Top Ten List of The Mouth-watering Odia Sweets From Odisha

Anyone who has lived in Odisha or is planning to visit must include the Odia sweets to experience during the visit. As a coastal state rich in history and culture, the regional heritage pretty much influences Odia cuisine. Before listing the must-try sweets, here is a short introduction to Odia cuisine particularly its sweets and desserts.

Introduction to Odia Desserts and Sweets

As mentioned, Odia cuisine has many social, cultural, and agricultural influences. In a few points, here are some fun facts to introduce you to Odia sweets.

· Ingredients

As one of India’s biggest rice producers, many types of Odisha cuisine come from rice. Other common ingredients include soybeans, potatoes, mustard, and wheat. Non-veg ingredients are mainly ghee and curdled milk. The state also cultivates sugarcane for sugar syrup. Spoiler alert: many Odia sweets are soaked, cooked, or dipped in sugar syrup.

· Hinduism influence

One of the sacred Hindu dhams, the Jagannath Puri temple, takes place on the east coast of Odisha. Lord Krishna, one of the respected gods in Hinduism, is keen on sweets. That is why many of the Odia cuisine are sweets. The sugary cuisine symbolizes the Odisha people’s honor to Lord Krishna.

· History aspect

According to Hindu scripture, Odia cooks from the Puri region had the best ability to make food. This belief lasted for centuries. So in the nineteenth century, dozens of Odia cooks migrated to Bengal.

They brought along some of the cuisines. That is why many similar cuisines between Odisha and Bengal are included in the list below.

The Best Odia Sweets to Try

Finally, here are some yummy sugary foods from Odisha for all sweet teeth. Some are already quite famous and can be found outside Odisha or India. So please note, who knows, you might find them in your favorite bakery or cafe!

1. Khiri Payesh (Kheer)

Some also call it Odia Kheeri Payesh, or Payasam. It is probably most Odia people’s comfort food. This type of Odia sweets comes from pure A2 milk, sugar/jaggery, roasted dry fruits, and cow ghee. They all go through boiling process together. Some variations include nuts, saffron and cardamom to add flavor.

This sweet also belongs to one of Prasada or religious food offerings in Hinduism. The classical Indian literature telling Krishna’s story also mentions this food. Despite being a staple Hindu temple food, this sweet porridge is enjoyable for all and easy to make.

2. Malpua

People can call it Pua in short. This Odia sweets type also has similar varieties in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and some other parts of India. This sweet is a mix of mashed coconut or ripe bananas, thickened milk, and a little rice flour. Some also add cardamoms to the mixture or the dip syrup.

People fry the mixture in a circle form and dip it in sugar syrup. The syrup can also have other flavors like rose water and saffron. The best serving of this sweet is while it is hot. People also love to drip some condensed milk on top.

3. Chhena Poda

This is the ultimate sweet that will appear on every list of Odisha famous sweets. The name translates to the burnt cheese. The mixture comes from Chhena cheese from A2 cow milk, green cardamom, semolina, ghee, and sugar. It takes several hours to bake, but the result is the caramelized sweet crispy outside yet tender inside sweets.

There is also the jaggery version which uses sugar cane powder instead of sugar. Cardamom and nuts can also be used as seasoning for the batter. It tastes best when warm and accompanied by ice cream. The balance of smokiness and sweetness is truly a chef’s kiss.

4. Rasabali

At first glance, this food looks similar to Malpua. Instead, its main ingredient is only chhena. Odisha cooks deep fry the Chhena.

Then, they soak the fried Chhena in sweetened and thickened milk. Like other Odia sweets, the milk to soak the Chenna sometimes also has cardamoms.

5. Chhena Gaja

Another chhena-based cuisine, the base of this sweets is from chhena, semolina, and sugar. After the water out of the mixture, the cooks dry it for the consistency. Later they mold into Gaja or rectangles in the palm size.

Finally, the deep fry the Chhena Gaja. Most eat this one of Odisha famous sweets by drenching it in sugar syrup.

6. Chhenna Jhili

Sounding similar to the previous sweets, Chenna Jhili has differences in terms of the ingredients and shape. Though there are many variations, the general ingredients for this Odia sweets are Chhenna, Ghee, sugar, cardamom, and wheat flour. The dough shape is a long strip, that the cooks usually twist into a spiral ball before frying.

To enjoy this cuisine, sugar syrup, and saffron or nuts as garnish will be perfect. Some also season the syrup with cardamom or rose water.

7. khira sagara

This perfect combination of Kheer and Chhena is Khira Sagara. Without the rice, this type of Odia sweets adds in the Chhena balls inside the milk. The seasonings include sugar, saffron, and cardamom.