RECIPE

Gainthaa — the food I loved as a child

Treasure of Odia Cuisine

The image has been taken by the Author from her kitchen

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I belong to Odisha, a state that lies in the Eastern part of India.

I grew up eating and appreciating the simplicity of Odia cuisine, which is simple in terms of the availability of ingredients, easy to cook, and delicious.

I try to recreate Odia cuisines that my mother and grandmother prepared while living abroad, which was an instant cure to my homesickness.

As a child, I was too fond of Gainthaa. My mom would prepare Gaintha as afternoon snacks, and we, my sister and I, would enjoy every morsel of it, leaving the plate empty in a few minutes.

Gaintha {pronounced as ga(as ‘g’ in gospel)-in-thaa} are prepared from rice flour.

Rice flour is mixed in boiling water in a pan with some grated coconut and sugar(it’s optional) , until it forms a soft dough. You have to keep the ladle moving in the pan.

Grease a plate, knead the dough a bit and prepare cylinder-shaped-Gainthaa (this is the most popular shape for Gainthaa).

Then steam these Gainthaa for about 15–20 minutes, untill your toothpick comes out clean when you put them in Gainthaa to check, if they’re…