It’s dark outside and the bitter cold does not help. I want to squeeze in another hour of sleep before getting ready for school. But the blowing of the conch refuses to subside. And the primal ‘hulu-huli’ accompanied by the ringing of the bells adds to the cacophony. It is a Thursday and the ladies will not risk the wrath of Goddess Lakshmi.
I gingerly get my fingers out from under the blanket to test the air and almost immediately recoil. Although they no longer feel as numb as they did after a marathon ‘jhunti/chitta’ (rice paste motifs drawn on the floors and sometimes walls too) session late in the night, they are particularly sensitive to the chill in the air. I decided to stay put in bed with my ears attuned to every sound around me. My mom and grandma are in the thick of the action. I hear them rustle the new saree, open the tin box to bring out the Pooja things and break the coconut. The aroma of camphor drifts in the air even as the sweet smell of the ‘chenna kadali chakata,’ the first bhoga of the day reaches my nostrils. The whole house comes alive with the recitation of verses from the Lakshmi Purana.
As I wake up and get ready for school, I overhear the conversation about the ‘anna bhoga’ and pitha planned for the mid-day offering. I remind them to save some for me.
On the occasions when these Thursdays coincided with a holiday, I would be the most bright-eyed assistant to the two ladies. I would keenly watch the rice flour being cooked in boiling water/milk and the dough being kneaded to a smooth mass while still hot. The pitha were shaped while the dough was warm. Otherwise, they would crumble while frying. As a little child, I wondered how they managed to handle the hot mass until I realized that the trick was to keep moving fast and not to let the hot dough touch the skin for a prolonged period. Even today, when I make a batch of these pitha, I am assailed by a wave of nostalgia
Manabasa Gurubar, the Thursday of the Hindu month of Margasira, is an occasion every Odia household welcomes Goddess Lakshmi into the house with much fanfare.
From the section on “Margasira” [November-December] Sweta Biswal, Beyond Dalma: A holistic foray into Odia Food. Notion Press, 2023.
Chaula Kakara Pitha
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine rice flour / chaula chuna
- 1 ¾ cup water
- 2 cups freshly grated coconut
- ½ cup jaggery
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1-2 cardamon
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Oil/ghee for frying
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Boil the water in a deep vessel. Add crushed fennel, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt to the boiling water. Lower the flame, add the rice flour in batches and keep stirring to avoid formation of lumps.
- Switch off the flame once the rice flour soaks up all the water and forms a loose solid mass. Cover the vessel and let it stand for 15 minutes so that the rice flour gets cooked in the residual heat.
- Remove the lid and allow it to cool down to a tolerable temperature. Sprinkle the ghee over the dough. Knead the mixture with your hands into a smooth dough. The kneading should be done when the dough is still hot, else the pitha will crack while frying.
- Melt the jaggery with 2-3 tsp water in another wok. Once it starts foaming, add the grated coconut and cardamon powder to it. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Keep aside until it cools down.
- Divide the dough into small balls. Flatten the balls. Stuff with the coconut mixture. Shape into small discs.
- Now heat a wok. Add sufficient oil for frying.
- When the oil is sufficiently hot, add the stuffed discs. Reduce flame to medium. Fry until the pitha is cooked and turns golden brown.
- Remove from the wok and serve warm.
Notes
- To make your own rice flour, wash the rice, drain, and spread on a clean towel to dry. Just when the grains are almost completely dry is when they are dry-enough but also brittle-enough to flour. Transfer to a mixer jar and pulverize. You may need to sift the flour for any remaining rice bits and repeat the grinding until you have an even, fine flour.
- Tip to avoid lumps in the dough: Reduce the flame to the lowest. Dissolve 1 tbsp rice flour in cold water and add to the simmering water before adding the rest of the flour.
- The above recipe makes 10-12 pithas.
