Lord Jagannath & his insatiable sweet tooth

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to apply for Geographical Indication (GI) tag for ‘Jagannath Rasagola’ instead of ‘Odishara Rasagola’. However, this is not the only sweet dish offered to the sibling deities of Jagannath temple in Odish’s Puri. The ‘chappan bhog’ includes a variety of dry and syrupy sweets and a few among them are unique to particular regions of the state.

Rasabali

This authentic reddish-brown dish sweat is believed to have originated from Baladevjew Temple in Kendrapara. Deep fried flattened reddish brown patties of chhena (farmer cheese) soaked in thick flavoured milk and garnished with cardamoms on top, it is one of the ‘chappan bhog’ of Lord Jagannath.

Gaja

It is a popular sweet dish of Balasore. A mix of sugar and semolina, which is dried and then fried before being wrapped up in sugar syrup, it is sure to elevate your taste buds. It is also offered in the 12^th century temple.

Khaja

It is prepared in Puri temple and offered to the deities. From the Shree Mandir to the shops on the streets, this crispy sweet pastry is found in almost all corners of the pilgrim town.

Chhena Jhili

While jhili is offered to the deities, its sweeter version is a popular dessert from Nimapada in Puri district. Chhena jhili is essentially a deep fried cottage cheese patties soaked in sugar syrup. Aarta Sahoo from Shyam Sundarpur Village is believed to be the creator of this sweet dish and the actual recipe is a family secret maintained by his successor.

The deities are also offered pithas like endure, manda and kakare and magaja ladu, among others.