Traditional Indian Food Contest Entry VI – ATTAKALI #Odissa

  The Sixth Contestant of Traditional Food Contest is Tina Acharya and has shared recipe of State Orissa.   

About Tina Acharya:

Tina Acharya is an Author of Two Books Hide & Seek, The Game of Life and Songs of a Gypsy Heart. She is a blogger, an amateur photographer and a political and social observer too. Besides an avid reader, music and nature lover and a movie buff, she is a foodie and loves to play badminton. The Recipe Attakali shared by the Blogger Tina Acharya in her own version with a background of the Sweet Dish of Odissa, India. On a safer side I should start it with this disclaimer that I’m not a good cook.  In fact I don’t enjoy cooking also. I manage it anyway at my home. I am a sweet tooth person. In fact I can say I have a sweet craving. I love almost all sweet dishes. The sweet dish I am going to mention here is a very special one. It’s not just one of those sweet dishes but this one is very close to my heart. Before explaining the recipe, let me tell something about why it is special to me. I hail from Odisha where it is said that “Bara Masare Tera Parab” (In Twelve Months, thirteen festivals). It actually means that in Odisha we celebrate lots of festivals. No month goes by without a festival attached to it. Every festival has its own set of rituals and some special delicacies attached to it. In the month of Margashira (eighth Month in the Indian Calendar) every Thursday is celebrated as Day of Worship of Goddess Laxmi as “Margasira Gurubara”. The story is related to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Laxmi in Puri Jagannath Temple. There are at least four (sometime five) Thursday Falls every year. Almost Same rituals followed for the worship of Goddess Laxmi in all the Thursdays. However the dishes prepared for the Puja sometime differs. The Dish “Attakali also it is called as Gaintha” is a sweet dish specially prepared in these Thursdays only.  However in Odisha, same dish is prepared in a varied way in different places. So The Attakali or Gaintha I’m mentioning here is different from how it is prepared in the central Odisha (Cuttack or Bhubaneswar) (we are basically from south Odisha). It’s a variation of Main Attakali or Gaintha we can say.  Also, my mother prepares it in a bit different way. So I can say it’s a typical home secret dish. That’s why it is special to me as every time I make it at my place, it simply makes me Nostalgic!      Ingredients: Ø Rice flourØ A small bowlful coconut cut into small slicesØ 4-5 black pepperØ 1/2 tsp. roughly ground pepperØ Two clovesØ 2-3 green cardamomØ A small piece of cinnamon.Ø A small piece of gingerØ 7-8 CashewsØ 7-8 AlmondsØ A handful Black Grape Raisins/Or any RaisinsØ A pinch of saltØ 250 ml WaterØ 300 ml Milk For Garnishing: Some Pomegranate seeds and Grated Coconut. Preparation Time: 30 minutes Preparation: 1.   For Rice Flour, take 2/3 cup arwa rice (Sita bhog, Gobindo Bhog or Sona masuri raw rice).  Wash and soak the rice for 2-3 hours. Drain all water and spread on a plate to dry (preferably under the sky or under a fan) for 1-2 hours. 2.   Take the rice in a grinder jar and grind into a smooth powder. Use a sieve to gently sift the flour into a dry plate.  3.    Take 4-5 table spoon rice flour in a bowl and add some water into it to make it a semi thick paste. Keep it aside. 4.   Place a Cooking saucepan on the Gas. Add the water, the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppers and the crushed ginger. Add the sliced Coconut and a pinch of salt. Let the water boil. After five minutes, add cashews and raisins. 5.   After another five minutes, add the grounded pepper. If you want to prepare it with sugar, add 3-4 table spoon of it, if Jaggery add around 50gram to it at this moment. After a minute simmer the Gas and add the semi thick rice flour paste into it with constant stirring. After 2-3 minutes, add Milk and Still it. After 2 minutes, switch of the Gas. 6.   Let it cool for a while. Then garnish it with pomegranate seed and grated coconut.    I remember my mother used to prepare this in a big pot as we were a big family. Still it was not enough for us those days. We would always wait for the next Thursday. And After the completion of month of Margashira, We would again wait for the next year. Normally dry fruits are not added. But my mother used to add it at home. I can say it’s a secret “Family Dessert”  So it’s one of the dish that always makes me Nostalgic, reminds me those days and also reminds me the Mom’s Hand’s taste (though it never matches with it).    

Dear Readers, Please try this exclusive recipe and share your experiences with us.

This dish can be used to prepare as an offering to God during holy festivals as a sweet dish offering.

This recipe and the snaps used with the recipe post is duly submitted by Tina Acharya for sharing on my blog.

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