Make Chappan Bhog’s

Khaja Mithai

For Rath Yatra 2026

Khaja is one of the most iconic sweets in the Chappan Bhog offered daily to Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at the Jagannath Temple, during Puri Rath Yatra. It is also the sweet that travels well and is carried back home by devotees to share with their loved ones. Its importance to the coastal city of Puri runs so deep that khaja shops are said to be found everywhere, from Grand Road, in front of the temple, to the bustling Swargadwara market, the sea beach lanes, and even outside the railway station. Khaja mithai is made from layered maida dough, deep-fried and soaked in sugar syrup; it belongs to the ‘nisankhudi’ or uncooked-style category of Mahaprasad, prepared and offered alongside laddus and malpua rather than the boiled rice and dal items. Its likely origin traces back to regions south of the Ganges under Mauryan rule, from where it is thought to have travelled into the Kalinga kingdom, the ancient territory that roughly corresponds to present-day Odisha. Khaja mithai is far older than the Puri temple itself, and many trace the sweet's more immediate roots to Silao in Nalanda, Bihar, from where it is believed to have been carried into Odia cuisine and gradually reshaped by local cooks until it became an inseparable part of Puri's food identity. What makes Puri's Khaja special is its texture; the khaja here is dry on the outside and syrupy within, something that allows it to be stored for many days.