Traditional Cuisine of Odisha.

Khanti Odiya Khadya

Traditional culinary of Odisha consists of main meals and snacks as usual. These again are of two types, the Satwika  ( vegetarian ) and the Tamasika ( non-vegetarian ). In the Satwika Ahara type again we have the common food items and the festive food items. Because during certain festivals we have specific types of food items made in traditional style like the Khai Chena Chanda for Kumara Purnima, the Haladi patara Pithe for jeyastha Purnima etc. As ancient traditional cuisine, Odisha is famous for the Chapana Bhoga of Lord Jagganath Temple Puri. More than 256 varieties of items coming under the Chhapana Bhoga are prepared in the sacred kitchen every day for the Lord and thousands of believers full fill their wishes of having the Mahaprasad every day. Odisha or Jagganath Dham at Puri is a Unique Food destination of all kinds of food items. Traditionally various kinds of veg and non-veg dishes are prepared in all Odiya Homes. Seasonal vegetables play important role. Tribal dishes also are prepared occasionally. Mustard, Garlic, Ginger, Pepper, Poppy Seeds (Postak) and Dryed Salted Mango are integral Herbal ingredients of an Odiya kitchen . Mostly the way to an Odiyas Heart is thru his stomach. Cooking or rather Great cooking keeps on in Odiya homes across all of rural Odisha . And primarily Odiya delicacies are served on fresh cut banana  leaves, sprinkled with fresh water and salt, lemon and green chilli served alongside. And of course a large brass tumbler  full of drinking water placed on the left side.

Menu

Sweets & Snacks ( Vegetarian )

    

 

 

Main Course Vegetarian.

       

 

 

Main Course – Non-Vegitarian.

 

     

 

ODIYA NAMES OF SOME SPICES

ATTAKALI

(Contributed by Minati Satpathy, Atlanta, USA)

Ingredients:
150 gm raw rice (arua chaula)
75 gm sugar (chini)
1 cup scrubbed coconut (nadia kora)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder (gol maricha gunda)
salt to taste (luna)

 Method:

Soak the rice in water for about an hour. Separate the water from rice and leave the rice aside to dry a little. Then grind the rice to make a fine powder. Take about one-and-a-half cup water in a container and heat the same on flame. Add salt, black pepper powder and 1/2 cup of scrubbed coconut and stir well. Then slowly go on adding half of the available rice powder to the container while it's still on the flame and as you go on stirring continuously. At the end you should get a thick dough. Take the container out and kep aside to let it cool down to room temperature. Then using your palms, make small balls of this dough (of the size of marbles). Add a little water to the remaining rice-powder to get a semi-liquid form. Now take about 6 cups of water in another container and boil the same. Add sugar, salt and all the remaining scrubbed coconut to it and heat further. Now little by little pour this semi-liquid rice powder into the boiling syrup in the coitainer and continue stirring. Then add the marble sized balls and boil further for a little while. Now take the container out of the flame and your attakali is ready. Let it cool down before being served. This item is specially prepared on the occasion of Bakula Amabashya and Manabasa Gurubar in Orissa.

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AARISA PITHA

 

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (chaula)

1 cup sugar (chini)

½ litre refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

 

Method:

 

BUDHA CHAKULI

(Contributed by: Jayashree Singh, Bhubaneswar)

Ingredients:
2 cups rice (arua chaula)
1 cup black gram (biri dali)
1 table spoon refined edible oil (rifaain tela)
salt to taste (luna)
1 cup molasses (pania guda)
1 cup grated coconut (nadia kora)
10-15 small pieces of thin coconut slices (nadia khandi)
2 ripe banana (pachila kadali)

 

Method:

Soak rice and black gram seperately in water for about 4 hours. For this purpose you should use only the skinless black gram. Grind the softned rice and black gram to a fine paste. Then mix the batter. Add salt. Then add grated coconut and small pieces of thin coconut slices. Then smash the ripe banana and add to the batter. Now add mollasses to it. (In case mollasses is not available, you may manage with sugar.) Then add water to get a semiliquid batter and whip well. Heat tawa  (non-stick tawa is most suitable) on medium flame. Spread a little oil on the tawa. Lower the flame. Take the batter in a big spoon and do not spread the same on the tawa or karai . Cover the lid. Turn the pitha upside down. Then take the same out carefully. This way go on making pithas one after another. Remember to grease the surface of tawa with edible oil every time. This pitha may also be tried without the use of banana. Serve hot. It is an age old typical Odia dish.

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CHHENA PODA

(Contributed by Minati Satpathy,Atlanta, USA)

Ingredients:
3 cups(850 gms) ricotta cheese(chenna)
(or home made cheese)
3 tbsp semolina (sooji)
1 cup sugar(chini)
½ cup brown sugar/Jaggery (guda)
1 teaspoon cardamom powder(gujarati)
8 pieces roasted cashew nuts (kaju)
15 raisins (kismis)
100 gms butter-unsalted (optional)

Method:
Mix the ricotta cheese, semolina, sugar and brown sugar in a big bowl. Use a hand mixer to make a smooth batter. Then add a butter stick (optional). Mix it again; add cardamom powder, roasted cashew nuts, and raisins to the smooth batter. Pre heat the oven at 350 ºC, grease the container with butter and pour the smooth batter to the container and bake the cheese for 40-45 mins until the top turns light brown in color at 350 ºC . Then use broil for 2-3 mins to get a baked (podo) look on the top. Take out the container and allow it to cool down. Cut into pieces and serve.
(Tips: 1. Adding brown sugar or jaggery gives a typical authentic look and taste to the chenna podo.2. While cooling down the chenna podo, make sure to cover the container with a foil, so that the chenna podo will remain moist).

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CHANDRA KANTI

 

Ingredients:

200gm split green gram (mung dal / muga dali)

200gm sugar (chini)

50gm rice (chaula)

1 cup milk (khira)

1 teaspoon cardamom - powdered (aleicha)

½ litre refined oil (rifain tela) 

 

Method:

Soak mung dal and rice in water for about 3 hours. Wash them thoroughly and then grind finely and make a batter. At first pre-heat the pan. Put the milk in the pan and add sugar to it. Stir the milk so that the sugar coagulates with the milk. Add the batter to the pan. When the batter gains its consistency, add elaichi powder and stir well. Now apply a coat of oil on a plate and pour the mixture into it. Keep the plate unaltered for 15 minutes so that the mixture hardens and attains the shape of the plate. Cut the settled mixture into desired shapes. Pre-heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry the cut tikkis on low flame till they become golden brown. Now the chandrakanti pieces are ready to serve .

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CHITAU PITHA

 

Ingredients:

500 gm rice (chaula)

1 coconut (nadia)

½ tea-spoon baking powder (baking powder)

1 cup milk (khira)

1 cup sugar (chini)

8 teaspoon ghee (ghia)

6 cardamom (aleicha)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Soak the rice in water for about 2 to 3 hours. Grate the coconut. Grind the cardamom. Wash the rice properly and then add milk and coconut to it. Grind the mixture of rice , milk and grated coconut to form a batter. Add sugar, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt to it and thoroughly whip the same. Then keep the batter aside for 2 hours.  Pre-heat the frying pan with ½ tea-spoon ghee. After the pan is heated put 2 table-spoon of batter and spread to give it the shape of a pancake. Cover the lead. Put the pan on low flame for about 2 minutes. Thereafter open the lid and take out delicious Chitau Pitha. This way you may prepare the pithas one after another, and serve hot soon after preparing the same This pitha is offered to Lord Jagannath in Puja on Chitalagi Amabasya (also known as Chitau Amabasya).

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CHUDA GHASA

(Contributed by: Priyadarsini Kar, Bristol, UK)

Ingredients:

½ kg beaten rice (chuda)

75 gms clarified butter/ ghee (ghia)

150 gms jaggery (guda)

1 teaspoon black pepper powder (golmaricha gunda)

½ shell coconut – scraped (nadia kora)

2 cardamom (aleicha)

Fruits / nuts for garnishing (khismis / seo/ kadali)

Method:

Grind the chuda coarsely in dry jar mixer. Take the ground chuda in a big bowl.  Add ghee to it. Do not melt the ghee. Put the same in chuda and mix it by hand. You need to do it thoroughly so that the ghee melts in the body temperature of your hands and smoothens out the chuda. Add the jaggery powder (do not use jaggery in liquid form) to it and then mix. The body heat again will soften the chuda and jaggery too will get blended thoroughly. Best way is to take a small amount at a time and mix it by keeping the same in between both your palms. It takes a minimum of 20 minutes to get a perfect consistency. At this stage add the scraped coconut, black pepper powder and cardamom powder. Mix again for 10 minutes. At this point the moisture from the coconut would further soften the chuda, but it won’t soak it. Now add dry fruits like raisins and /or fruits like apples and banana (cut into small pieces). Your Chuda Ghasa is now ready. A great deal of physical exercise - wasn’t it ! But you are surely going to be compensated for the hard labour with the appreciative words of the people who get to taste it. This delicacy is offered as prasad (bhoga) during Ganesh Puja and Saraswati Puja in Orissa. This is also a special delicacy that is offered to lord Shiva during Shiva Ratri celebrations at the Sri Lokanath temple in Puri.

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DAHI BARA

(Contributed by: Aparna Raut, Bangalore)

Ingredients:

250 gm. skinless blackgram dal / dhuli urad dal (chopa-chhada biri)

3 to 5 red chili (sukhila lanka)

½ teaspoon mustard (sorisha)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 & a half cup refined cooking oil (rifain tela)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder (jeera gunda)

½  tea spoon red chili powder (lanka gunda)

¼ cup semolina (suji)

½ teaspoon baking powder (khaiba soda)

Curry leaves (bhursunga patra)

¼ liter curd (dahi)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Wash the black gram dal and soak it in water for 4 to 5 hours (best to soak overnight). Then grind it properly.  Add  semolina, baking powder and salt and mix well. Leave it for a while. Then heat oil in a frying pan and fry the baras made out of the batter.  You have the option either to make the bara in normal shape or with a hole in the middle. For this first wet your palm with water. Take a little of the batter and make a ball. Slightly flatten the same and using your thumb make a hole at the middle as you carefully slip it into the frying pan. After the frying is over put the baras separately.  Now heat 3 teaspoon oil in a frying pan. Add cumin seeds, mustard, curry leaves and red chilies and let them splutter. Then add all this to a container containing the curd. Now put the fried baras into this curd. Your dahi bara is ready. Sprinkle the cumins seeds powder and red chili powder before serving. Serve cold.

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ENDURI PITHA

Ingredients:

1 & a half  cup rice (chaula)

1 cup black gram (biri)

1 cup scrubbed coconut (nadia kora)

100 gm cottage cheese (chhena)

150  gm jaggery (guda)

3 small cardamoms (gujurati / aleicha)

6 peppercorns (golmaricha)

Green turmeric leaves (haladi patra)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Soak rice and blackgram for about 4 hours. Use only the skinless blackgram for the purpose. Wash the same thoroughly and then grind into a thick batter. It need not be a very fine paste. Grind leaving a little coarseness in the rice. Whip well. Leave the batter for fermenting for about eight hours. Add salt and mix well. Now to prepare the stuffing, place a frying pan on medium flame. Put the scrubbed coconut, cottage chheese and jaggery. Stir and fry the same till it becomes a little dry. Then add powdered cardamom and blackpepper. Mix well and keep aside. Now to prepare the pitha take one whole green turmeric leaf (If the leaf is of bigger size you may trim it). Put a little batter on the leaf and flatten the same.  Then put the required quantity of stuffing on the batter and fold the turmeric leaf lengthwise in such a way that the stuffing gets sandwitched in between two layers of batter. Tie a thread around the folded leaf to keep it secured. Now we are going to steam it in the traditional way. It is similar to the way we steam idli. But the round shaped moulds found inthe idli stands won't do. Because our pitha is long shaped. So if you are using an idli stand instead of using the round shaped moulds make suitable modifications. Other wise to follow an age-old Oriya method take a wide mouthed pot. Fill it upto half with water. Then tie a muslin cloth tightly around its mouth. Carefully place the tied leaf containing stuffed batter on the cloth. Cover it with a concave shaped lid. Steam it till done and fork comes  out clean. This way go on steaming pithas one after another. The delicate aroma of turmric leaf is a special feature of the pitha. In case of non-availability of green turmetic leaf, you could also alternatively use plantain leaf. But in that case the aroma of turmeric leaf would be missing.

 Enduri pitha is a special delicacy of the Prathamastami festival. This has been a part of the traditional Oriya festivities. There is a striking similaity of the pitha with patholi, a popular dish of Kerala. It is surprising how this recipe found common acceptance in two different remote culinary cultures centuries back.

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KHAJA

Ingredients:

2 cups refined flour (maida)

A little more than ½  cup of pure ghee (gua gheea)

One & a half cup sugar (chini)

One & a half cup refined cooking oil for frying (rifaain tela)

(Pure ghee may also be used for frying)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

First of all make a paste of ghee and flour by mixing half a cup of ghee with equal quantity of flour. Keep this paste aside. Add a pinch of salt and three teaspoon of ghee to the remaining flour. Mix thoroughly well and then add water slowly as you go on kneading. You should get a stiff dough and not a watery one. Knead it further till the dough gets smoothened. Now roll the dough into a rectangular shape with the thicknes of a chpati (roti). Then spread the ghee+flour paste evenly over the rectangular surface. Now roll the rectangular dough from one side to give it a rope like shape. Then cut it into one inch size pieces. Roll each piece again to make about 5 inch long khaja. Now heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the pieces of khaja on medium to low flame. After the frying is over, prepare a syrup of sugar with water. For this add sugar to  boiling water and continuously go on stirring till you get a sticky syrup. Now dip the khajas into it (one at a time) and take out. Serve after the same becomes cold. It is prepared in the kitchen of the Jagannath Temple of Puri daily for being served as prasad.

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KHIRI

Ingredients:
200 gm basmati or raw rice (arua chaula)
400 gm sugar (chini)
1 litre milk (khira)
25 gm cashew nut (kaju)
25 gm raisin (khismis)
4 bay leaves (teja patra)
5 cardamom (gujurati/ aleicha)
a pinch of salt (luna)

 Method:
Take water in a pressure cooker and put the rice in it. Add salt and the bay leaves. Boil the same till first whistle. Remove the lid of pressure cooker only after the steam gets fully released in due course. Now take the bay leaves out of the boiled rice. Then boil milk in another container. Pour the boiled milk into the pressure cooker (You have also the option to add a little condensed milk / khoa at this stage). Add sugar and stir well. Now put the pressure cooker (without its lid on) on medium flame. Remember to go on stirring at regular intervals. As the contents start boiling, lower the flame and boil further for about 15 minutes. Continue stirring as before. At this stage add raisin, cashew nuts (broken into small pieces) and crushed/ powdered cardamom. As the contents turn semi-thick, switch off the flame. Your khiri is ready. Serve cold.

Khiri (which is known as 'khir' in the Hindi belt) is a common dessert that's popular throughout the country. But what remains unknown is that this recipe originated from Puri in Orissa. Yamuna devi, a popular cooking writer stumbled upon this 2000 year old recipe while going through the old records in Puri. It was earlier known as bhat payasa in Orissa.

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KAKARA PITHA

 

Ingredients:

For  dough (khali):

4-cups wheat flour (ata)

2-cups sugar (chini)

½  litre refined oil (rifaain tela)

 

For  stuffing:

Grated coconut-1 cup (nadia kora)

½ - cup sugar (chini)

1 teaspoon aniseed (pana-madhuri)

1 teaspoon black pepper (gol maricha)

4 cloves small cardamom (chhota aleicha)

Method:

For  Dough

Add ½ cup water to ½ table-spoon wheat flour to make a paste. Heat 5 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar in a frying pan. Add the paste to the pan when the sugar solution becomes saturated and stir well. Make sure that no lump is formed while stirring. Leave the pan on the flame for 2 minutes for the mixture to boil. Now add rest of the flour to the mixture and lower the flame. Stir it properly. Now transfer the mixture from pan to a flat plate. Knead to make a smooth dough by adding 1 tablespoon of refined oil. The refined oil prevents formation of lumps.

For Stuffing ..Roast aniseed, black pepper and cardamom and then powder them. Fry grated coconut and sugar in a frying pan. Do not add oil. Add the powdered ingredients to it and stir. The stuffing is ready.

Make small balls of the dough. Flatten each ball and put the stuffing on it and again form a ball so that the stuffing remains at the center. Now flatten the balls to give it the shape of a kachori. Heat the oil in the pan and fry the flattened balls till it becomes golden brown. Your kakara pitha is ready to serve.

Variation:

A small variation in the above recipe may be made to prepare modak (also known as manda pitha in certain areas of Orissa). The difference lies only in the final shape of the pitha. At the end of the procedure, instead of flattening the balls to give them the shape of kachori, leave them in the shape of round shaped balls and fry as stated. Your modak / manda is ready.

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MODAKA

Ingredients:

500 gm. wheat flour (atta)

3cups milk (khira)

2 cups finely grated coconut (nadia kora)

250 gm powdered sugar (chini)

7 finely chopped cardamoms (aleicha)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder (golmaricha)

2 powdered cloves (labanga)

250 gm desi ghee (gua gheea)

Method:

Stuffing -

In a pre-heated frying pan take finely grate coconut. Fry till it turns brown. Then add powdered sugar. Add chopped cardamom, powdered black pepper, and clove to it and fry for one minute.

Preparation of Dough -

Heat milk and add 125 gm. sugar to it. Prepare thick dough by gradually adding the wheat flour to it. It is important to go on stiring as you slowly add the wheat flour. You should get a thick dough. Put the dough on a tray and knead well.

Now make 15 to 20 balls of the dogh by rolling them in the palms. Then flatten each ball one by one and put the previously prepared stuffing into it. Close the flattened balls and give them a round shape. Finally take desi ghee in a pan and fry the rounded balls till they turn brown. Your Modakas are now ready to be served. This is a special delicacy offered to Lord Ganesh on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi in Orissa.

(Contributed by: Manorama Rath, Balangir)

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POTOLI PITHA

Ingredients:

½ cup wheat flour (ata)

1 cup paneer (chhena)

½ cup molasses (paania guda)

4 cup refined flour (maida)

2 cup grated coconut (nadia kora)

2 cup sugar (chini)

1 teaspoon cardamon powder (aleicha gunda)

300gms ghee (ghia)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Take three-and-a-half cup of refined wheat flour in a bowl and add water and salt to it. Make a thick batter of it. While preparing the batter ensure that no lump is formed in it. Take grated coconut in another bowl. Add paneer and sugar to it. Mix them thoroughly. Heat a pan and fry thecoconut and paneer mixture on it. Then add cardamon powder to it. ( This mixture is later to serve as the stuffing).  Now take another pan and heat it. Take a tablespoon of the refined flour batter which was prepared earlier and spread the same on the pan with the back of the spoon, spiraling from the middle to the circular edge of the pan. Ensure that the spread is thick. Then put the coconut and paneer mixture in the middle of that batter spread . Fold the spread from four sides to give it the shape of a four-folded rectangle. Make as many such four-folded pithas as possible. Now take ½ cup refined flour, wheat flour, molasses and water in a bowl and make a thin paste of the same. Then dip the rectangular pithas into it . Subsequently deep-fry the same in ghee until both sides of the pitha become red-brown. Now your patoli pitha is ready. This pitha is regularly offered as prasad to the Lord of the famous Baladev Jew temple of Kendrapara.

(Contributed by: Bijayalaxmi Patri, Kendrapara)

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RASABALI 

Ingredients:

500 gm paneer (chhena)

3 to 4 teaspoon wheat flour (ata)

250 gm sugar (chini)

2 gm cardamom (aleicha)

500 ml milk (khira)

300 ml refined oil (rifain tela)

 

Method:

Mash the paneer after adding wheat flour to it. Then add 2 teaspoon sugar and cardamom powder. Mix them well to make a smooth batter. Make small balls of the batter. Take one ball on your left palm and spread it with the help of your  right palm to give it a round shape. Heat oil in a pan and deep-fry the round shaped rasabalis in it. Add the remaining sugar to the boiled milk and stir well. Then add the fried rasabalis to the milk and keep the same on low flame for a minute. This sweet delicacy of Kendrapara area is now ready to be served.

(Contributed by: Bijayalaxmi Patri, Kendrapara)

 

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RASGOLLA

Ingredients:
1 litre milk to make chhena (khira)
lemon juice (lembu)
1 tsp all purpose flour (maida)
2 cups sugar (chini)
1 tsp cardamoms powder (gujurati gunda)
½ tsp Rose water (golapa jala)

 Method:

Part I: Making Chenna - Heat milk in a pan over a medium heat and bring it to boil for about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir it well. Paneer (Chenna) will separate out and when you see clear water, turn off the flame. Let it cool for 10-15 mins. Then drain off all the water, put paneer on a muslin cloth over a strainer. Wash paneer with fresh water to get rid off the lemon smell. Then squeeze the muslin cloth with paneer and tie a knot to remove all water from the paneer. Leave it aside for 4-5 hrs or overnight.

Part II: Making Rasgolla and sugar syrup – Put the paneer in a container, add flour and fine cardamoms powder (optional) and knead the paneer to make it soft and smooth.(Tips: the more you knead the more soft the rasgollas will be). Then make small paneer balls and keep it aside. (Tips: to make the rasgolla pink which is typical of Orissa rasgolla, put a small sugar caramel piece in the center of the paneer while making each ball. To make sugar carmel- Take 1 tsp of sugar and fry it on a heated pan for couple of minutes which will first turn brown liquid then turn into hard brown coloured sugar solid, after cooling down, you can break it into tiny pieces with your hand). For sugar syrup, mix 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, cardamom powder, rose water in a pressure cooker and put the paneer balls in the cold mix. Make sure that you add enough sugar water to dip the balls. Then cook the balls for 30-45 mins over a low to medium heat in the pressure cooker. Usually after 2 whistle over medium heat, your rasgollas are ready. It really tastes like famous Pahala Rasgollas of Orissa. Contrary to what is popularly believed, Rasagolla originated at Puri in Orissa about 600 years back long before travelling to the neighbouring state of Bengal.

               (Contributed by Minati Satpathy, Atlanta, USA)

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SARU CHAKULI 

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (arua chaula)

1 cup black gram (biri dali)

1 table spoon refined edible oil (rifaain tela)

salt to taste (luna)

 

 

Method:

Soak rice and black gram together in water for about 4 hours. For this purpose you should use only the skinless black gram. Grind the softned rice and black gram to a fine paste. Add salt. Then add water to get a semiliquid batter and whip well. Heat tawa  (non-stick tawa is most suitable) on medium flame. Spread a litle oil on the tawa. Lower the flame. Take the batter in a big spoon and spread the same on the tawa as is done while preparing dosa or omelette. Turn the pitha upside down. Then take the same out carefully. This way go on making pithas one after another. Remember to grease the surface of tawa with eible oil once every two or three pithas. The thinner variety (similar to plain dosa) is called saru chakuli . You have to use a little more batter and make thicker pithas in the shape of pancakes to prepare what is called just chakuli. Tastes great if served with dalama or coconut chutney.

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Chingudi Mahura   (Non-veg)

Ingredients:

2 potatoes (aalu)

1 brinjal (baaigana)

2 raw bananas (kancha kadali) 

100 gm – yam (desi aalu)

100 gm – pumpkin (kakharu)

2 tomatoes (tamatar)

Other vegetables may be added / replaced as per choice.

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 teaspoonful chilli powder  (lanka gunda)

Salt to taste (luna)

1 small ginger  (ada)

5 garlic cloves (rasuna kola)

2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 teaspoon coriander seeds (dhania)

1 onion (piaja)

2 table spoon refined oil (rifaain tela)

300 gram – very small prawns (chhota chingudi)

 

Method:

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Chingudi Chadchadi     (Non-veg)    

Ingredients:

250 gm tiny prawns with shell (chhota chingudi)

3 teaspoon mustard paste (sorisha, rasuna, lanka bata)

(prepare by grinding mustard, garlic and red chilly)

3 green chillies (kancha lanka)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

2 tablespoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

Salt to taste (luna)

 

Method:

Clean the tiny prawns but do not remove the shells. Take the prawns in a kadhai or frying pan. Add the mustard paste to it. Also the turmeric powder, green chillies and salt. Then add the mustard oil along with 1/3 cup of water. Mix well. Put the frying pan on medium flame. Stir frequenty. Cook until it all becomes dry. Serve with hot rice.

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)

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Chhena Tarkari

 

Ingredients:

1 litre milk (khira)

1 table spoon lemon juice / vinegar (lembu rasa) 

2 potatoes (aalu) 

1 big onion (piaja)

3 pods garlic (rasuna)

1 tomato (tamatar)

1/2 inch ginger (ada)

1 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)

1 teaspoon coriander seed (dhania)

2 bay leaf (teja patra) 

1/2 inch cinnamon (dalchini)

2 cardamom  (aleicha)

3 cloves (labanga)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 and a qurater table spoon gram flour (besan)

200 ml any refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

coriander leaves (dhania patra)

chilli powder to taste (lanka gunda)

salt to taste (luna)

 Method:

Here we are going to prepare something which is very different from the regular paneer curries. Hence we need to prepare cottage cheese which is  not as hard as paneer. Heat the milk to boiling point. Add the lemon juice/ vinegar and switch off the flame. Allow the milk to curdle for 10-15 mins. Now strain the curdled milk in a muslin cloth and hang it for some time. Squeeze out the water. No need to take out all the water like paneer, the chhena should be soft but not very watery. (Alternatively  the cottage cheese/ chhena readily available in the market may also be used). Take the  chhena. Add besan and knead it nicely. Make small balls and flatten them like bara (similar to kofta). Deep fry the baras in oil and keep aside. (Do not add salt to the baras). Grind the dry spices (cinnamon, cardamom and cloves), onion, garlic and ginger to a smooth paste. Cut the potatos into the shape of cubes. Fry the potato cubes and keep aside. Heat oil in a wok/ kadai. Add the ground masala, bay leaves, turmeric and chilli powder. When the oil separates from masala add tomatoes. Reduce heat and stir till the tomato becomes tender. Now add the potato cubes and salt. After sauteing for a minute add water and bring it to a boil ensuring the potatoes are cooked. Now add the baras and simmer for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

(Contributed by: Priyadarsini Kar, Bristol,UK)     Back to menu

 

Chhinchada    (Non-veg)

Ingredients:

Head of Katla /Rohu fish (bhakura / rohi machha munda)

(head portion of a 1.5 to 2 kg fish) 

250 gms pumpkin (boiti kakharu)

100 gms Taro (saru)

150 gms brinjal (baigana)

1 medium size green plantain (kanchcha kadali)

2 medium size potatoes (aalu)

1 medium size tomato (tamatar)

1 big onion (piaja)

1 inch ginger (ada)

1 teaspoon minced garlic (kata rasuna)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 teaspoon chilli powder (lanka gunda)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (sorisha)

1 bayleaf (teja patra)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

1 table spoon chana dal (chana / buta dali)

3 tablespoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

salt to taste

Method:

Soak the chana dal in water for half an hour. Clean and wash the fish head and cut it into small pieces to the extent possible. Then marinate the same with half-a-teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Peel and cut the vegetables ito cubes. Grind onion, garlic and ginger to a smooth paste. Heat one-and-a-half tablespoon of oil in a pan/ kadai.  Then hot fry the fish head pieces for about 5 minutes on medium flame. Remove and keep aside. Now put one-and-a-half-tablespoon oil in a pan / kadai (of bigger size, so that it can hold all the vegetables). Heat oil on medium flame. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chillies and bay leaf. Subsequently add the onion-ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powdr and chilli powder and saute. When oil separates from he masala add tomatoes, salt and the fish heads. Then saute till tomatoes are cooked. The fish heads need not be intact. They should get crushed while stirring the pieces. If they don't by this time, don't worry. Add the vegetables and soaked chana dal and cover. Add a little water so that the veggies don't stick to the bottom of the kadai until cooked. Cook on medium to low flame for about 10 minutes stirring once / twice. By this time the fish heads would get crushed and the vegetables become cooked. Serve hot with boiled rice and dal for a sumptuous meal.

For a variation, you could also replace all the vegetables (except potato and tomato) with cabbage of equal qauantity.

(Contributed by: Priyadarsini Kar, Bristol, UK)  Back to menu

Dalma 

 

Ingredients:

 

100gm pigeon pea /arhar dal (harada dali)

50gm raw papaya (kancha amrutabhanda)

50gm striped pear gourd / parwal (potala)

50gm potato (alu)

1 big onion (piaja)

3-5 dry chili (sukhila lanka)

½ teaspoon mustard (sorisha)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

2 bay leaves (teja patra)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

3-teaspoon of any refined cooking oil (refain tela)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds powder (jeera gunda)

½ tea spoon chili powder (lanka gunda)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Wash the vegetables thoroughly. Cut them into small pieces. Put the vegetables, arhar dal, salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 3 to 4 cups of water in a Pressure Cooker and boil on medium flame. After one whistle switch off the gas. A little later as the pressure of the cooker is released, open the lid. Now heat 3 teaspoon of oil in a frying pan. Add jeera, mustard, bay leaves, chopped onions and 3-4 dry chilies. Fry till they turn golden brown. Now add all this to the boiled dal and vegetables of the pressure cooker and stir well. Add jeera powder and chili powder. Close the lid and heat further for 2 minutes. Your dalma is ready. Tastes best when served hot. May be served with rice or chapati also.

Variations:

What's mentioned above is a simple recipe of Dalma. You may further make variations of the same by adding / replacing the vegetables with pumpkin, brinjal, plantain, and yam etc.  A little scrubbed coconut  may also be added. Using desi ghee (gua gheea) instead of refined oil lends subtle flavour to dalma. If you feel that the arhar dal is not getting boiled properly it may be soaked in water for about 30 minutes before putting the same in pressure cooker. Also find another variety of dalma elsewhere on this page, where moong dal is used instead of arhar dal.                                        Back to menu

Dahi Baigana

Ingrerdients:

 

200gm fresh curd (dahi)

250gm brinjal (baigana)

250ml refined oil (rifaain tela)

4 green chilies (kancha lanka)

½ teaspoon mustard + cumin seeds (sorisha + jeera)

6-8 curry leaves (bhursunga patra)

salt to taste

Method:

Whip the curd well by adding salt . Cut the brinjals into thick pieces of length around 2”. Fry the cut brinjals in a frying pan. Then put them into  the whipped curd . Heat two teaspoon of  refined oil in another frying pan. Add mustard, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds start cracking add green chilies. Transfer the contents of the pan to the curd containing brinjals. Stir lightly. Keep the dish aside for 10 minutes and then serve with hot rice.

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Dala Khechidi

Ingredients:

250 gms rice (chaula)

200 gms half-crushed green gram/ moong dal (muga dali)

1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 table spoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 pinch asafoetida (hengu)

100 gms pure ghee (gua gheea)

3 to 4 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

2 bay leaves (tej patra)

2 inches cinnamon (dalchini)

4 to 6 cardamom (aleicha/ gujurati)

salt to taste

 

Method:

Wash rice and moong dal properly. Then add 2 to 3 teaspoon pure ghee and turmeric powder. Mix well and spread on a plate to let it dry for 10 minutes. Crush cinnamon and cardamom well to prepare garam masala powder. Heat the pressure cooker and put the rest of pure ghee into it. (In the traditional kitchen it is supposed to be cooked in an open pot; however pressure cooker may also be used). Add the cumin seeds. Then add bay leaves and red chillies. Also add a pinch of turmeric powder. As it starts to crackle add the rice mix into it. Stir for about one minute. Then add water. Ensure that the quantity of water added is almost the double of quantity of rice and dal mix. Add salt to taste. Also add the garam masala powder into mix. Then put the lid on the pressure cooker. Cook it on medium flame. After one whistle put off the flame. Open the lid after some time. You may also add a little pure ghee at this stage. Serve hot. (Best to serve it with Raam Rochak Tarkari, the recipe of which is mentioned below). This is a famous prasad of the Shri Jagannath temple in Baripada.

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)             Back to menu

Ghaanta

Ingredients:

50 gm arum (saru)

50 gm potato (alu)

50 gm yam (desi alu)

50 gm pumpkin (kakharu)

50 gm striped pear gourd/ parwal (potala)

2 tomatoes (tamatar)

5-6 lima or indian beans (simba)

7 french beans (bin)

4 long beans (jhudunga)

1 brinjal (baigana)

total 1 cup of  dry yellow matar /kabuli chana/lima beans seeds (matar chana+kabuli chana+ simba manji)

½ tablespoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 medium sized ginger (ada)

5 garlic cloves (rasuna kola)

1 onion (piaja)

2 bay leaves (teja patra)

1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1/2 teaspoon mustard (sorisha)

4 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

½ cup  coconut – cut into small pieces (kata nadia)

1 tablespoon refined oil (rifaain tela)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Cut the vegetables after thoroughly washing them. Boil all the pulse seeds after soaking them in water for about 8 hrs. Make a paste of onion, ginger, and garlic. Fry cumin seeds and red chilies in a pan and then make rough powder of  the same. Boil all the cut vegetables, pre-boiled seeds, coconut pieces. Add salt, turmeric powder, bay leaves. Take a tablespoon of oil in another pan and put it on medium flame. Add ½ teaspoon each of cumin seeds and mustard to it. When mustards start cracking add the paste of onion, garlic and ginger and stir well. After the paste turns golden brown, add the boiled mixture of vegetables etc. and stir continuously. Put the pan on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cumin seeds and red chilli powder to the pan and stir well. Now your Ghanta is ready to be served.

(Contributed by: Asha Lata Tripathy, Bhubaneswar)

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Ghia Anna       

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (chaula)

2 table spoon split bengal gram (chana dali / buta dali)

2 table spoon ghee (desi ghia)

10 curry leaves (bhursunga patra)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

2 table spoon lime juice (lembu rasa) 

Salt to taste

 

Method:

Soak chana dali in water for one hour. Boil it along with rice in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water and salt. You may also boil it in a colander, but in that case add salt after boiling excess water (peja) . Then heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, chillies and curry leaves. Put this seasoning on the cooked rice and mix thoroughly. Add lime juice and mix again. Serve with dalama or any vegetable curry. ‘Ghia Anna’ is quite popular in Puri district.

(Contributed by: Priyadarsini Kar, Bristol,UK)

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Gota Potal Bhaja

Ingredients:
6 pear gourds (parval / potal)
2 spoon refined oil (refine tela)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)
1 medium sized boiled potato (gota sijha alu)
          
For stuffing:
2 teaspoon poppy seed (posta)
1 medium size onion finely sliced (piaja)
5 cloves  of garlic chopped (rasuna)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds  (jeera)
1 dry red chilli (gota sukhila lanka)

 

Method:
First peel all the parvals and wash throughly.Then cut one side of the parvals and remove all seeds from inside. Then mix the seeds with all masalas for stuffing. Mash the  boiled potato after removing the skin. Now place a pan/kadai on the gas-stove and after heating put oil and masala paste with mashed  potato and add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Fry upto 3 minutes. The stuffing is ready. Keep it aside.

 Then take 1/2 tea spoon of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder with little water and spread it thoroughly inside the parvals through the opening made by cutting one side of each parval. After that fill these parvals with the stuffings. Then put a  the pan /kadai on the gas-stove, heat oil and then put the parvals and cover the pan. Cook it on medium flame. After 5 minutes just stir gently and cover it again. 10 minutes later switch off the gas. Stuffed parval is ready. May be Served with rice or roti.

(Contributed by Sandhya Panigrahi, Bangalore)

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Jahni Rai

Ingredients:

½ kg ridge gourd (jahni)

1 tablespoon mustard (sorisha)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

5-6 garlic cloves (rasuna kola)

1 tomato - chopped (kata tamatar)

1 onion - chopped (kata piaja)

½ teaspoon red chili powder (lanka gunda)

1 tablespoon refined oil (rifain tela)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Make a masala paste by grinding mustard, cumin seeds and garlic cloves with a little water in a grinder. Wash and peel the outer skin of ridge-gourd. Cut them into small pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the chopped onion till it becomes golden-brown. Add the vegetable pieces and stir well. Then add the masala paste and salt to it. Stir well.  Cover the pan with a lid and keep it on low flame. When about ¾th of the water evaporates switch off the flame and serve hot either with rice or parathas.

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Kancha Kadali Bara

Ingredients:

2 plantains (kancha kadali)

4 potatoes (aalu)

3 tablespoon gram-flour (besan)

1 onion (piaja)

2 green chillies (kancha lanka)

¾ cup grated coconut (nadia kora)

½ teaspoon chili powder (lanka gunda)

1 sprig coriander leaves (dhania patra)

2 to 3 tablespoon refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

salt to taste (luna)

 

Method:

Wash the plantains and potatoes well. Presure-cook them in water for 2 to 3 minutes. Then peel the skin of the plantains and potatoes and mash them well. Now add gram-flour, chopped green chillies, chopped onion, chilli powder, coriander leaves, grated coconut and salt to taste. Mix them well. You should get dough- like consistency. Then heat the cooking oil on a non-stick pan. Make flat tikis (similar to koftas) and shallow-fry them on the non-stick pan. Serve hot. You could also try the recipe without the use of gram-flour (besan).

(Contributed by: Madhumita Satpathi, London)

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Kanika

Ingredients:
3 cups rice Basmati (basumati chaula)

(or any local rice with a fragrance may be used) 
½ cup bengal gram (buta dali)
1 cup sugar 1 cup (chini)
salt to taste 
25 gms raisin (khismis)
1 tea tea spoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

3 tablespoon ghee (gua gheea)

Ghee 2 tbsp for garnish at the end ( you may skip this)
(NOTE: Vegans can use hydrogenated oil like dalda or any smell-less white oil.)
SPICES(1):
3 bay leaves (teja patra)
6 black cardamom (bada aleicha)
6 white cardamom (chhota aleicha)
6 cloves (labanga)
1½  cinamon (dalchini)
SPICES(2):
Nutmeg , one whole nut, freshly ground (Jai phala)
Mace ( Jayatri) 1 piece , freshly ground
( fine grinding is not necessary)
Method:
Wash the rice and soak for 30 minutes, remove from water and spread for drying ( surface moisture only). Soak bengal gram for 1-2 hrs so that they swell up a bit.
Heat 6 cups of water close to boiling in a separate pan and keep covered. We will add hot water to the rice later. Heat ghee in a thick bottom deep pan. (Do not overheat to smoking). Remove from heat and fry the raisins , remove as soon as they swell up. Return pan to burner and give seasoning with bay leaf. Add the bengal gram dal and stir fry for few minutes. Add the rice and shift gently few times to mix. (Do not try to stir too much. It will break the soaked rice. This is true for all Pulao and fried rice cooking.) Add the boiling water, turmeric and salt. Mix very gently, ( salt should be as much as for any other Pulao) Add all the spices under Spice-1 above. Bring to boil and cook covered. ( stir gently from time to time. Prevent foaming up by controlling heat at the beginning.) When the rice is almost cooked, add sugar, raisins and mix gently but thoroughly. ( Dont add sugar at the beginning, the rice wont cook in sugar). Add the nutmeg and mace powder , ghee and mix and cover. When water dries up, the dish is ready . Keep covered.

This recipe is used generally in marriage , threading ceremony and in many festive occasions in Orissa. It is a sweet vege Pulao with  a strong fragrance of nutmeg, cardamom and clove. You can eat it with vege side dishes like the famous Besara, Mahura, Chhinchada of Orissa, Dahi -Brinjal, Bengal gram dal, tomato / Mango chutney, Paneer etc and with all kinds of non vege dish from Mutton and fish.

(Contributed by Ashima Padhi, Bellarpur)

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Kolatha Dali

Ingredients:

150gm horse gram (kolatha dali)

100gm rice flour (chaula gunda)

2 brinjals (baigana)

2 potatoes (aalu)

2-3  tomatoes (tamatar)

1-2 drumsticks (sajana chhuin)

2 lima beans (simba)

50 gm pumpkin (kakharu)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds(sorisha)

50gm garlic (rasuna)

2 teaspoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

Salt to taste 

Method:

Boil the kolatha dali (horse gram) in pressure cooker. Cut and wash all the vegetables. Make a mixture of rice flour and water. Add the vegetables to the cooked kolatha dali and place the cooker on the flame with its lid open.  Add salt. As soon as the vegetables start boiling, add the flour mixture and go on  stirring continuously. Fry mustard seeds and garlic in mustard oil and add to the prepared kolatha dali. Now your Kolatha Dali is ready. It should be served hot. Tastes great if served with rice and fried vegetables, especially in the winter season. This is a popular dish of Sambalpur district.

(Contributed by: Subhadarsini, Sambalpur)

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Machha Besara   (Non-veg)

Ingredients:

1 kg rohu or bhakur fish (rohi /bhakura)

1 onion (piaja)

2 tomatoes (tamatara)

2 teaspoon red chilli powder  (lanka gunda)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

5 garlic cloves (rasuna kola)

5 tablespoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

3 tablespoon mustard (sorisha)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

Salt to taste (luna)

 

Method:

Cut the fish into small pieces and wash thoroughly. Add turmeric powder and salt to it for marinating. Make a paste of mustard, tomatoes and garlic. Cut the onion into slices. Pre-heat a pan on medium flame. Put oil and fry the fish in batches of 2 or 3 pieces at a time for 4 to 5 minutes. Keep the fried fish aside. Putting the pan again on medium flame take a little oil . Add cumin seeds  and mustard ½ tea spoonful each. When the cumin seeds and mustard start cracking add the sliced onions. Stir a little. Add the tomato/mustard/garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt to it. Also add 3 to 4 cups of water. Keep the pan on flame for about 10  to12 minutes. When the curry starts boiling add the fried fishes and boil it further for about 3 minutes. Maccha Besar is now ready to be served with rice. Garnish it with coriander leaves before serving. (Feedback from a visitor says that she got a strong and pungent taste after preparing the dish. The quantity of mustard should be adjusted in such cases. It is to be prepared in a watery form, in stead of thick gravy one.)

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MachhaThukuthuka      (Non-veg) 

Ingredients:

 

250 gm very small fish (chuna machha)

2 teaspoon mustard (sorisha)

½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

5 cloves of garlic (rasuna)

3 teaspoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

juice of half a lemon (lembu rasa)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 teaspoon chili powder (lanka gunda)

4 curry leaves (bhursunga patra)

½ teaspoon panch phootan mixture

(panch phooutan: cumin+ mustard+ nigella+ fenugreek+ aniseed )

salt to taste

Method:

Wash the fish thoroughly by taking out their tails. Also clean the insides by removing the gall bladder and intestine etc. This is done to avoid any possible bitter taste. Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and salt to it for marinating. Make a fine paste of mustard, cumin seeds and garlic. Now heat mustard oil in a pan and add curry leaves and panchafutana to it. When the futana starts cracking add  the mustard+cumin+garlic paste. Add water to the pan. Then add the remaining turmeric powder and chili powder. Once the water starts boiling put the marinated fish into it and add salt to taste. When the curry starts boiling add lemon juice and keep the pan on the flame for 2 to 3 minutes. Now the chuna machha thukuthuka is ready to be served hot and relished by all. This item is very popular in Berhampur.

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Mula Raita

Ingredients:
250 gms radish (mula)
400 ml curd (dahi)
100 gms pomegranate seeds (dalimba manji)
10-15 black grapes (angura)
1 orange (kamala)
black salt 1 pinch (saindhaba luna)
4 Teaspoons sugar (chini)
1-2 green chillies (kancha lanka)
1 apple (seu)
salt to taste (luna)
coriander leaves (dhania patra)
shredded cocunut (kata nadia) 

Method:
First of all grate the radish in a container. Add curd to the same and set it aside. Then cut the black grapes into halves (use seedless ones, if possible), chop the green chillies finely and unskin and cut the apple and orange into small pieces. Now add all the ingredients (except the pomegranate seeds, coriander leaves and shredded coconut, which are to be used for garnishing) to the mixture of radish and curd. Mix well. (You may substitute sugar with honey, if you so wish.) Lastly garnish with the three ingredients as stated above. Your mula raita is ready. Tastes great with vegetarian food. This age-old dish is traditionally offered to the deities in the Jagganath temple of Puri during the holy month of Kartik. This recipe is a little different from the one known as "mooli raita" in some of our neighbouring states.
                 (Contributed by: Basanta Manjari Das, Puri)

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Maansha Kasha     (Non-veg)   

Ingredients:
500gms mutton (maansha)
2 medium size potatoes (aalu)
3 medium size onions (piaja)
40 gm ginger (ada) 
1 medium size whole garlic (rasuna) 
1/2 teaspoon sugar (chini)
1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder (haladi gunda)
2 bay leaf (teja patra)
2 inches long cinnamon (dalchini)

3 small cardamoms (aleicha /gujurati)

100 ml. mustard oil (sorisha tela)

red chilly powder to taste (lanka gunda)

salt to taste (luna)
 
Method:
To begin with prepare masala paste by grinding the onions, garlic and ginger. Make a coarse paste of it rather than fine paste. Peel off and cut the potatoes into halves and semi-fry the same in a frying pan with a little mustard oil. Crush the cinnamon and cardamoms and keep separately. Heat the presure cooker and put mustard oil into it. Then add 1/2 teaspoon sugart. As the sugar gets heated and turns golden brown add the masala paste immediately and go on stirring. Now add the tumeric powder, bay leaf and red chilly powder. Mix the same well  as the open pressure cooker is on medium flame. Add a little water. When the water dries out and oil begins to appear from out of the masala almost after 10 minutes, add mutton add salt.  Mix it all properly. Then stir the same intermittently for about 5 minutes. At his stage add the crushed cinnamon and cardamom (garam masala) and the semi-fried potatoes and half a cup of water. Put the lid tightly and pressure cook it for almost 10 minutess on low - medium flame. Your maansha kasha is ready. If you wish to prepare the item in gravy form (called maansha jhollo) add 2 cups of hot boiled water and boil it a little further. Before serving you may also garnish the same with onion, tomoto, carrot and coriander leaves, if so desire

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)

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Mula Saaga

Ingredients:

250 gm radish leaf (mula saaga)

1 cup cut vegetables (kata pariba)

(vegetables like potato , brinjal, pumpkin and radish may be used)

1/3 cup grated coconut (nadia kora)

2 tablespoon refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

¼ cup mustard paste (sorisha bata)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

1 teaspoon panch phootan (paancha phootana)

(panch phootan = cumin +mustard +nigella + fenugreek + aniseed)

1 table spoon cooking oil

½ tea spoon turmeric (haladi)

5 to 6 Badi / Wadi / Bodi (badi)

Salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Wash the radish leaves well and cut into small pieces. Heat oil on a frying pan. Add one teaspoon paanch phootan and the red chillies. Fry until the same crackles. Then add the radish leaves and vegetables. Fry a bit. Now add the mustard paste with a bit of water. Also add turmeric powder and salt. After they are boiled add grated coconut with fried badi. (Use of ‘badi’ may be avoided if you can’t get it). Mix well. Cook a little further. It is the most awesome saaga (sag) that Oriya people eat. Good for health.

(Contributed by: Sanjitarani Santra, Arizona, USA)

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Muga Dalma

Ingredients:

1/2 cup moong dal (muga dali)

1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 inch ginger - crushed (ada)

1 tablespoon ghee (desi gheea)

2 tea spoon cumin powder (jeera gunda)

chili power  to taste (lanka gunda)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

salt to taste

1 & 1/2 cups of cut vegetables such as:

pumpkin (kakharu)

yam (desi alu)

papaya (kancha amrutabhanda)

plantain (kancha kadali)

arum (saru)

radish (moola) 

Method:

First of all dry- fry the moong dal in a kadai/ pan for about 2 minutes, not more. Soak the semi fried moong dal in water and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds and red chillies and let it splutter. Then add the crushed ginger and vegetables. Stir and fry it for a minute. Add the soaked moong dal, salt,  cumin powder and chilli powder. Also add water as required. Now close the pressure cooker and let it cook for about 15 minutes. The muga dalma is ready. Serve this with steaming hot rice. This kind of dalma is also known as Habishya Dalma and is used by women performing 'Habisha Brata' in Orissa during the holy month of Kartik. (Use of vegetables like potato, tomato and brinjal is to be avoided if this dish is being prepared exclusvely for the purpose of habisha.)

(Contributed by: Geetanjalee Mohanty, Noida)

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Ouu Khata

Ingredients:

1 elephant apple (ouu)
1 small piece of ginger thoroughly minced (ada)
2-3 red chillies (sukhila lanka)
1/2 tsp mustard seed (sorisa)
30 gms  jaggery (guda)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haladi gunda)
2-3  tsp of refined oil (rifain tela)
Salt to taste (luna)
Curry leaves (bhrusanga patra) 

 

Method:
Cut the ouu (elephant apple) into small pieces. Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.  Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add curry leaves, red chillies and minced ginger and fry it for 2 minutes. Add cut ouu pieces, turmeric powder, salt, and mix it properly until ouu becomes light brown in colour. Then add water, jaggery and cover the pan over a medium heat until the ouu is properly cooked. Serve hot as a side dish with rice. You may also garnish the dish with shredded coconut before serving. In Orissa ouu is available in Oct-Nov (Kartika masa) and it is also used in habisha muga dalma. Ouu is rich in vitamin C and is mainly available in southeastern Asia. Its botanical name is Dillenia indica.

(Contributed by: Minati Satpathy, Atlanta, USA)

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Potala Rasa

Ingredients:

250 gms pear gourd /parwal (potala)

2 potatoes (aloo)

coconut milk of 1 coconut (nadia rasa)

2 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania gunda)

1 teaspoon cumin sedspowder (haladi gunda)

1 teaspon 'garam masala' powder (garam masala gunda)

paste of 1 onion + 1 inch ginger (ada piaja bata)

1 onion - sliced (kata piaja)

1 teaspoon ghee (desi gheea)

2 tablespoon refined oil (rifaain tela)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Coconut milk: Put scrubbed coconut in hot water and crush properly. Then filter off the liquid.

Cut each striped pear gourd into thre circular pieces after peeling off the skin. Peel off the potato skin and cut each into almost 8 pieces. Fry the pear gourd and potato with one table spoon oil in a pan till it becomes red. Fry the sliced onions in another pan with rest of the oil. When the onion turns golden, add the onion + garlic paste, cumin seeds powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt; and saute the mixture well. After that add striped pear gourd and potato and saute for atleast 2 minutes. Then put the coconut milk to it and boil the mixture. After boiling, add 'garam masala' powder and ghee and stir well. Potala rasa tastes best if served hot.

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Pithau Bhaja

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (arua chaula)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

2 bay leaves (teja patra)

4 cloves garlic (rasuna)                                       

1 inch ginger (ada)

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (raashi)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 cup refined cooking oil (rifaain tela)

salt to taste (luna)

Vegetables to be used (any, some or all):

plantain (kancha kadali)

yam (mati alu)

brinjal (baigana)

pumpkin (kakharu)

raw papaya (kancha amrutabhanda)

lotus stems (padma nada)

potato (aalu)

(some other vegetables may also be used)  

Method:

First of all soak rice in water for one hour. Make a paste of the soaked rice, cumin seeds, bay leaves, garlic and ginger by adding a little water in a grinder. Grind it to a coarse paste till it gains consistency like the dosa batter. Shift the paste into a container and add turmeric powder, sesame seeds and salt and mix well. Keep it aside. Now wash the vegetables and cut them into thin slices. Take a kadai / pan and add the vegetables into a quantity water that would completely soak all the vegetables. Add turmeric powder. Now turn the flame on and start boiling the vegetables. Add salt to taste. Keep in mind that you have to add a little more salt since the water would have to be drained out later. Allow it to boil for about 5 minutes. Remember that we are here para boiling rather than completely boiling the vegetables. Make sure that the vegetables are not over cooked. (You can directly use brinjal and pumpkin without para boiling, since they are soft vegetables.) Now strain the vegetables and drain out water. Then heat the tawa on medium flame and pour a generous quantity of oil so that oil is spread all over the tawa. Now soak the para boiled vegetables one by one in the rice batter and place them on the tawa. You can cover the whole tawa with vegetable slices. After one minute turn each slice upside down and fry. If a little bit more oil is required, add the same and allow all the slices to be fried well on both sides till they turn crisp. Then serve hot with rice and dal.

This kind of dry fried vegetables in rice paste is quite popular in Orissa. It is a quick recipe that uses lesser oil. You can also make the rice paste and keep it in refrigerator for immediate use any time.

(Contributed by: Nibedita Sahu, Bhubaneswar)

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Pala Chhatu Bara

       

Ingredients:

500 gm mushroom (pala chhatu)

100 gm rice (arua chaula)

3 garlic cloves (rasuna kola)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

1 teaspoon chilli powder (lanka gunda)

2 tablespoon mustard oil (sorisha tela)

one big size onion (piaja)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

First of all prepare rice flour paste called pithau (for this, soak the rice in water for about one hour and then grind the same with garlic and jeera). Wash the mushroom and cut into small pieces. Cut the onion into medium slices. Mix the mushroom with the pithau, onion slices, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Add salt to taste. Heat mustard oil in a tawa or frying pan on medium flame. Make flat baras ( giving them shape like kofta).

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)

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Pani Kakharu Sakara

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped white gourd (pani kakharu)

1 table spoon panch phutan (pancha phutan)

(panch phutan:

cumin+mustard+nigela+fenugreek+aniseed)
½ cup grated coconut (nadia kora)

½ cup tamarind water (tentuli rasa)

½ cup sugar or jaggery (chini / guda)

curry leaves (bhursunga patra)

4 dried black-gram chunks (baddi)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

2 teaspoon pickle masala (achar masala)

1 table spoon cooking oil (tela)

salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Then add the pancha phutan, curry leaves and baddi. After the baddi turns brown add chopped white gourd. Also add pickle masala, sugar/ jaggery and salt. Fry for a while. Then add water. Cook until the white gourd becomes soft. Top it with grated coconut. Boil for two more minutes. Pani kakharu sakarara is ready to be served.

(Contributed by: Geetanjalee Mohanty, Noida)

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Poi Rai

Ingredients: 
poi (bachali kura / pohi) leaves and stems (poi saaga)
2 potatoes (aalu)
2 raw bananas (kancha kadali)
1/4  of a medium size pumpkin (kakharu)
2 brinjal (baigana)
3-4 Colocassia/ Taro (saru)
1 Tomato (optional) (tamatar)
1 small onion - finely chopped (piaja)
5-6 cloves garlic - crushed (rasuna)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)
salt to taste (luna)

1 teaspoon panch phutan (pancha phutana)

10 to 15 badi - fried (gently crurshed) (badi)
1 tablespoon refined oil- 1tbs (Tela)
1 or 2 dry red chillies (sukhila lanka) 
mustard oil –add before serving for flavor (sorisha tela) 

To make the masala paste:
1 tablespoon mustard seeds (sorisa)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)
8 to 10 pieces green chillis (kancha lanka)
10 garlic cloves (rasuna)
1 small onion (piaja) 

Method:
Cut poi leaves and stem into small pieces then steam it for 3-4 minutes (or until the stems are little soft) and drain out the water. Take 1 tsp of oil in a pan and fry poi leaves and stems for couple of minutes. Then make the fine paste of the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chilles, garlic and onion. Take a kadai, put the masala paste and add some water to it. Add turmeric powder and salt and allow it to warm it for 2-3 minutes over medium flame.  Then add the cut vegetables to the warm masala water and cover the kadai. Let the vegetable cook for 3-4 mins. Don’t allow it to over cook. Then add poi leaves and stems and allow it to boil for couple of minutes more. Keep the boiled vegetables aside. Put a frying pan on a medium flame, add 2 tsp of oil, add pancha phutana, let it splutter, add red dry chillies, crushed garlic and finely cut onion, occasionally stir until they are golden brown. Finally add the boiled vegetables with masala to the phutana mix and season with mustard oil and serve hot with rice. To keep the crunchiness of Badi, add it before serving. (Or you can add whole fried badi while adding phutana). It’s a low fat and nutrition full dish which is very commonly prepared in Oriya kitchen.

Variation: In place of poi, khakharu saga (pumpkin leaves) and stem can be used. With kakharu saga, garnish the dish with grated coconut. To make it non vegetarian dish, fried prawn (chingudi) or small fish (chuna macha) can be added to it.

(Contributed by: Shubhra Mishra, Bhilai)

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 Raam Rochak Tarkari

Ingredients:

100 gms green gram / moong dal (muga dali)

1 pinch baking powder (baking powder)

1 pinch asafoetida (hengu)

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (lanka gunda)

1 tablespoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1 inch ginger (ada)

3 to 4 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

250 gm brinjal (baigana)

1 medium size potato (aloo)

1 table spoon coriander powder (dhania gunda)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

½ teaspoon garam masala powder (garam masala gunda)

100 gms refined oil (rifaain tela)

Salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Soak moong dal in water for 2 to 3 hours after washing it thoroughly (half-crushed moong dal with peel may be used for better flavour and aroma). Grind the same into a not-so-fine paste. Cut brinjal and potato into 1 inch cubes and keep aside. For preparing masala, make a fine paste of cumin seeds, ginger and red chillies. Now add one teaspoon of the the masala paste, a pinch of asafoetida and a pinch of baking powder to the moong dal batter. Mix it well. Heat oil in a pan / kadhai and deep-fry moong dal baras (by making small baras / vadas out of  the batter) till the same turn golden brown. Keep the fried baras aside. Now heat about 50 gms of refined oil and add about 2 tablespoon of the cumin seeds + ginger + chilly paste (masala) prepared earlier. Add 1 tablespoon of coriander powder  and ½ teaspoon turmeric powder to it and stir till the oil comes out of the fried masala. When oil comes out of the masala, you are ready for the next step. Add the brinjal and potato cubes to it and add chilli powder and salt to taste. Cover the pan/ kadhai and cook it for some time on medium flame. Keep stirring in between. When it is cooked add 1 glass of water for gravy and let it boil for about 1 minute. Then add the fried baras into it. Let it again boil for about 2 to 3 more minutes. Add  1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder into it. Serve hot with rice. Makes a great combination with Dala Khechidi (See the recipe mentioned above).  Raam Rochak Tarkari is popular in the Baripada region of Orissa.

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)

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Santula

Ingredients:

50gm brinjal (baigana)

50gm potato (alu)

50gm ridge-gourd (jahni)

50gm raw papaya (kancha amrutabhanda)

other green or red vegetables may also be used (not  the leafy ones).

1 onion

7-8 garlic cloves – chopped into small pieces (kata rasuna)

2-teaspoon crushed or grated ginger (chhecha ada)

½ teaspoon mustard (sorisha)

3-4 green chillies (kancha lanka)

2-teaspoon refined oil (refain tela)

boiled milk-1 cup (sijha khira)

salt to taste (luna) 

Method:

Cut the vegetables into medium sizes. Boil the vegetables in a cooking pot by adding salt to it. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add mustard when the oil is hot. Add chopped onions, grated ginger and chopped garlic cloves after the mustards start cracking. Fry till it all becomes golden brown. Add green chilies and fry it a little. Then add boiled vegetables and stir properly.  Add the oiled milk. Put the flame in simmer level for about 2-3 minutes. Your Santula is ready to serve. It can be served with either rice or chapatti. It is also considered a great diet for people suffering from several ailments, due to its high vegetable content, absence of hot spices, and minimal oil content.

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Sajana Phula Rai

Ingredients:

1 cup moringa oleifra blossoms (sajana phula)

1 medium onion - chopped fine (piaja)

2 pods garlic - crushed (rasuna)

2 table spoons cooking oil (tela)

1 teaspoon pancha phutana mixture

(pancha phutana =

cumin+mustard+nigella+fenugreek+aniseed )

2 tablespoon beaten yoghurt (dahi)

1 pinch turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

salt to taste (luna)

chilli powder to taste (lanka gunda) 

Method:

De-stem the sajana blossoms carefully making sure only the petals are retained. Wash and drain. Heat the oil, sputter the pancha phutana. Add the blossoms, turmeric, salt and chilli powder. Mix well. The moisture in the blossoms should help wilt them quickly (in two minutes or so). Otherwise, sprinkle some water to wilt the florets. When done, mix in the yoghurt, take off the heat and serve hot alongwith the main course.

 Sajana (moringa oleofera) blossoms in early spring and this is a delicate dish made from its florets. Most rai recipes use mustard based spices mix, but this one uses a very subtle flavour of pancha phutata alone. The yoghurt in the recipe lends a mild sourness and a gentle binding consistency to the rai. Green peas can also be added to the rai.

(Contributed by: Laxmi Parida, New York)

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Sajana Saaga Kharada

Ingredients:

250 gm moringa oleifra leaves (sajana saaga)

1 cup cut vegetables: potato and arum (aloo, saru)

½ cup moong daal (muga dali)

2 tablespoon refined cooking oil (refine tela)

2 red chillies (sukhila lanka)

1 teaspoon mustard seed (sorisha)

3 to 4 garlic cloves smashed (rasuna kola chhecha)

½ tea spoon turmeric (haladi gunda)

5 to 6 urad dal badi (badi)

Salt to taste (luna)
Method:

Boil the moong dal, vegetables with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt in pressure cooker for 3 to 4 mins. Keep this aside. Fry the badi in oil and keep it aside. Wash the sajana leaves well and pluck out the leaves. Heat oil on a frying pan. Add one teaspoon mustard seed and the red chillies. Fry until the same crackles. Then add the smashed garlic  and after 30 secs add sajana leaves. Fry a bit. Add  salt add fried badi. Mix well. Add 2 cups of water and cover it with a lid and let it boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the  boiled moong dal and vegetables to it. Cook a little further and try to smash the saaga with moong and vegetables thoroughly. It tastes great. You can replace this sajana saaga with any other like 'koshla saaga' and 'methi saaga' (fenugreek leaf) whichever is available seasonwise.

(Contributed by: Rashmirekha Sutar, Los Angeles)

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Tomato Khajura Khata

Ingredients:

250 gm tomato (tamatar)

100 gm date palm (khajuri)

2 tablespoon freshly grated coconut (nadia kora)

½ inch ginger (adaa)

2 dry red chillies (sukhila lanka)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haladi gunda)

50 gm sugar (chini)

1 tablespoon refined oil (refaain tela)

salt to taste (luna)

Method:

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.  Crush the ginger. Heat oil in a frying pan/kadhai. When the oil is considerably hot, sauté the khajuri. Then transfer the khajuri to a plate. Put red chillies to the hot oil in the frying pan. Add the crushed ginger and turmeric powder to it. Fry it for some time. Subsequently add the chopped tomatoes and salt to it. Stir it and then cover the pan with a lid for some time. Keep stirring until the tomatoes make a thick paste. Then add ½ cup water to it and leave the mixture to boil.  Now add fried khajuri, grated coconut and leave it to boil on a medium flame for about 5 minutes. Make sure the lid of the pan is closed before boiling.  Then add sugar and continue boiling for another 5 minutes. Tomato khajuri khata is ready to served. You may garnish it with coriander leaves (dhaniya patra).

(Contributed by: Jyotsna Mohanty, Mumbai)

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