Poda Pitha

The favorite food of Lord Jagannath, Poda Pitha is a slow-cooked, baked rice cake from Odisha, traditionally prepared for the Rath Yatra festival.

Poda Pitha

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Rice, soaked overnight
  • 1/2 cup Urad dal, soaked overnight
  • 1 cup Grated coconut
  • 3/4 cup Jaggery, powdered
  • 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
  • Handful of cashews and raisins
  • 2 tbsp Ghee

Instructions

  1. Grind the soaked rice and urad dal into a thick, slightly coarse batter. Allow it to ferment for 6-8 hours.
  2. To the fermented batter, add grated coconut, jaggery, cardamom powder, nuts, and raisins. Mix well.
  3. Grease a pressure cooker or a heavy-bottomed pan with ghee. Traditionally, it's lined with a banana leaf.
  4. Pour the batter into the cooker/pan.
  5. Cook on a very low flame for about 45-60 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, cook without the whistle.
  6. The pitha is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean and the top is a beautiful caramelized brown.
  7. Let it cool down completely before slicing and serving. The 'poda' (burnt) crust is the most delicious part.