Poda
pitha/raja special poda pitha/ black gram and rice cake:
PODA PITHA OR BLACK GRAM AND RICE CAKE is an authentic odia recipe which is made with rice, lentils, grated coconut and jaggery or sugar. This recipe is generally made at the time of Raja festival that is a three days-long festival celebrated in Odisha. Various pithas are made during this festival among them poda pitha is the main.
PODA
PITHA is a slow cooked pitha. It is made by slowly baking fermented rice and
black gram with sugar and coconut. There are many versions of poda pitha like,
lau poda pitha, kheera poda pitha, chaula poda pitha or rice poda pitha, janta
poda pitha. Preaparation style also varies. It can be made in cooker or inside
kadai or we can bake it in oven.
PODA
PITHA is a lightly sweetend pitha so, it goes well with ghuguni (yellow matar
curry), potato curry with gravy or any curry with gravy. It is also served with
mutton or chicken curry. Its crust is slightly brunt and hard, while the inside
is soft and white.
Ingredients
for making poda pitha:
·
Black
gram or urad dal( biri) – 1 cup
·
Rice
– 2 cups
·
Grated
coconut – 1 cup
·
Thinly
sliced coconut – ¼ cup
·
Cashew
– 2 tbsp
·
Raisin-
4 tbsp
·
Crumbled
Paneer – 1 cup
·
Sugar-
1 ½ cups
·
Ghee-
2 tbsp
·
Salt-
½ tsp
·
Grated
ginger – ½ tsp
Preparations
for poda pitha:
1. Wash and soak rice and urad dal
separately for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
2. Grind rice and urad dal into fine
paste.
3. Mix very well and keep the batter for 5 to 6 hour for fermentation.
4. After 5 hours, give the batter a
good mix and keep aside.
5. For making stuffing in a pan, take
grated coconut and sugar. Then add paneer, one tbsp raisin and one tbsp cashew
in it. Fry the mixture until it becomes dry completely.
6. Heat ghee in a pan and fry rest of
the cashew and thinly sliced coconut. When it becomes golden
brown, transfer it to a plate and keep aside.
How
to make poda pitha:
1. Grease a baking dish in which you
will bake the poda pitha. ( you can make this poda pitha in pressure cooker or
kadai or pan. But here, I have baked it in oven.)
2. Add sugar, a pinch of salt, grated
coconut, grated ginger and raisin in fermented batter and mix well.
3. Now spread half of the batter in
greased baking tray and spread the paneer –coconut stuffing on it.
4. Spread another half over the
stuffing.
6. Bake the pitha in preheat oven
at 180 degree for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Before de-mould it let it cool
completely.
7. Cut it into pieces and enjoy it.