BERHAMPUR: Every district in the State has a cuisine to identify itself with. Be it ‘dahibara aludum’ of Cuttack, rasagola of Pahala or mudhi-mangsa of Baripada, each of the 30 districts in the State have their exclusive delectable dishes to offer.
Ganjam takes pride in ‘muan,’ the sweetmeat prepared from puffed rice and jaggery. A must have delicacy for anyone visiting the district during this time of the year, ‘muan’ is ritualistically prepared and offered to the local deity in the Odia month of Pausa. Though available all through the year, people prefer the one prepared during this time of the year, between Dhanu Sankranti and Makar Sankranti.
“It is available in lots during December and January,” said Manoranjan Sahu, who had been preparing and selling ‘muan’ for some decades now. With the passage of time, preparation style of ‘muan’ has changed.
In olden days, ‘muan’ was being prepared with jaggery, but gradually it got replaced with sugar and ghee replaced oil. Besides, to make it more delicious and attractive, jaggery-glazed coconut piece, cherry, cashew nut and almonds have been added to it.
Besides local consumption, ‘muan’ is exported to various places across the country. During peak season, at least one tonne ‘muan’ is prepared across the district in a day. Sweet sellers in the district said price of ‘muan’ had increased along with its variety and rise in the cost of ingredients used. “While the price of an ordinary ‘muan’ with groundnut is `250 per kg, the one prepared from desi ghee with almond, cherry and cashew nut costs `380 to `440.”
The additions have led to a hike in the price of the dry sweet. Samar Dash, a sweet trader at Mayuree Towers, says price of sugar as well of ghee has increased within a year. The cost of cashew nut has also gone up compelling the manufacturers to increase the price of ‘dhanu muan’.
But, the manufacturers claim they are not getting the price for their produce in proportion to the increased price of raw materials. Despite all odds, ‘muan’ manufacturers, including Harapriya Misthan Bhandar, are hopeful of doing brisk business while retaining the district’s age-old tradition.