Odisha has a tradition in culinary spanning centuries. Most of the people from the state are non-vegetarians; fish forming an integral part of their daily cuisine. Their dishes are varied and rich mostly rely on local ingredients. The staple food of the people is rice, sun dried and par boiled. Although the cuisine patterns have slightly moderated in the urban areas, they still do prepare traditional Oriya dishes on festive occasions.
The cuisine has a distinctive style of cooking and the same style is followed while preparing the food. A typical Oriya main course will consist of rice or roti, along with bhaji, daal and bharta (A mixed vegetable curry) sakara or ambila (a sweet and sour preparation) and any one dessert. These eatables are then placed on a plate which is made from bell metal. Breads (as in roti, parantha) constitute the main course for breakfast, while rice is enjoyed with lentils for lunch and dinner. A typical breakfast consists would consist of poha (flattened rice) and muri (puffed rice). Poha can be enjoyed either as fried or with banana, sugar and curd (known as Chudaa Dahi). Moori is a quite famous snack in north Odisha.
The typical main course for lunch consists of one or more curries like Bhendi Baja, Maccha Ghanta and Crab Kalia, few vegetables and pickles. Considering the love for sweet food, the dessert course includes large portions of more than one item.
The famous and popular foods from the Orissa are:
- Khichi – Khichdi is a well known dish prepared with rice and lentils together, cooked in ghee and also offered as Prasad in Puri Temple to Lord Jagannath.
- Chungdi Malai – This tasty, light curry is so easy to cook. The word ‘malai’ means cream. However, the source of this curry’s creaminess is coconut milk. Typically from the Bengal & Odisha region, this dish is famous for its seafood. It is best served with steamed basmati rice.
- Murg Saagwala – This is simply a heart winning dish popular in North India in which chicken pieces are cooked in spiced spinach gravy. It is not only tasty but nutritious too.
- Macher Kalia – This dish is a traditional Bengali recipe made with Murrel dish (aam shol) and green mango.
- Chhena Jalebi – This is a sweet dish indigenous to Orissa. The state is popular for making various sweet dishes with Chhena. Here, sweet meat is prepared with fresh Chhena, thoroughly kneaded into shapes like pretzels and then deep fried. These fried pretzels are then dipped in sugar syrup. These jalebis are served both hot and chilled.
- Ras malai – Also known as Rosh malai (a dessert originating from Bengal), it is served after a meal. Ras malai, the name, comes from two Hindi words “ras” which means juicy and “malai” which means cream. This dessert is consists of yellow colored or sugary white balls of paneer which are soaked in malai flavored with cardamom. A great treat for a sweet tooth.
- Malpua – This pancake is served either as a dessert or a snack and is offered in Puri Temple to Lord Jagannath.
If you ever cross Orissa on rail, you can get a taste of these foods by placing an order with travelkhana. For example, food delivery in Berhampur station and many other junctions serves great food.