Yummy: Special pithas on display at Pantha Nivas for Raja festival in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, June 12: Get ready to feast on pithas this Raja, as the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) hosts a special function to celebrate the festival.

Country cakes, better known as pithas, will be the highlight of the celebrations.

Raja is a time for women to make merry and the traditional country cakes are a must during the celebrations.

Families in the state still make these pithas, but for those busy with their jobs, the celebrations organised by OTDC comes as a gastronomic blessing.

Delicious pithas made in their authentic form, such as the poda pitha, monda pitha, aarisa pitha and kakara are a part of the festival hosted by OTDC.

Poda pitha is the most sought-after item during Raja.

Women usually prepare these cakes by baking or steaming the batter of black gram and rice and then distribute it to neighbours and relatives. With readymade pithas available at the OTDC’s Pantha Nivas centres throughout the state, it has become easier to get these country cakes in large numbers.

“We receive many orders for the pithas that are prepared during Raja. All varieties of pithas made with pure ingredients are available at our Pantha Nivas centres. Some pithas are available round the year, but it is the poda pitha that is the most sought after at our centres during Raja. We sell over a quintal of poda every day during the festival,” said marketing manager of OTDC Alok Mishra.

Crispy aarisa pitha, which is made of rice flour and sugar, the appetising monda pitha, made of crushed rice and milk and filled with grated coconut stuffing, and crescent-shaped chandrakantis are some other popular items distributed during Raja.

Chakuli pitha and ghuguni as well as paan (betel) are also in demand. These are available for Rs 10 to 20 a piece at OTDC’s Raja festival that begins from Thursday and continues till June 20. The poda pitha is priced at Rs 150 a kilo.

“I look forward to the festival and plan to buy at least five kilos of poda pitha for my family and friends. I neither have the time nor is it possible for me to gather all the ingredients required to cook the perfect pitha,” said Kalpana Mohanty, a corporate employee.