of many odiya folklores.

Not to be confused with the 'Raja poda pitha', this one  has it own unique flavour. While the 'poda' prepared during Raja has 'chaula chuna' or rice flour as its main ingredient, Lord Jagannath's favorite makes use of 'biri chaula pithau' or black lentil and rice batter. Enriched with many aromatic ingredients like desi ghee, crushed ginger, crushed peppercorns, cardamom powder, jaggery, freshly grated coconut and coconut slices, this 'desi' cake can easily give the imported variants a run for their money.

I have given a slight twist to this traditional recipe by substituting the freshly grated coconut with a roasted and slightly caramelized version. Also, adding a tiny bit of baking powder helps with the leavening ( as fermentation takes longer in the cool climate of Bangalore ).

Here's the recipe :

Ingredients:

• 1 cup skinless black lentil ( chopa chada biri )
• 2 cups rice  ( arua chaula )
• 3-4 tbsp sugar/Jaggery ( adjust as per requirement )
• a handful of dry fruits ( raisins and chopped cashews )
• 1/2 cup chenna ( ricotta cheese ) 'Optional'
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 cup thin coconut slices
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1/3 cardamom powder
• 1 tsp coarsely ground peppercorn
• 1 1/2 inch ginger ( finely crushed )
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• salt to taste

Preparation: Soak the rice and lentil overnight. Wash and grind into a fine paste the next morning. Allow to ferment for 10-20 hours depending on the climate.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a frying pan. Add the grated coconut and roast on a low flame till it starts turning brown. Add 2 tsp sugar and cook till the sugar melts and coats the coconut evenly giving it a beautiful brown hue. Allow this mixture to cool down.

Mix the salt, remaining sugar/jaggery , dry fruits, cardamom powder, pepper, ginger, ghee, coconut slices and also the caramelized coconut into the batter. Finally add the baking powder and give it a good whisk. Let it stand for 5 mins before popping into the pre-heated oven.

Cooking: Preheat an oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

Take a good quality ovenproof dish which is about 2 inches deep. Grease the container with a good quantity of ghee.

Pour the batter into the baking dish.

Put in the oven and cook at 180 degrees for 30 mins. Then lower the temperature to about 150 degrees and bake for another 30 mins. Insert a toothpick to check if it comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let it cool down completely . Cut into pieces and serve with ghuguni and kheeri.

Have a great time enjoying the Poda pitha !!