Jagannath Mandir’s world famous Chappan Bhog made Odisha unique

Odisha one of the oldest states of India which is internationally famous for its beach seashore city Puri where Lord Jagannath, reside with his elder brother Lord Balbhadra and younger sister Ma Subhadra. The word Jagannath stands for ruler of this universe; ‘Jagat’ is the whole Universe and ‘Nath’ means some with the highest power. Prabhu Jagannath is residing in this picturesque coastal city since the unknown era and he is the one who loves to take delight in different kinds of dishes. Lord Jagannath is one of most revered form of Lord Krishna who is much-loved by his devotees for fulfilling their wishes. Devotees of the Lord express their gratitude and love to cook his favourite items to please him and thus the tradition of preparing 56 delicious dishes or Chappan Bhog continues.

It is believed that Lord Krishna takes his bath at Rameswaram, meditates at Badrinath, Dines at Puri and Takes rest in Dwaraka. So the importance of Puri Dham in Odisha is simply beyond explanation and the temple food “Mahaprasad” at Puri is considered to have supreme importance. The Bhog or Naivedya is offered to Lord Jagannnath first and later to Maa Bimala in Sri Mandir. After the Lord accepts the offerings the Bhog  is called as ‘Mahaprasad’, Following the thousands of years old tradition  Items are cooked in earthen pots in fire wood as fuel. 

Most importantly Odisha’s Jagannath temple is free from any kind of discrimination and people from every religion may come here to receive Mahaprasad. The items which are offered to Lord include varieties of Rice, Sweets, Pitha and Manda, Desserts, Dal and Vegetables 
Let’s have a look at a few items from the thali of Chappan Bhog or  Mahaprasad: 

Rice Dishes

Thali Khechedi 

Prabhu Jagannath loves to eat various kinds of rice dishes , one of the most famous dish is Thali Khichedi which is s made with Lentil, Rice with Sugar and Ghee, a delicious rice dish.

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Odia Pakhala 

Odia Pakhala is another special dish of rice which is known to a traditional item of Odisha. This is made with Rice, Ghee, Lemon and Salt.  This is a very simple rice dish which saves the body from dehydration.

Sweets

Khaja 

Puri Dham, the sacred city is so famous for a sweet which is known to be favourite of Lord Jagannath. This is popularly known as Khaja which is a simple recipe of wheat and sugar but with awesome crunchy taste.

Jagannath Ballav 

This is another sweet which is favourite of the Lord, so it is called Jagannath Ballav, this is made with wheat, Ghee, and Sugar and tastes scrumptious. Jagannath Ballav is black in color so it is also called Pora Peetha  and the lord’s most favourite.

Peetha or Flat cakes Varieties

Tripuri 

There are almost 13 kinds of Peetha or flat cakes which are included in the list. Tripuri is one which is  a delicious flat cake or Pitha made of Rice, Flour and Ghee.

Rosapaik 

This is a cake which is made with wheat and ghee, although it is very simple in preparation but very delicious.

Dairy Preparations

Khua 

There are various dairy items which are delectable and Khua or Khowa is one of them. Khua is made of pure milk slowly boiled over many hours to a soft and thick mixture and very delicious.

Sarapulli 

This is the most famous milk dish prepared. It is mainly a kind of pancake dipped into pure thick milk which is made of pure milk boiled for hours.

Dal and Curries

Dalama

Dalama is a combination of Dal and Vegetable. Usually beans, eggplant, sweet potato, and pointed gourd. Coconuts and Badi are used to prepare this item.A delectable recipe and famous one.

Potala Rasa

Potala rasa is a gravy-based curry that has awesome taste and it is made with various kinds of Indian spices and coconut should be added with to make thick gravy.