The 56 sumptuous delicacies that Lord Jagannath savors today

Festivals in India does not simply involve fasting and constant prayers, but also comprises of delicious dining. Jagannath Rath Yatra is one such festival that celebrates 56 aka ‘chappan’ varieties of food items offered as a chappan bhog to the deity. If you’ve ever thought that a feast is only about deep-fried food, hot curries, and plates full of meat dishes, you are mistaken. There is much more to the Rath Yatra festival than merely the gastronomic treats we enjoy day to day.

The Chappan Bhog

This daily offerings to Lord Jagannath at the Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri consists of 56 different food items. In the Sri Mandir, the Bhog/Naivedya is first offered to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra before being presented to Maa Bimala. What is left over after the Nivedana and which has been accepted by the God is referred to as ‘Mahaprasad.’ According to ‘Skanda Purana’, Lord Jagannath purifies his followers who worship him post the consumption of his Mahaprasad.

The temple kitchen has enough food to feed over 100,000 people a day. It is considered to be the largest kitchen in the entire globe, according to a legend. Only earthen pots are used to prepare the Mahaprasad, and only fire and wood are used as a cooking medium. For Lord Jagannath, 240 fireplaces and 600 cooks prepare a variety of rice, vegetables, and desserts. The fire is lit from the Homa sacrificial fire. Because the Mahaprasad of Jagannath is so revered, it is believed that anyone can consume food from a pot that has already been eaten by someone else. The Mahaprasada has the beauty of being fresh even when kept over an extended period of time and it also remains warm. People, irrespective of whichever caste or creed they belong to can consume the Mahaprasad.

There are six separate sets of offerings that are made at various meal times to the Lords:

Gopala Vallabha Bhoga (8.30 am)
Sakala Dhupa (10 am)
Bhoga Mandapa Bhoga (11 am)
Madhyanha Dhupa (12:30–1:00 pm)
Sandhya Dhupa (7:00–8:00 pm)
Bada Srungara Bhoga (11 pm)

It is surely not easy to prepare 56 dishes. However, it’s thought that Goddess Laxmi watches over the dinner and makes sure it is made with the utmost devotion and care. Here is the list of 56 food items offered to the gods:

Rice dishes

1. Sadha Anna – Simple Rice cooked in water.
2. Dahi Pakhala – Water rice mixed with curd.
3. Kanika – Flavoured rice with ghee and sugar.
4. Thali Khichudi – Yellow rice mixed with lentil, ghee and sugar.
5. Ada Pakhala – Water rice with grated ginger.
6. Ghea Anna – Rice mixed with Ghee.
7. Mitha Pakhala – Water rice mixed with sugar.
8. Odia Pakhala – Water rice mixed with ghee, lemon and salt.
9. Khichudi – Rice mixed with Lentil.

Sweets dishes

10. Khaja – A sweet dish prepared from basic ingredients like maida. These are layered fritters, soaked in sugar syrup.
11. Gaja – A sweet dish made of wheat which is fried and then soaked in sugar syrup.
12. Ladu – A delicious round shaped sweet dish made with flour, sugar and ghee.
13. Jeera Ladu – A ladoo prepared with cumin seeds, lemon juice, sugar and salt.
14. Magaja Ladu – An extremely flavoursome ladoo made with gram flour, ghee, milk and sugar.
15. Mathapuli – A special sweet dish made of ghee, beans ground into a thick paste and ginger.
16. Khuruma – It is made of sugar, wheat, ghee and Salt.
17. Jagannath Ballav – An item made of wheat, sugar and ghee which is black in colour.
18. Kakara – A famous Odia cuisine made of ghee, sugar, grated coconut and wheat.
19. Luni Khuruma – It is basically a salty biscuit made of ghee, wheat, and salt.
20. Marichi Ladu – A type of ladoo made with wheat and sugar.

Pitha, Manda

21. Suar Pitha – It is made of wheat and ghee.
22. Chadai Lada – A sweet dish made of wheat, ghee, and sugar.
23. Jhilli – A famous sweet cuisine made of rice flour, ghee and sugar.
24. Kanti – Made of rice flour and ghee.
25. Manda – It is a type of cake which is made of rice, coconut, jaggery, cheese and ghee.
26. Amalu – An item made of wheat, sugar and ghee.
27. Puri – A deep fried item made of flour and ghee. Basically a kind of bread.
28. Luchi – A pancake-like item made of maida and ghee that is deep fried.
29. Dahi Bara – A dish made of biri/urad dal and then deep fried. It is dipped in curd.
30. Bara – A fried item made with biri dal and ghee.
31. Arisa – A flat cake made of rice flour, sugar and ghee.
32. Tripuri – Another flat cake made of rice, flour, sugar and ghee.
33. Rosapaik – A cake made with wheat and ghee.

    Milk preparations

34. Khiri – A dessert made of milk, and sugar with rice.
35. Papudi – An item prepared from only the cream of milk.
36. Khua –A dessert prepared out of pure milk slowly boiled over many hours to a soft custard-like consistency.
37. Rasabali – A famous sweet dish made of milk, sugar, and wheat.
38. Tadia –A traditional and famous Odia cuisine made of fresh cheese, sugar, and ghee.
39. Chhena Khai – It is made of fresh cheese, milk, and sugar.
40. Bapudi Khaja –Made from the cream of milk, sugar, and ghee.
41. Khua Manda –It is made of milk, wheat, and ghee.
42. Sarapulli – This is the most famous milk dish prepared and the most difficult too. It is mainly made of pure milk boiled for hours.

Dal and Curries

43. Biri Dali – A simple dal made of biri/urad.
44. Chana Dali – A simple dal made of chana.
45. Mitha Dali – A thick dal made from arhar dal (pigeon pea/legume) made with sugar and is sweet in taste.
46. Muga Dali – It is a type of Odia dish prepared with lentil dal.
47. Dalama – It is a typical Odia dish which is a combination of many types of dal and vegetables such as: Baingan (eggplant),  Kakharu (Pumpkin), Bean, Kanda Mula (sweet potato), Coconut, Bodhi (a dried root vegetable that looks like a mushroom) with Hing (asafoetida). Tomatoes (Bilati Baigana) are not used in Puri Abhada as it’s a foreign vegetable.
48. Raita – A yogurt dish with radish, cucumber, salt and curd.
49. Besar- A vegetable curry mixed with plenty of coconut and mustard paste.
50. Saga – A dish made with leafy green plants like spinach, leutia, koshala.
51. –A fried item made with eggplants.
52. Goti Baigana – A dish made of small eggplants and coconut sauce.
53. Khata – A sour item made with cooked mango, apple, grape mixed and cooked together.
54. Mahura – A type of mixed vegetable curry that uses very basic ingredients like Kakharu (Pumpkin), Saru (arbi/ taro) and Kanda Mula (Sweet potato).
55. Pita – An item made with the fried flowers of Neem tree.
56. Potala Rasa- It’s a famous spicy gravy based Odia dish in which the main ingredients are Potala (Pointed gourd) and coconut milk.

    Lord Jagannath is popular as a ‘Luxurious Eating God’. He loves all dishes of dairy and shares a beautiful bond with their sweet tooth. For ages, the Jagannath temple has played a tremendous role in nurturing the local cuisine and keeping the local culinary culture alive. Not just for the people of Odisha but for the whole of India or abroad who get to savour Mahaprabhu’s Sattvik Chhappan Bhog is nothing less than a blessing.