Indulgences

1. ରସଗୋଲା

   rasagolā

   Rasagola (white curd balls in syrup)

   Usage

   Balls of milk curd and semolina simmered in sugar syrup. Odisha and West Bengal both claim it and the dispute is unresolved. India's GI registry granted West Bengal "Banglar Rasogolla" in 2017 and Odisha "Odisha Rasagola" in 2019 — two separate registrations for two regional versions, neither of them a ruling on origin. Best not to take a side in conversation

2. ଛେନାପୋଡ଼

   chhenāpoṛa

   Chhena poda (baked milk-curd cake)

   Usage

   Milk curd mixed with sugar, semolina, cashews and raisins and baked until the top browns — the name literally means "burnt cheese". It is one of the 56 offerings (chhapana bhoga) at the Jagannath temple, and the sweet Odisha is best known for

3. ଛେନାଝିଲି

   chhenājhili

   Chhena jhili (fried curd sweet in syrup)

   Usage

   A curd sweet finished in sugar syrup. It was first made by one Arta Sahu in the village of Shyamsundar at Nimapada, Puri district; shops line the road through Nimapada

4. ରସାବଳି

   rasābaḷi

   Rasabali (fried curd discs in thickened milk)

   Usage

   Flattened curd patties fried and steeped in reduced milk. It originated in Kendrapara district, where it began as an offering at the Baladevjew temple; it received an Indian GI tag in September 2023

5. ଖଜା

   khajā

   Khaja (layered fried pastry)

   Usage

   Made from refined wheat flour, long and built up in layers; also called pheni. A speciality of Puri and part of the morning offering at the Jagannath temple. It keeps for a long time in a sealed tin, which makes it a practical souvenir

6. ଛେନା ଗଜା

   chhenā gajā

   Chhena gaja (bar-shaped curd sweet in syrup)

   Usage

   Curd, sugar and semolina shaped into bars, fried and steeped in syrup. Good ones can be found in Pahala near Bhubaneswar — a highway settlement lined with sweet stalls where every passing car gets flagged down

7. ଗଜା

   gajā

   Gaja (fried wheat-and-sugar sweet)

   Usage

   Deep-fried sweet of refined wheat flour and sugar; Balasore district is known for it. Handed out at weddings, vows and festivals, and given as a gift

8. ଅମାଲୁ

   amālu

   Amalu (malpua, banana-batter fritter)

   Usage

   A thick round fritter of curd, sugar or jaggery, flour and banana — also called malpua. It is among the 56 offerings, given at the evening ritual at the Jagannath temple

9. ମଗଜଲଡ଼ୁ

   magajalaṛu

   Magaja ladu (ghee-and-flour sweet ball)

   Usage

   A ball of ghee, sugar and flour. It is among the dry offerings at the Jagannath temple; being low in moisture it travels well

10. ଚୁଡ଼ାଘଷା

    chuṛāghaṣā

    Chuda ghasa (flattened rice with coconut and jaggery)

    Usage

    Ground flattened rice mixed with coconut and sugar or jaggery, made as prasad at religious feasts; for example, at the Sakshigopal temple in Puri district on Kartika Shukla Ekadashi

11. କୋରାଖଇ

    korākhai

    Korakhai (puffed paddy with coconut and jaggery)

    Usage

    Puffed paddy bound with jaggery and coconut. Bhubaneswar is known for it, and it is offered at the Lingaraj temple

12. ପାନ

    pāna

    Pana (betel leaf quid)

    Usage

    Betel leaf folded around slaked lime, catechu and areca nut, chewed after meals and used in ritual. Betel cultivation occurs in Balasore, Cuttack, Puri and Ganjam districts, around Chandanpur and Pipili. ⚠ It comes with or without tobacco, and the tobacco version is carcinogenic. ⚠ Gutka, the chewing-tobacco product, has been banned from manufacture, sale and use in Odisha since 1 January 2013

13. ବିଡ଼ି

    biṛi

    Bidi (thin leaf-rolled cigarette)

    Usage

    Tobacco rolled in a kendu leaf and tied with a thin thread; biri is also a variant name. Kendu leaf is gathered as a forest product in Odisha. ⚠ The harm is at least that of a cigarette, and smoking in public places is restricted throughout India

14. ହାଣ୍ଡିଆ

    hāṇḍiā

    Handia (fermented rice beer)

    Usage

    Cooked rice put through a particular fermentation. It is a drink of tribal communities across Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is made at festivals and at home, not stocked in liquor shops. The drinking age in Odisha is 21

15. ସଳପ

    saḷapa

    Salapa (fermented sap of the fishtail palm)

    Usage

    The fermented sap of the fishtail palm (Caryota urens), around 5-6% alcohol. The Bonda and Gadaba communities of Koraput and Malkangiri districts make and drink it regularly; Bonda speakers call it sapung. Also spelled salapa or sadapa. Not a shop product — a local drink

16. ମହୁଲି

    mahuli

    Mahuli (mahua-flower liquor)

    Usage

    Liquor fermented from mahul (mahua) flowers — a strong drink at 25-45% alcohol. It is drunk at festivals by tribal communities in northern and western Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and northern Maharashtra. ⚠ The drink is spelled ମହୁଲି. Writing ମହୁଆ back from English "mahua" risks confusion with a town in Gujarat.

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