Train
journey is most enjoyable as one can spend time leisurely eating the choicest
delicacies and look through the window the different culture, fields, people
and everything as the train chughs past different areas. Interestingly, Indian Trains have Names
besides the Numbers. As you would know, Trains now have 5 digit numbers –
earlier they were 4 digits. I have
travelled so many times in this particular train no. 7043 [Chennai Central to
Kakinada] – now it is 17643 [Chengalpattu Junction via Egmore – Vijayawada to
Kakinada]. Kakinada is also known as ‘Pensioner’s paradise’ and old timers were
happy in calling it ‘Second Madras’.
Kakinada in fact is a planned, neat peaceful city. There are several edible oil refineries and
the Port has become busy now a days.
The
word ‘Circar’ – noun would mean a District or part of a Province. This is a
common word to old timers as there was the ‘Northern Circar’ - which was a former division of British
India's Madras Presidency, which consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying
along the western side of the Bay of Bengal in the present-day states of Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa. Circar region mainly corresponding to Coastal Andhra and
comprised some of the modern day places in the districts of Krishna, Godavari,
Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and Guntur and some in Orissa. In 1765 Robert Clive obtained from the Mughal emperor Shah
Alam a grant of the five Circars. Thus over the years the possession of these
places and the geographical pattern kept changing.
After
West Bengal was awarded with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for ‘Banglar
Rasogolla’ (Bengal Rasogolla) on 14.11.2017, the Odisha government announced a few hours
later that it was “in process” of obtaining the same for ‘Odishara Rasagolla.’ It originated in Odisha and is offered at
Jagannath Temple as part of religious rituals by people of Odisha since the 12th
century,” Odisha Chief Minister Naveen
Patnaik wrote on Twitter on Tuesday night. A GI is a sign used on products that
have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation related
to that origin. If rosogolla gets GI, can Khaja be far behind
??
Kakinada khaja (కాకినాడకాజా) is a sweet delicacy of Andhra, specifically Kakinada. Some attribute that khaja is Arabic meaning pure or sacred. Whatever be its origin, there is no denial that it a ghee rich, succulent, melting delicacy made of fine-grounded wheat flour, sugar, ghee / edible oil. Very very tasty !! ~ the paste made of wheat flour is deep fried till crispy; soaked in sugar syrup as they absorb the watery sweet syrup. There are atleast two well know variants – the madatha khajas looking small tapes, of Tapeshwaram and the gottam khajas of Kakinada, that are dry outside, but full of syrup inside, melting and leaving one satiated for a long time.
Tapeshwaram khajalu
The only complaint
perhaps is its shelf life ~ as maida
becomes soggy and sugar syrup solidifies, the shelf-life of the gottam khaja is
restricted to five days, making it difficult to be stored outside. Those days, khajas made and ready for sales
in the evening would be emptied in few minutes of their arrival !! ~ here are
some photos of Kotiah Khaja shop in Main road Kakinada. While those days, there was only one Kotiah
Sweet, now they are found in few places – not sure whether it is family spread
or competition.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
15th Nov. 2017.
