Mahaprasad Avada – The Food of Lord Jagannath Temple Puri
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One of the traditional and Popular Delicacies of Orissa is the Mahaprasad (Avada)- the holy food served to Lord Jagannath as bhog. This is mostly available at the Anand Bazar near the Jagannath Temple.
The specialty of ‘mahaprasad’ preparation lies in its massive cooking by unique steaming process in earthen pots, kept on above the other. There is an elaborate menu for different occasions. After offering the food to the lord, it made available for sale in the Anand Bazar, the food market, in the premises of the temple.
The kitchen of the temple is believed to be the largest in the world where about four hundred Supakars(cooks) work on two hundred hearths to feed about ten thousand mouths every day. Such arrangement is also available in temples like Lingaraj & Anantavasudev at Bhubaneswar and many other places.
Prepared by 600-700 cooks and relished by about 50,000 pilgrims, the lavish 'Mahaprasad' served at the Jagannath Temple has retained its appeal amongst devotees for ages.
The Mahaprasad cooked on the premises of the temple at Ananda Bazar (abode of peace), deemed to be the biggest open-air eatery in the world, is consumed by thousands of devotees, who purchase and eat together irrespective of their caste, creed or status.
"On an average, we cook Mahaparasad for 20,000 people and on special occasions, we prepare food for nearly 50,000 people," says Damodar Mahasuar, the president of the suar nijog (temple cooks). Mahaprasad is only cooked in earthen pots on wood fires.
"We use 40 to 50 quintals rice and 20 quintal dal (pulses) daily, besides other vegetables to cook the Mahaprasad, which is sold at a cheaper rate so that it's available to everyone," Damodar said.
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A kudua (assimilation of clay containers) containing rice and different types of dal and vegetables starts from Rs. 50. According to sources, about Rs.800,000-Rs.10,00,000 ($12,500-$15,500) is generated every day from the sale of Mahaprasad.
An official of the temple administration revealed an order can be placed for a 'Baihandi' costing Rs.2,000 which can be served at a community feast on auspicious occasions. "The steam-cooked food is offered to Lord Jagannath first and then to Goddess Bimala after which it becomes Mahaprasad. Mahaprasad is treated here as 'Anna Bramha' (symbolising our existence)," on the website of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
Mahaprasad is of two types - 'Sankudi' and 'Sukhila' (dried). 'Sankudi' Mahaprasad includes items like rice, ghee rice, mixed rice, cumin seed and asaphoetida-ginger rice mixed with salt and dishes like sweet dal, plain dal mixed with vegetables, mixed curries of different types, 'Saaga Bhaja'(spinach fry), porridge and the like. All these are offered to the Lord in ritualistic ways. While thousands of devotees relish the Odia delicacies at the Ananda Bazar, people also take Mahaprasad to their homes to offer it to their guests during social functions such as thread ceremonies and weddings.
"There is no role of SJTA in selling Mahaprasad to the devotees. It is being sold by the temple servitors," says SJTA chief Suresh Mohapatra. The SJTA now plans to deliver Mahaprasad to the doorsteps of people through online orders.
"We are planning to serve Mahaprasad to the devotees through online booking. However, we will take the decision after the approval of various nijogs (servitor groups) and the temple managing committee," confirmed a senior SJTA official.
Sri Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe. His kitchen is considered as the largest and the biggest kitchen in the world. It is situated south-east direction of the outer compound of Srimandir. The length of the kitchen is 150 feet, breadth is 100 feet and height is about 20 feet. It consists of 32 rooms with 250 earthen ovens within these. Around 600 cooks (Suaras) and 400 assistants serve here everyday for preparing Lord's food. There are three types of hearths in the kitchen of Srimandir such as Anna Chuli, Ahia Chuli and Pitha Chuli. The dimension of hearths where rice is prepared are 4' x 2.5' x 2'. The rectangular space created between two rice hearths is called Ahia. All types of Dal and Curry items are cooked in Ahia Chuli. There are only ten numbers of Pitha Chuli in the temple kitchen which are made of cement. The fire of this kitchen is known as Vaishnava Agni, because it is the fire in the kitchen of Lord Jagannath and used to serve Vishnu Himself. It is never put out.
It is believed that Mahalaxmi cooks in the kitchen Herself; all are felt to be Her servants. As she is not attentive to the cooking on the days when Lord Jagannath is said to be sick before Rath Yatra, the food is less tasty. During Ratha Yatra when Lord Jagannath is in Sri Gundicha Temple, She is said to have no zeal to cook and so the food is tasteless. It is also said that if mother Laxmi is displeased with the preparations by the cooks, a dog will appear mysteriously on the temple grounds. If the dog is seen, all the food must be buried and prepared again. As no dog is allowed to enter the temple, this dog is said to be Kutama Chandi, a tantric goddess in charge of purification of food.
Four types of cooking are prepared in the kitchen of Srimandir. Those are Bhimapaka, Nalapaka, Souripaka and Gouripaka. The items of Bhimapaka consist Badatiana, Gudakhuara, Pakala Nadia Rasa, Purapitha, Biripitha and Gudakanji. In Nalapaka, items like Sakara, Tianalapara, Adanga and different types of sweet drinks are prepared. Souripaka items include Mahura, Deshialubhaja, Kadalibhaja, Adapachedi, Ghialabanga and varieties of cakes. In Gouripaka, Mugatiana, Leutia, Kosala and Madhura Lalita Saga items are cooked.
In the kitchen of Srimandir, four types of rice are prepared. These are Salianna, Khiraanna, Dadhianna and Sitalaanna. Sunakhila rice cooks along with ghee and Phalatabha Kharada Lavana to get Salianna. For getting Khiraanna alongwith Basumati rice; cow milk, ghee and Kharada Lavana are mixed and cooked. Similarly plain rice mixed with curd; Dadhianna is prepared and rice mixed with Tabharasa and Kharada Lavana; Sitalaanna is prepared.
The food in the temple kitchen is prepared in such a pure way and with deep devotion; great spiritual impact is felt, both by those who cook and those who eat. The unique feature is that, clay pots are placed in a special earthen oven, five in numbers, one on the top of another. Yet the one on the top is cooked first.
There are two wells in the temple complex for the purpose of supplying water to the kitchen. These are named as Ganga and Jamuna and both are near the kitchen itself. The radius of the wells is more than 10 feet and depth is 100 feet each.
All the necessary commodities for the temple kitchen are brought from Mahalaxmi Bhandar, which runs by Suara Nijoga Cooperative Society. The earthen pots used for cooking foods are provided by Kumbhakara Nijoga Society. The potters of Kumbharapara and nearby areas supply these pots the temple kitchen. The required timber for the kitchen was previously supplied from different forests of the State. But after nationalisation of forests, the State Forest Corporation is providing timbers for cooking purpose. Daily 5,000 persons may be fed, but on big festival days, one to ten million may be accommodated. The temple kitchen of Lord Jagannath is therefore considered to be the biggest hotel in the world, serving all without reservation or previous notice. So if you are interested to order puri prasad online visit
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