The Magaji Laddu – The GI Tagged Delicacy of Odisha

India is a country of diversity, not just in social characteristics and culture but in food as well. The land of Odisha has its own unique cuisine. This place has many sweet dishes like Rasagola to Chenapoda. There’s also a sweet that is originated from the Dhenkanal district of Odisha which is located in central part of the coastal state. The name of the dish is ‘Magji Laddu’ which is made from milk of the buffaloes.  

History & Significance of Magaji Laddu

The Magji is believed to originate from the Sadangi area of the Dhenkanal district. . Dhenkanal district is in central Odisha. During the British era, thousands of people were earning their livelihood through animal husbandry, especially buffalo rearing in this region.

This region was the hinterland of buffalo milk production, cheese was a prominent product produced. People had several value-added products produced from cheese and Magji is one of them. The Mandar – Sadangi area of the Gondia block is believed to be the origin of the sweet stuff “Magji” also known as ‘Magaja’. But, as of now, it has spread to the entire Dhenkanal district. As the preparation and sale of the sweet is spread over the whole district, the geographical area of production is considered to be the entire Dhenkanal district of the state.

As per the local history during 1300 – 1400 AD, a saint namely Sridhar Swami was staying in Kapilas, an 8th-century shrine, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had visited Sridhar Swami and learnt about Bhagabat from Sridhar Swami. During his stay, Sridhar Swamy offered sweets prepared from buffalo milk cheese to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which became famous as Magji later on and local confectioners continued to prepare it. As most of the traditions and culture in Odisha, this too has a connection with Lord Jagannath. The sweet is one of the dishes among ‘chappan bhog’ (56 dishes) served to lord Jagannath. Hrushikesh Sahoo, a prominent Magji maker reveals the specialty of the dish that it can offer to any god as there is a very low chance of this getting impure because a very small number of ingredients are used in the making process. 

Making Process of ‘Magaji Laddu’

Magji Laddu is an off-white coloured sweet that is prepared with sugar, cardamom and cheese from Buffalo’s milk, which is locally known as ‘Desi Chenna’. The ‘Chenna’ or Cheese is wrapped up in a cotton cloth and squeezed to filter out the extra water from the cheese. After the filtration process sugar, cardamom are added to it. The sugar in the mixture is always kept half as of the cheese. The mixture is fried in a pan on a burner with a mild flame. Previously it used to be fried in an earth pot. The entire stuff is mixed thoroughly for some time until the cook is satisfied. After frying, it kept for up to 35-40 minutes to cool down. Then the cook made it into small balls of the desired radius by rolling them in the palm. The ‘Magji’ is ready after this process.

Hrushikesh Sahoo Magaji-Laddu

Hrushikesh Sahoo, a 65-year-old man belongs to the Sadangi area of Dhenkanal, who is the pioneer behind the Geographical Indication (GI) tag recognition of Magji laddu, though many are into this, Sahoo’s hand Magji is famous. The four generations of his family are associated with this sweet. His grandfather first opened the sweet-making shop, and now the art of making this sweet has passed to his son as well. The current stall from where Sahoo operate was set up in 1968, and now after getting a GI tag, he gets orders from many places throughout the state and outside the state. He said that for best taste ‘Magji’ cheese that is made up of Buffalo’s milk should be used, right composition of everything is the key behind the good taste of this off-white sweet dish. “The GI tag for Magaji fills our district with immense pride.” added Sahoo.