Suji Poda Pitha

The annual festival of Raja this year brought back many many fond memories. Back in the day, "Raja" (Pronounced as Raw-Jaw) was the last festival before the summer vacations were over. We used to go to our village to celebrate this festival with family & other friends in the village. 

Raja is the festival where we celebrate Mother Earth's Fertility & Positivity. It symbolizes every woman's womanhood. This is a 3-day festival - Pahili Raja (Pre-Celebrations) --> Raja (Proper Raja) --> Basi Raja (Post-Celebrations). Irrespective of whether your family celebrates all 3 days or just the second day or just the first day, Raja is a festival of merriment & humankind's way to show it's gratefulness to Mother Earth for being so supportive & bountiful. 

The festival is celebrated with many rituals & foods... Girls dressing up with new clothes, jewelry, Alita (Red color liquid used to decorate your feet), swinging on rope or bamboo swings, playing games like a game of cards or Ludo, eating Pana (Paan) and most importantly devouring delicious Pithas (Pitha is an Odiya cake) made of rice, Urad dal, jaggery, coconut & other dry fruits and spices. 

Poda Pitha is a kind of Pitha that is a must of Raja. Traditionally it is made of fresh made Rice flour + Jaggery + Coconut (Grated & Chopped) + Bay Leaves + Ginger --> Wrapped up in banana leaves --> baked in a "Chuli" (Fire pit made of Mud used in households in Odisha which runs on wood fire). 

Usually, Poda Pitha is made the night before Pahili Raja & offered as Prasad on Pahili Raja to the deities at home or temples. Then it is cut into & served with delicious curries for either breakfast or lunch or both.. sometimes dinner too.. Yes. We make really big Poda Pithas - Big enough for the whole family's three meals.

This year, we are home here in US and talking to family members back home almost every day and when Raja came, I promised myself  that since it is falling on a weekend, I will make full use of it. 

My husband used the hammock to tie a swing for the kids. I took out new clothes for the kids & found some jewelry that my daughter would love. Now it was the turn of making a Poda Pitha. Now, I am not very good at traditional pithas, not yet anyways so I tried a Poda Pitha that was not exactly traditional but yet had similar ingredients. So... I made a Suji Poda Pitha (Poda Pitha using Semolina). This recipe does not use Sugar as I strongly believe an Odiya traditional pitha deserves Jaggery & not sugar. 

What I used.

• 3 cups fine Suji (Not roasted - just raw)
• 1 cup of jaggery powder (I am sure you can use more if you like sweeter)
• 2 inches ginger - skinned, chopped & then pounded on a mortar & pestle
• 6 cardamons - Pounded into a rough powder
• 20 black pepper corns - Pounded into a rough powder
• 6 tbsp Ghee - We will use them on different occasions during the course of the recipe
• 3 bay leaves - halved
• Grated coconut - Approx 1.5 cups (I used the frozen kind)
• 6 cups water (Tap water is just fine - We will boil it)
• A non-stick pan & I suggest you do the same if you are not versed with the talent of "Janta" (Roasting while continuously stirring a very very sticky mixture while trying not to burn it or for the mixture to stick to the pan). 
• A strong wooden spatula
• Baking dish (Round 9 inches)

Process

• On medium heat, I put the non-stick pan & added the water --> Jaggery --> Bay leaves --> Cardamoms --> Ginger --> Coconut --> 2 tbsp Ghee
• I let the jaggery melt in to the water & when the water boiled furiously, I reduced the heat to low-medium.
• At this point I added the suji very slowly with my left hand & stirring rigorously with my right hand (I am right handed & that's my best working hand).
• Once all the suji was in the pan, I held the pan's handle with my left hand & kept stirring the mixture until all ingredients were completely mixed up. 
• The mixture was dark brown in color, was sticky to the spatula & needed more "Janta" (Roasting while continuously stirring a very very sticky mixture while trying not to burn it or for the mixture to stick to the pan).
• The "Janta" process takes time & is tiring but trust me the results will be awesome & you will not remember your hands' agony when the final product is in front of you. 
• I kept stirring the mixture until it became a soft mass & came together & started leaving the pan by itself.
• I added 2 more tbsp Ghee at this point & stirred some more. 
• Then when the mixture was all lumped up, then it was time to turn the stove off & prep the baking dish. 
• Prepare a baking dish by smearing it with 1 tbsp ghee all over (on the inside only please - Not outside).
• Then carefully transfer the suji mixture into the baking dish. 
• Using the final tbsp ghee & your fingers/palm --> Pat the mixture into the baking dish. Basically, smear the Suji mix with ghee & use your palms/fingers to pat the mixture evenly into the baking dish. 
• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil & make sure it is sealed tightly. 
• In a 350F temperature, bake for 35 minutes --> Then take out the dish, remove the aluminum foil --> And then bake uncovered for 15 more mins = Total 50 mins of baking.
• Test with a toothpick to make sure suji is all cooked & the toothpick comes out clean. 
• Once done, turn off the oven & take the baking dish out & let the Pitha cool completely. 
• Once completely cool, I cut into wedges & we al enjoyed it with yummy Ghuguni takaari. 

This experiment with Suji Poda Pitha was very amusing because it totally broke the doubts in my head that I can not make a traditional Odiya pitha without Rice & Urad Dal. Well, apparently I can & I did.