Khaja is thought to have originated in the former state of Oudh and the ancient United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. This region today corresponds to the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh and the western districts of Bihar, and it is also indigenous to Odisha, as well as Kutch and Andhra Pradesh.
Khaja is made by stacking refined wheat flour with sugar and softly frying it in oil, with or without dried fruit or other filling. It is one of Odisha’s most famous sweets, and it is related with the Odia people’s emotions. Khajjaka, either basic or sweet, was a ghee-cooked wheat flour meal recorded in Manasollasa.
Khajas from Bihar’s Silao and Rajgir are similar to baklava, whilst those from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are made with thicker pastry sheets and are frequently hard. The batter is made using wheat flour, mawa, and oil. The pastry is then deep-fried till crisp before being drenched in Paga sugar syrup, which seeps into the crust. In Kakinada, a coastal town in Andhra Pradesh, Khaja is served dry on the outside and soaked in sugar syrup on the inside. Khaja Mithai is well-known among Nepal’s Maithali and Bhojpuri communities.
Tapeswaram Khaja are stacked maida flour fritters coated in sugar syrup. Maida (flour) is made into a soft dough and then rolled into thin sheets. On a baking sheet, spread the rice flour and ghee mixture. It can also contain dried fruits like almonds and pistachios. Tapeswaram is a village in the Easy Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh and the birthplace of Madatha Kaja. Madatha means “fold” in Telugu, while kaja is a deep-fried pastry soaked in sugar syrup. The Madatha Kaja dish, as the name suggests, is made up of numerous layers of pastry dough folded or rolled together.
Kakinada Kaja is a sweet delicacy that initially originated in 1891 in the Andhra Pradesh city of Kakinada. It has the shape of a closed tube. The tube is known as “Gotam” in Telugu. As a result, it earned the label Gottam Kaja. It has its unique recipe. It’s a popular dessert in southern India.
Chittipeddi Kotaiah, who moved to Kakinada from Chinaparimi village near Tenali in Guntur district, popularised the city (Kaja is a town in Guntur district). He created a candy shop and offered delectable delicacies. It has since been passed down as a heritage, and the entire generation of the family now oversees them from the city. People go from all across India to try this wonderful dish, which is still freely accessible. It’s also offered at a number of the city’s restaurants. The government of Andhra Pradesh was believed to be in the process of filing for a Geographic Indication (GI) tag for this sweet as of August 2018.
Khaja’s main components are refined wheat flour, sugar, and edible oils. First, a paste comprising wheat flour, mawa, and oil is formed. Then it’s deep fried till crunchy. A sugar syrup known as “Pakamu” is made. After that, the crisp pastries are soaked in the sugar syrup until they absorb it.