Kanika is a fragrant sweet rice cooked with ghee, sugar and whole spices and studded with cashews and raisins. It is part of the Mahaprasad of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, where it is offered at Sakala Dhupa, the morning offering. Temple food is cooked in earthen pots over firewood in the Rosaghara (temple kitchen) without onion or garlic. At home kanika is a festive rice, eaten with dalma or besara.
Quick facts
- Type
- Sweet spiced rice
- Main ingredients
- Aromatic short-grain rice, ghee, sugar, whole spices, cashews, raisins
- Temple offering
- Part of the Jagannath Mahaprasad (served at Sakala Dhupa)
- Served with
- Dalma or besara
Recipe
Kanika
- Serves
- 3–4 servings
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Soaking the rice
- 30 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup short-grain aromatic rice (Gobindobhoga or similar)
- 3–4 tbsp ghee
- ¼ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf, 1-inch cinnamon, 3 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 4 cloves, a blade of mace, 6 peppercorns
- 2 cups hot water
- ¼ cup sugar, or to taste
- 12 cashews and 1 tbsp raisins
- A pinch of nutmeg and ½ tsp grated ginger (optional)
Method
- 1Soak the rice 30 minutes and drain. Rub in 1 tbsp ghee, the turmeric and salt and rest 20–30 minutes.
- 2Fry the cashews and raisins golden in the remaining ghee and lift out. Fry the whole spices 30 seconds in the same ghee.
- 3Add the rice and fry gently 2–3 minutes, then the hot water. Cover and cook on low until three-quarters done.
- 4Scatter the sugar over, cover and cook on the lowest heat 5–8 minutes until the water is absorbed.
- 5Fold in the nuts and nutmeg and rest covered 5 minutes. Serve with dalma.
Tips & variations
- • For bhoga style use only ghee and no onion or garlic.
- • Adjust the sugar to taste; festive versions are sweeter.
Vegetarian · Main course · Odia cuisine. Quantities are typical home amounts; recipe written by Odiapedia from the sources listed below.
Frequently asked questions
Is kanika part of the Jagannath Mahaprasad?
Yes. Kanika is one of the rice dishes of the Mahaprasad and is offered at Sakala Dhupa, the morning offering. Temple prasad is cooked in earthen pots over firewood, without onion or garlic.
What gives kanika its flavour?
Ghee, a little sugar and whole spices — green and black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, mace, bay leaf and nutmeg — with fried cashews and raisins.
Sources & references
- 1Kanika (food) — Wikipedia
- 2Mahaprasad (Jagannath Temple) — Wikipedia
- 315 Famous Dishes of Odisha to Try While Visiting Puri — Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism
First published · Last reviewed . How we write and check articles
Report an error