Culture, Legacy, Authenticity – Cuisine that binds Odias across borders when perhaps nothing else does

‘KAKARA’ : A variety of ‘pitha’, a must during festivals in Odia homes - an integral and inseparable part of Odisha’s cuisine and culture.

‘PITHA’ - A FESTIVE FAVOURITE IN ODIA HOMES

‘Pitha’ is a traditional Odia cuisine – an indispensable part of our culture, something one has to mention while exploring Odisha and its heritage.

It comes in various shapes, sizes and forms which also have different names to go with - chakuli pitha, chitou pitha, budha chakuli, poda pitha, kakara, enduri pitha, sijha pitha. The primary component are rice and urad dal (black gram) – they are at first soaked in water for a couple of hours, processed in the mixer grinder, after which we get a batter (its consistency varies according to the type of pitha being prepared), at last this batter is finally used for cooking those dishes – a kadhai or tawa to prepare them would do just fine (the process of cooking them again varies with the specific type of pitha being made).

Traditional cuisine is a part of the vast collective identity of a group of people – they bind masses across boundaries, hold family and society together through generations. Pitha is something that represents Odisha’s cultural heritage - these are a must in Odia homes during festivals. Kakara’s preparation includes:

i) adding sugar, black pepper, salt, sesame, fennel seeds to water in a kadhai.

ii) semolina is added in proportion, keeping in mind the consistency of the batter.

iii) the mixture is stirred until a thick, spongy dough resembling an atta dough is derived.

iv) the dough is kneaded and moulded into flat, rounded shapes which are then either fried directly or fried after ‘pura’ is stuffed into them.

v) the ‘pura’ is basically shredded coconut mixed with jaggery/sugar which when cooked give us a sweet delicacy.

‘ATTA KAKARA’ - A HEALTHIER VERSION, MODIFIED BY MY MOTHER

My mother like all mothers in the world, never has a moment to spare – she’s working relentlessly without a break, without a ‘leisure’ time – one that begins around 5 in the morning and goes on till 11 at night. She’s exhausted but would never express – this amazing recipe has been made by her even when she was completely drained and fatigued because of all the work – just so that I could put it on my photo essay.

She decided to prepare this healthier version of kakara by using atta in place of semolina, jaggery instead of sugar and pan-cooking in place of frying them – rest of the procedure is the exact same.

With renewed consciousness about her family’s health, she rarely opts for unhealthy alternatives like frying foods or using sugar.

My mother does all the household chores - and pretty obviously even while cooking, she’s the one to gather and arrange the ingredients, carry out the whole recipe by herself and finally cooking the thing to get the end product.

Pitha(s) are cooked in our house regularly, because firstly they are so irresistibly good - soft, tender sweet/savoury and secondly these are easy to prepare. But festivals have altogether a different energy and vibe to go with them - the whole family gets together, there are lots of amazing foods all around and everyone’s just in good mood.

“We used to make hundreds of these at a time during our childhood while Aai (mother) was preoccupied with herself.”

The primary ingredients are added to water and then, this mixture is allowed to cook on mid-high flame till the jaggery melts.	Once the jaggery melts, atta is slowly added to the mixture and stirred continuously so that there are no lumps.

Atta is added as much as needed to arrive at a thick, spongy batter which is basically a dough. It is then set aside to let it cool.

Mother pressing and moulding the dough into rounded shapes to prepare the kakara(s) .

Kakara, a form of pitha showcasing a tiny bit of the vast, rich, vibrant cuisine of Odisha.

The raw, rounded slices of Kakara are finally cooked on the pan until they turn golden brown - crispy on the outside, soft & fluffy on the inside.

The dish is finally ready to serve - hot, crisp and sweet.

Mother, after a long, exhausting day of work as always, sits down - enjoying the dish she

cooked herself, somewhat relaxed and

comfortable.

Written by Shreyashree Patra, Grade 11, DAV Model School, IIT Kharagpur

Shreyashree wrote this photo-story as a participant of the Media-Makers Fellowship's Nov'25 cohort.

This photo-story was awarded the 'Best Photo-Story' award during the fellowship.