Rice and lentil batter baked overnight in a clay pot until the exterior is charred and the inside is a moist fragrant cake — the sacred burnt cake of Odisha offered to Lord Jagannath.
Ingredients
1 cup raw rice — soaked overnight
1/4 cup urad dal — soaked 4 hours
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1/2 cup jaggery — dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbsp ghee
A pinch of salt
A pinch of baking soda — added just before cooking
Method
Drain soaked rice and urad dal. Grind together in a blender using minimal water to a smooth, thick batter.
The batter should be much thicker than dosa batter.
Add grated coconut, dissolved jaggery, cardamom powder, ghee and a pinch of salt.
Mix thoroughly. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours or overnight until slightly bubbly.
Just before cooking add a pinch of baking soda. Stir gently.
Traditional method: pour into a pre-heated clay pot well-greased with ghee.
Seal the top with banana leaf or foil. Place on very low heat (with a diffuser) for 2 to 3 hours until cooked through. The exterior chars giving the poda (burnt) character.
Oven method: pour into a greased loaf tin or round cake tin.
Bake at 160°C for 45 to 55 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the top is dark brown.
Cool completely. The interior should be moist and spongy, the exterior dark.