Food Of Odisha

Odia people love food, they know the importance of Odisha food, which is another culture of the state. If you don’t know, Odisha cuisines are very simple and very delicious too. Odisha food is prepared with very little oil. This helps to bring out the original flavors of the spices.

Odisha is well known for its scenic beauty, tribal culture, and brilliant archaeological work. Apart from this Odisha cuisine attracts some more travelers. If you are planning to visit Odisha, you will fall in love with all Odisha foods and their aroma. 

There are some top rated cuisines which are known as the signature dishes of Odisha.

1. Temple Cuisine Of Odisha

Temple cuisine is the food being offered to the presiding deities. It is believed that many Odisha cuisines originated from temple cuisines. These cuisines are cooked in traditional methods with the use of wood and charcoal. The temple food is heavenly delicious, and a must-try. 

One of the world famous temple cuisine is “Jagannath Mahaprasad”.

Jagannath Mahaprasad

The prasad of Lord Jagannath temple is well known as “Maha Prasad”, which means the greatest of all prasad. Mahaprasad consists of 56 recipes “Chappan Bhog”. All the chappan bhog are cooked in a unique way. Earthen pots are kept on top of another pot over a burner. The pot which is at the top cooks first.

2. Pakhala

Pakhala is truly an Odisha cuisine, which is prepared with rice that is fermented overnight. It is a superfood. In Odisha, it is usually called  “Pakhala Bhata”. In summer time this cuisine is eaten by most Odias to prevent heat strokes.   

This cuisine is so popular that, Odisha people celebrate March 20th of each year as “Pakhala Divasa” (Pakhala Day). This superfood contains good nutrients for everyone.

There are three types of pakhala Odia people like to have:

• Saja Pakhala: 

This type of pakhala is usually eaten at dinner time on summer days. The process of making “Saja pakhala” is to cool the cooked rice to room temperature, after draining out the water. Then add some water into the pot containing cooked rice. It should be served instantly with a piece of lemon and a pinch of salt.

• Basi Pakhala

Basi pakhala is cooked rice fermented overnight before being served. This Basi pakhala is usually eaten during the lunchtime of summer days. The taste of basi pakhala is slightly sour and sweet, just serve it with a  pinch of salt. 

• Dahi Pakhala

Dahi pakhala is made with fresh plain yogurt added to the Saja pakhala, which is freshly cooked. It will give a sour taste without fermentation of the rice. People also like to add yogurt to Basi pakhala also.

To add more taste to pakhala , you can add fish fry,  Sukhua poda  (Dry Fish), Saga Bhaja, Badhi Chura, and many more.

3. Santula

Another superfood from Odisha, Santula is a  vegetable dish especially eaten with Roti (Chapatis). The ingredients of Santula include potatoes, papaya, brinjal, tomatoes, pumpkin, and other seasonal vegetables. The process is to boil all vegetables and fry in oil with sliced onions, chilies, and phoran.

This superfood is easy to digest as it’s not very spicy, this dish is suitable for all stomach disorders.

4. Dalma

Dalma is a unique and famous delicacy in Odisha. One of the easy and simple recipes made with dal (Lentils) and lots of vegetables. This is an everyday recipe made in most Odia people’s homes. In Odisha, people use fewer spices in this recipe. Dalma is packed with proteins from lentils and vitamins from vegetables. 

You can say this dish is a perfect combination of taste and health. You can use dals like toor and moong dal. The seasoning of Dalma is mainly with jeera, bay leaves, dry red chili with desi ghee. This will make this dish more aromatic.

5. Chenna Poda

You can say Odisha’s own cheesecake! This is one of the best sweets that Odisha is very famous for after Rasagulla. This sweet is also offered to Lord Jagannath during Rath Yatra. The smoky taste of cottage cheese with sugar and semolina will make a taste burst inside your mouth. 

The process is to brunt the above ingredients  for 3-4 hours until red, then the caramelised sugar brings the superb flavours of Chenna poda. You can find this sweet dish in every corner shop of Odisha.

6. Pitha: For All Occasion

Pitha of Odisha are something similar to pancakes or dumplings, this originates from Indian sub-continents. This Pitha can be sweet and savory in taste, usually made with batter or dough.  This can be steamed, fried, or griddled. Some varieties of pitha in Odisha are baked or boiled.

In Odisha, pithas are very special in all Odia homes. Especially in traditional festivals or occasions, these pithas are part of celebrations. People of Odisha also like to eat pitas on normal days. 

Some famous Odisha pithas are the following:

• Chakuli Pitha:

This chakuli pitha is made from fermented rice and black gram. This pitha Odia people eat on a daily basis as breakfast. Odia people like to have it with Dalma, Odia Kheeri, or some coconut chutney.

• Arisa Pitha:

This arisa pitha is made of rice flour and jaggery, this pitha needs deep frying in oil. You can also store it for 15-20 days. This one is also a favorite of most Odia people.

• Manda Pitha:

Manda pitha can be prepared with steam or deep-fried. This is made with rice flour or semolina and stuffed with grated coconut and jaggery. People also like to add cheese filling. This pitha is very famous among all Odias. 

• Poda Pitha:

Poda pitha is the one that is baked with fire. This is a slow cooked pitha made from rice flour, jaggery and chopped coconut. The outer part of the pitha is slightly burnt, but the inside of this pitha is very soft. Poda pitha is eaten by Odias during Raja festival.

There  are a lot more other pithas which are also  very famous among all Odias. 

7. Odisha Rasgulla

Odisha’s Rasgulla is one of the ancient recipes, which wins the whole world’s heart, by its taste. Rasgulla is made with ball-shaped dumplings of Chenna (Indian cheese) and semolina dough, cooked with light sugar syrup. 

According to history, rasgulla originated in Puri, and it has been offered as bhog to goddess Laxmi at Puri Jagannath temple. On 30 July 2015, it was Niladri Bije of Lord jagannath, Balabhadra and Suvadra, a social media campaign was started by using a hashtag #RasagolaDibasa. Later it was celebrated as the maiden day to celebrate Rasgulla divasa in Odisha.

The above delicacies  are the major famous foods of Odisha, but there are some other delicacies which are also very famous in Odisha.