People often visit Puri to seek blessings of Lord Jagannatha, visit temples bespeckled all over the city and enjoy beaches. Till now, we have explored all the major tourist places in and around Puri, that make Puri a must visit place. However, today, we are going to explore another uniqueness of Puri city- it’s mouth-watering cuisines.
Odia cuisines are famous for their unique flavours that leave behind a trail of feelings. The explosion of flavours over taste-buds is just idyllic for any food lover. With advancement in time, no doubt one can find an array of dishes in Puri nowadays. Right from continental to Chinese and other Indian traditional food, one has a number of food options to calm his craving taste-buds. However, it is the traditional and local variations of dishes mark a flavoursome tour.
Traditional Odia Cuisines Facts
- They are less oily and spicy as compared to other traditional Indian dishes, however still taste great.
- Rice is staple food
- Mustard Oil and Desi Ghee are two of mediums widely used to cook dishes. Desi Ghee is preferred in temples and lends unique flavour to the dishes.
- Odia cooks were once known for their ability to cook in accordance to the recipes mentioned in Hindu scriptures and played a crucial role in popularising Odia cuisines in West Bengal and other parts of India.
- Many sweets of the region are based on chhena
List of Some Special Dishes and Food
Temple Food
Temple food is basically the Prasad prepared to offer it to the presiding deities.
Out of all prasadas, Jagannath Temple’s temple food is well known and is specifically called Maha Prasad meaning greatest of all prasadas. It consists of 56 recipes, so it is called chhapan bhoga. It is based on the legend that Krishna missed his eight meals for seven days while trying to save a village from a storm holding up the Govardhan hill as a shelter
Fish and Sea Food
Lobsters, prawns, freshwater fish make some of the most enjoyed dishes. They are cooked in different styles and curries and are famous in mainly coastal areas. Rohu, Catla and Ilishi are the famous freshwater fishes used in curries.
Rice Dishes
Pakhala or basi pakahala, Khechidi, Palau are most unique rice dishes that are found in Odia culture. Pakhala is a rice dish made by adding water to cooked rice. It may then be allowed to ferment overnight. This is called basi pakhala. The unfermented version of this is called saja pakhala. It is served with green chillies, onions, yoghurt, badi etc. It is primarily eaten in summer. Palau is a rice dish made from vegetables and raisins. It is the Odia version of pilaf
Dal and Curries
Dalma is a dish made from dal and vegetables. It is generally made from toor dal and contains chopped vegetables like green papaya, unripe banana, eggplant, pumpkin, gourd, etc. It is garnished with turmeric, mustard seeds, and panch phutana. There are several variations of this dish.
Some of the delicious curries are Santula (a dish of finely chopped vegetables which are sauteed with garlic, green chilies, mustard and spices), Chaatu rai ( a dish made from mushrooms and mustard.) , Alu potala rosa ( curry made from potato and parval.), Kadali manja rai: (A curry made from banana plant stem and mustard seeds. Manja refers to the stem which can be used in dalma.) Mahura, Besara:
Pithas or Sweet Cakes
Pithas or sweet cakes are just fabulous in taste. Podo Pitha, Enduri Pitha, Arisa Pitha, Kakara, Chakuli are some of the best known Pithas.
Apart from these, you can taste a lot of mout-watering snacks and desserts that mark the aromatic and tastiest landscape of Odia cuisines.
Try out your some of the best Odia flavours at our restaurants as well as at temple of Lord Jagannath.
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