As we know, Indian festivals are incomplete without their special recipes. So, you will not be surprised when you stumble upon some delicious rath yatra recipes hailing from Oriya cuisine. Before we take ourselves on a delicious deep in , let’s see why Rath yatra is celebrated.
Why Rath Yatra is Celebrated?
The story behind the Rath yatra celebration is as follows: The maternal uncle of Lord Krishna and Balram, Kansa, invited them to visit Mathura so he can kill them both. Kansa sent Akrur with a chariot to Gokul.
Even though Lord Krishna was aware of his uncle’s intentions, he, along with Balram, sat on the chariot and left for Mathura to free this world from evil. That chariot and the journey of Lord Krishna were the reason behind Kansa’s demise, the evil on earth. So, the devotees celebrate this day of departure of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura as Rath Yatra.
Lord Jagannath was fond of sweet dishes. Hence, you will see lots of desserts in the Bhog. Some of the traditional Bhog recipes made during Rath Yatra are:
- Vegetable Khichadi
- Malpua
- Santula Recipe
- Poda Pitha
- Chhena Poda
- Khaja
- Rasabali
- Dalma
- Ukhuda
Vegetable Khichadi
A classic odian dish, this spicy and flavorful dish is one of the most loved dishes in Rath yatra’s Mahaprashad. Tossed in fresh veggies and infused with excellent condiments – try this fantastic veggie khichadi.
Quick Stats:
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking Time: 30 minutes
- Servings: 5 serves
Ingredients:
- Cooked rice, two cups
- Whole green moong dal, half cup
- Freshly shredded coconut, half cup
- Cilantro leaves, six to ten
- Sliced Tomatoes, half cup
- Sliced green chilies, small cup
- Cumin seed, two tablespoons
- Ghee, 500gms
- Minced ginger, three tablespoons
- Hing, one tablespoon
- Raisin, to garnish
Method to Prepare:
- First of all, take a medium pan and boil water in it.
- Meanwhile, take another small pan and add two tablespoons of ghee to it. Let the ghee heat for a bit.
- Once the ghee is heated, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- Immediately add this ghee and cumin mixture to the boiling water pan.
- Now, add rice, whole green moong dal, coconut, tomatoes, chilies, ginger, and hing.
- Cover the pan and let it cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
- When serving, add chopped cilantro and the remaining ghee.
- Serve it hot and enjoy!
Malpua
An exotic pancake dessert snack popular in West Bengal – Malpua is one of the most liked Prashad in Rath yatra. Try these soft, fluffy, and crispy pancakes glazed with sugar syrups and serve them with thickened sweetened milk during the chariot festival.
Quick Stats:
- Prep time: 30 minutes
- Cooking Time: 35 minutes
- Servings: 8 serves
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour, one cup
- Milk, one cup
- Milk powder, three tablespoons
- Fennel powder, one teaspoon
- Cardamom powder, half teaspoon
- Cinnamon powder, half teaspoon
- Sugar, half cup
- Water, one-fourth cup
- Ghee, for frying
- Chopped dry fruits for garnishing
- Thickened milk, for serving
Method to Prepare:
- Take a bowl, add all-purpose flour and milk powder, and mix them well.
- Now, add cardamom powder, fennel powder, and cinnamon powder. Again mix it thoroughly.
- Now, gradually add milk and mix it well. Adding milk will make the batter smoother.
- Make sure the batter has a perfect consistency. Beat it with a whisk to make fluffy malpuas.
- Take a saucepan and heat water. When water is about to boil, add sugar to it and mix well. Boil it until it turns sticky. Add cardamom powder to it, and your sugar syrup is ready.
- Heat ghee in a frying pan. When ghee is hot, pour one tablespoon of batter to make a malpua.
- Fry them until they are golden, flip, and fry the other side as well.
- Drizzle thickened milk and top them up with some dry fruits.
- Serve these malpuas hot and enjoy!
Santula Recipe
A delicious combination of potatoes, raw papaya, and brinjals – santula is one of the traditional recipes which is served during Rath Yatra. These veggies are then cooked in raw milk, chilies, and masala to infuse the dish with delicious flavors. A very popular vegetable dish of Odisha and Rath Yatra special recipe – try it to relish its flavors.
Quick Stats
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 5 serves
Ingredients
- 250 gms potatoes, chopped
- 100 gms raw papaya, chopped
- 3 brinjals (cut them into two)
- Water, a little bit
- 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
- Sea salt for taste
- Ginger, a small piece
- 1/2 Tbsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp refined oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 pieces garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida (Heeng)
- 2 whole green chilies
Method to Prepare
- Add potatoes, raw papaya, brinjals, and a little bit of water to a pressure cooker.
- Then, sprinkle turmeric powder, salt, ginger, and cumin. Boil everything.
- Now, take a pan and add saute sliced onions, mustard, and cumin seeds.
- Then, add chopped ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander powder, hing, salt, and water to the pan.
- Once boiled, transfer everything that is present in the pressure cooker to the pan.
- Pour some milk into it.
- Garnish it with coriander and whole green chilies.
- Let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Serve it hot and enjoy!
Poda Pitha
Another savory dish on the Rath yatra menu – poda pitha is traditionally one of the main dishes of the Mahaprashada in Jagannath Puri temple. A slow-cooked dish, this burnt pitha is made from fermented rice and black gram, with chopped coconut increasing its earthiness.
Quick Stats:
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooking Time: 60 minutes
- Servings: 8 serves
Ingredients:
- Rice, one cup
- Urad dal, half cup
- Jaggery, one cup
- Crushed green cardamom, one
- Crushed ginger, half-inch
- Ground black pepper, three to four
- Chopped cashew and raisins, two tablespoons
- Chopped coconut, one tablespoon
- Grated coconut, one cup
Method to Prepare:
- Soak rice and dal the night before you start preparing the pitha.
- In the morning, blend rice and dal into a not-so-smooth paste using very little water.
- Let the batter ferment for 8 hours at least.
- Meanwhile, add crushed ginger, pepper, green cardamom, chopped cashew and raisin, jaggery, and grated and chopped coconut into the mixture.
- Mix the batter thoroughly, so everything is mixed to perfection.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 338 F for 10 minutes and grease your baking dish with ghee.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake it for 45 minutes at 320 F.
- Take out the baked pitha and let it completely cool down for an hour.
- Garnish it with some chopped dry fruits, serve it hot and enjoy the sweet Poda Pitha!
Chhena Poda
Popular paneer or cheena-based sweet recipe from the traditional Oriya cuisine – Cheena Poda is one of the most loved sweet dishes during Rath Yatra. The name of this dish literally translates to roasted cheese in the Oriya language. It is a scrumptious cake-like dessert and can enhance your dessert menu. So, try it and enjoy it during Rath Yatra.
Quick Stats
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: 1 cake
Ingredients
- 2 liters milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tbsp rava / semolina / suji (fine)
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp ghee / clarified butter
- 5 badam/almonds (chopped)
- 5 cashew/Kaju (chopped)
- 2 tbsp raisins / kishmish
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder
Method to Prepare
- Make the paneer at home by adding lemon juice to the milk.
- Heat the milk until the water separates from the milk.
- Place a cotton cloth on a strainer and pass the curdled milk through it.
- Drain off and rinse it with water once again. Rinse well.
- Squeez off the extra water. Your moist paneer is ready.
- Add this paneer to a big bowl and mash it. Then, add sugar and rava.
- Give it a good mix until the sugar melts completely.
- Now, pour water as required and prepare a smooth cake batter.
- Mix everything for at least 5 minutes for uniform consistency.
- Then, add ghee, badam, cashew, raisins, and cardamom powder.
- Mix everything well to combine perfectly.
- Transfer this cheena poda batter into a cake mold and tap twice to remove any bubbles.
- Cover it and cook on medium heat for about 25 minutes in the cooker.
- You can also bake it in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.
- Your cheena poda is ready!
- Serve it and enjoy!
Khaja
Khaja – the layered fritters immersed in sugar syrup is a traditional coastal recipe of Jagannath Puri. It is used as a part of “Sukhila Prashad” in the Rath yatra festival. Again a sweet dish recipe – you can cook Khaja using a few ingredients. Enjoy one of the “Chappan Bhoga” dishes and savor its sweet and festive flavor during this Ratha Jatra.
Quick Stats:
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cooking Time: 60 minutes
- Servings: 4 serves
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour, four cups + two tablespoons
- Ghee, two tablespoons
- Cardamom powder, two teaspoons
- Black pepper powder, two teaspoons
- Cinnamon powder, one teaspoon
- Sugar, two cups
- Water, one cup
- Oil, to cook
- Chilled water
Method to Prepare:
- Take a bowl, add flour, and ghee, and mix them well.
- Then add chilled water to give it the smoothness and firmness that is required. Cover the dough and keep it aside for at least 20 minutes.
- Take a small bowl and mix two tablespoons of ghee and two tablespoons of all-purpose flour to make a flour paste.
- Divide the dough into nine equal parts and roll them into a rectangular shape sheet. Roll another one in the same way.
- Spread the prepared flour paste on one sheet and place the second sheet on top of it.
- Spread the flour paste on the second sheet, roll both the sheets and give them a log shape.
- Cut these rolls into one-inch pieces and then move each piece vertically.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry these pieces on a medium flame until both sides are golden.
- Let them cool completely. In the meantime, take a saucepan to get your sugar syrup ready by adding two cups of sugar and one cup of water.
- Add cardamom powder, black pepper, and cinnamon powder to it and switch off the flame.
- Grease a large plate with some ghee. Submerged fried Khaja into the warm sugar syrup.
- Immediately take the well-coated Khaja into the greased dish.
- Serve these prepared Khajas at room temperature and enjoy!
Rasabali
A traditional Odisha sweet delicacy made using chhena (paneer) – this sweet dish is flavored with rabri! A double hit of sweetness, if you are a big sweet tooth fan then you are going to love this recipe. Plus, it is ultra-simple to prepare. Follow this recipe and you will be able to whip up one of the most delectable rath yatra recipes easily at home.
Quick Stats
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 serves
Ingredients
- Milk 2 liters
- Sugar 5tsp
- Cardamom powder 2tsp
- Oil 4 Tsp
- Milkmaid 3tsp
- Maida 3tsp
- Dry fruits
- Saffron a pinch
Method to Prepare
- First, make cheena at home as instructed earlier in the cheena poda recipe.
- Once the cheena is ready, make a smooth dough with your hands.
- Add 3 teaspoons of maida and make balls. Then, flatten them in the shape of vadas.
- Deep fry them in either ghee or oil. Put them on paper napkins to remove the excess oil and keep them aside.
- Meanwhile, add 1 liter of milk to a pan and simmer it on a gas stove. Add milkmaid and cardamom powder and let it boil for 40 minutes until it reduces to half.
- Add sugar and keep stirring continuously.
- After 40 minutes, your rabri will be ready. Add the cheena vadas and boil for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Once boiled, let them cool completely and serve them chilled.
- Garnish it with dry fruits and saffron and enjoy!
Dalma
One of the staples in Mahaprashad at Puri temple – Dalma is an Oriyan festive-special dish and one of the most loved rath yatra recipes. It has the right combination of taste and health as it is packed with proteins and minerals. The condiments also infuse it with aroma and deliciousness.
Quick Stats:
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cooking time: 40 minutes
- Servings: 4 serves
Ingredients:
- Arhar dal, one cup
- Cued potatoes, two medium-sized
- Cubed carrot, one
- Chopped pumpkin, half cup
- Chopped eggplant, half cup
- Chopped green papaya, half cup
- One onion and tomato, finely chopped
- Bay leaf, one
- Ghee, one tablespoon
- Garlic, four cloves
- Dry red chili, one
- Homemade Garam masala, half teaspoon
- Turmeric powder, half teaspoon
- Cumin powder, red chili powder, one teaspoon each
- Thinly shaved coconut slices, two tablespoons
- Coriander leaves, finely chopped, for garnishing
Method to Prepare:
- We will be cooking this dal in one pot – a pressure cooker to get the traditional aromatic and deliciousness.
- Add the chopped vegetables, dal, turmeric powder, green chilies, onions, bay leaf, salt, and 3 cups into the pressure cooker.
- Cook it until you hear a couple of whistles. Turn the heat to low and slow-cook it for three minutes. Turn off the heat after three minutes.
- As long as there is pressure in the cooker, the dal will cook by itself. Once the pressure is released, ultimately, open the cooker and keep the dal aside.
- Now, let’s spice this dal with some spices.
- Add ginger and garlic into the traditional mortar and pestle and pound it to get aromatic flavors.
- Take a heavy-bottomed pan and heat on medium heat. Add red chilies, homemade garam masala, pounded ginger-garlic paste, and red chili powder.
- Stir fry it for a few seconds and enjoy its roasted aromatic smell. Keep the heat low to prevent spices from burning.
- Add this masala to the cooked dal and give it a gentle stir. Taste and see if anything is needed according to your taste. Add water if the consistency is too thick.
- Give it a quick boil and turn off the heat. Transfer it to a serving bowl.
- Garnish it with chopped coconut and coriander leaves and enjoy!
Ukhuda
Made using ‘Khai’ from newly harvested paddy, jaggery from the season’s sugarcane crop, fried coconut slices, and ghee – the celebration is incomplete without serving this one of the most delicious rath yatra recipes! Seasoned with a mix of spices like pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and fennel – this dish will surely tantalize your taste buds with its myriads of flavors.
Quick Stats
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 serves
Ingredients
- 200gm fried paddy
- ½ cup jaggery (Gud)
- 1 tsp carom seeds roasted
- 1/2 cup dry coconut chopped
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1/4 cup water
Method to Prepare
- Firstly, heat 1/4 cup of water in a heavy-bottomed pan. Then, add jaggery.
- Keep stirring continuously on medium heat till the consistent caramelized syrup is formed.
- Then, add fried paddy, carom seeds, and coconut. Mix everything thoroughly and switch off the gas.
- Transfer it to a big serving plate or on a banana leaf and spread it.
- Separate the puffs from each other and serve.
- You can also make ukhuda balls and enjoy them!
Final Words:
These recipes are served as Bhog to Lord Jagannatha and can be prepared easily at home without much effort. So, make these amazingly delicious and aromatic rath yatra recipes and infuse the festival with excellent flavors of Oriyan cuisine.
