Arisa Pitha is a sweet dish mostly popular in the Odisha state of India. The outer layer is crispy where as its soft in side. It is often served as a prasad in the Jagannath temple, Puri. Arisa Pitha is easy to prepare and can be stored for few days.

Ingredients of Arisa Pitha:

•Jaggery - 500 gms
•Rice Flour - 1 cup
•Cinnamon Powder - 4 sticks
•Vegetable Oil or Ghee - 200 gms
•Salt - a pinch
•Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
•Water - 2 litre

Method:

•Boil 2 liters of water in a wide mouth pan, add sugar, salt, cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp ghee.
•Pour rice flour slowly and stir continuously.
•Cover the pan and reduce the flame.
•Cook till it absorbs the water completely (to the consistency of chapati). Let it cool.
•Knead it properly to make smooth dough.
•Heat a pan and add coconut and sugar to it. Fry till the coconut turns golden brown.
•Make small balls of rice dough, roll it and stuff it with the fried coconut, sesame seeds.
•Deep fry till golden brown.



Another easier method of preparing Arisa Pitha with minor change in the ingredients:

Ingredients of Arisa Pitha:

•Rice - 2 cups
•Sugar - 1 cup
•Vegetable Oil - 300 gms

Method:

•Soak the rice in water about 2 to 3 hours, after that wash it with water and then drain all the water.
•Keep the rice in room temperature to dry about 2 to 3 minutes.
•Grind it to make a semi-rough powder.
•Heat 1/2 cup of water and add 1 cup of sugar to make the sugar syrup.
•Slowly add 2 cups of rice powder to the syrup and stir continuously to form a batter.
•Take the batter in small portions and flatten the same with the help of palms in the shape of small thick puri.
•Heat the oil in a pan, fry the thick puris in oil till they become golden brown.
•Serve hot.

Arisa Pitha also tastes great when served after cooling. This hard pitha may also be preserved in room temperature about 2 weeks.