Rasabali

With its culturally splendid past and vibrant culinary heritage, Utkala, or modern-day Odisha, is home to a multitude of extraordinary delicacies and sweet dishes. One such exemplary and admired dessert, from the land of Lord Jagganath, is the Rasabali. The preparation starts with giving a discoidal shape to chenna (cottage cheese) to form a palm-sized patty. Then the patty is fried in ghee or oil and finally dipped in simmering flavoured milk till condensed. To top it off, the product is infused with sugar and cardamom and garnished with nuts and saffron. Saturated in the coulis, each bite oozes out paramount gratification leaving its patron wanting for more.

The earliest mentions of Rasabali are related to the district of Kendrapara, famed as the Tulasi Kshetra, and found in the archaic texts of Chandi Purana, Dandi Ramayan and Gangabanshanuchaita. Having originated in the 400-year-old temple of Baladevjew, in a small town of Kendrapara, this classic sweet dish is one of the “Chappan Bhog” (56 divine dishes) offered at the Puri Jagganath Temple at the Sandhya Dhoop (evening meal). According to researchers, this tradition was started by Maharaja Anang Bhima Deba and has continued ever since. During Rath Yatra or the Chariot festival, held in the month of Ashada (June-July) and dedicated to Lord Jagganath, Odiyas all over the world are known to crave for a bite of this luscious indulgence.

In the wake of the recent GI tag awarded to the ‘Kandhamal Haldi’ and the ‘Odisha Rasogolla’, residents of Kendrapara district have appealed for the GI status of the ‘Kendrapara Rasabali’, which they feel would bestow them with a distinct identity. As the executive officer of Baldevjew temple, Balabhadra Patri believes that a GI tag would help the Kendrapara Rasabali stand out amid similar sweets in the market. Recently, a dossier has been created under the guidance of renowned researcher Dr Basudev Das, which will be soon be handed over to the Odisha State Government to be sent to the office of Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.

It is hard to find a dish that bears as much cultural significance and religious importance as the Rasabali. Beyond the undisputed pack of flavours and the creamy consistency, the Rasabali is a signature and a statement of Utkal in itself, and a culinary identity of the East.