 | |
| Place of origin | India |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Bihar,Jharkhand,Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal,Odisha,Andhra Pradesh,Southern area of Nepal close to Bihar (Birgunj,Janakpur,Biratnagar) |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour,sugar,Cooking oil |
| Variations | Kakinada Kaja,Tapeswaram Kaja, Pipra Khaja |
Khaja or khajuri (Bhojpuri: 𑂎𑂔𑂳𑂩𑂲,romanized: Khajurē) is an Indiandeep-friedpastry, commonly filled with fruit or soaked withsugar syrup.
Khaja, plain or sweet mentioned inSilao, was awheat flour preparation fried inghee similar toChandrakala, a flaky dessert fromSouth India.[1] Khaja is believed to have originated from the eastern parts of the former state ofMagadh and the former United Provinces and Magadh. Silao,Nalanda districts of Bihar,[2] and is also native to state ofMagadh[3][4] as well as regions likeKutch andAndhra Pradesh andKarnataka. Refined wheat flour with sugar is made into layered dough, with or without dry fruit or other stuffing, and lightly fried in oil to make khaja.[5]
In his 1872–1873 expedition to Silao, renowned BritisharchaeologistJoseph David Beglar, talks about the sweet that dates back toKing Vikramaditya and describes the sweetmeat. There is a famous folk tale that theLord Buddha was offered Silao Khaja as he traveled through Silao on his way fromRajgir to Nalanda. There are Buddhist sites nearby Silao.[6]
It is one of the famous sweets of Silao and is related to emotions of all Magadh people. It is also offered as anofferingMagadh. International sweets of Magadh.
Khajas fromSilao andRajgir in Bihar are almost entirely similar tobaklava, whereas the ones fromOdisha andAndhra Pradesh are made with thicker pastry sheets, and are generally hard.[5][7]
The batter is prepared from wheat flour, mawa and oil. It is then deep fried until crisp, before being soaked in a sugar syrup known asPaga, the pastry absorbing the syrup. Kaja served in ofKakinada, a coastal town of Andhra Pradesh, are served dry on the outside and soaked with sugar syrup on the inside.
Khaja sweet is popular in Magahia and Bihari in Magadha. This sweet is a part of Chhath Puja, given as a gift at the daughter's wedding in Magadh Bihar.
In December 2018, the popular delicacy from the Nalanda district of Bihar, known as Silao khaja, has been given aGeographic Indications Registry (GI) tag by the Geographical Indications Registry inChennai. Tourists who visit the Buddhist sites of Rajgir and Nalanda also enjoy silao khaja.[8]
