Poda Pitha-Orissa Special(recipe for raja festival)

Happy Raja festival to everyone...:-)

Ingredients:

4 cup rice
2 cup black gram - without outer skin (chopa-chhada biri)
1 cup finely grated coconut (nadia kora)
10-15 small pieces of thin coconut slices (nadia khanda)
3 cup sugar (chini)/jaggery(guda)(I used guda)
50gm chopped ginger (kata ada)
1 table spoon ghee or refined oil(I used ghee for a better flavor)
½ teaspoon salt (luna)
1 teaspoon baking powder/baking soda
Few Cashew nut and raisins

Method:

Soak the rice and black gram in water in separate bowls for about 4 hours. If u can soak it overnight, then it'll be more good..
Wash them thoroughly. Put the black gram with water in the grinder and form a fine batter.
Do the same with rice but keep in mind that the batter should be coarse and not as fine as the batter of black gram.
Keep both the batters for 4 hours for self-fermentation.
Mix both the batters and add coconut slices, grated coconut, chopped ginger, salt, jaggery,Cashew, raisns and baking powder.
Mix all the ingredients well .
Pre-heat the microwave/pressure cooker.
Form a thin layer of oil in the surface of the cooker/baking disk.
For microwave, u can use butter paper or foil for baking...
For cooking in microwave, just bake it for 30-40 minutes.
For cooking in the cooker, pour the mixed batter into the cooker and close the lid (without mounting the whistle-weight).
Place the pressure cooker in simmer flame for about one hour.

Now poda pitha is ready.
When the cooker comes to normal temperature take out the pitha carefully, and cut it into desired shapes and serve.
Try to have it with milk+sugar, it'll give a very yummy taste...enjoy..:-)