RAG Demo

Tag: Odisha

  • Chhena Poda

    Chhena poda, literally 'burnt cheese', comes from Nayagarh district in Odisha, where a confectioner is said to have left sweetened chhena in a cooling wood-fired oven overnight in the 1940s. The result became the state's signature sweet and is also offered to Lord Jagannath. Traditional sweet shops still bake it in sal leaves over wood fire.

    It tastes like a rustic Indian cheesecake. The outside is deep brown, caramelised and slightly chewy, while the inside stays soft, moist and spongy with the milky sweetness of fresh chhena and the warmth of cardamom. A little semolina holds it together. It is served in wedges, warm or at room temperature, and keeps well for a couple of days.

    At a glance

    RegionOdisha
    CuisineOdia
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time40 minutes
    Cook time50 minutes
    Total time90 minutes
    Serves6
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientschhena / sugar / semolina / cardamom

    Ingredients

    • Chhena from 1.5 litres full-cream milk (about 300 g), drained
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 2 tbsp fine semolina (sooji)
    • 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
    • 1 tbsp ghee plus extra for greasing
    • 1 tbsp chopped cashews
    • 1 tbsp raisins
    • Banana or sal leaves for lining (optional)

    Method

    1. Make chhena by curdling boiled milk with lemon juice, straining it through muslin, rinsing and hanging it for 1 hour so it is well drained.
    2. Crumble the chhena into a bowl and knead with the heel of your palm for 3-4 minutes until fairly smooth.
    3. Add sugar, semolina, cardamom powder and ghee and knead again for 2 minutes. Fold in cashews and raisins. Leave the mixture to rest for 20 minutes so the semolina absorbs moisture.
    4. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 15 cm round cake tin and line it with banana leaf if using, greased with ghee.
    5. Spread the mixture evenly in the tin and smooth the top.
    6. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top and sides are deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
    7. Cool in the tin for 30 minutes, then unmould and cut into wedges.

    Tips

    • Without an oven, bake it in a heavy kadhai on a stand with salt underneath, covered, on low heat for about 1 hour.
    • Sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar over the top before baking for a darker caramel crust.
    • Chhena that is too wet makes a soggy centre; squeeze it well before kneading.

    Serve with

    Warm or at room temperature, on its own or after an Odia thali.

  • Machha Besara

    Besara is the Odia word for a mustard paste, and machha besara is one of the most common fish preparations along the Mahanadi delta and the coast around Puri and Cuttack. Rohu, katla and other freshwater fish are typical, cut into steaks and fried in mustard oil before they meet the gravy.

    Where Bengali shorshe dishes stay pure mustard, Odia besara usually grinds garlic into the paste and adds tomato for tang, and some families add a few slices of brinjal or potato to stretch the curry. The result is a pungent, sour and gently hot gravy that coats the fish, best eaten with rice or even with pakhala on a summer afternoon.

    At a glance

    RegionOdisha
    CuisineOdia
    DietNon-vegetarian
    CourseMain course
    Prep time25 minutes
    Cook time25 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelHot
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrohu fish / mustard seeds / garlic / tomato

    Ingredients

    For the fish

    • 500 g rohu or katla steaks
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 4 tbsp mustard oil

    For the besara paste

    • 2 tbsp yellow or black mustard seeds
    • 6 garlic cloves
    • 2 green chillies
    • 1/4 tsp salt

    For the gravy

    • 1/2 tsp panch phoron
    • 1 dry red chilli
    • 1 medium tomato, chopped
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
    • 1 small brinjal, cut into wedges (optional)
    • 3 green chillies, slit
    • 1 cup water
    • Salt to taste
    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander

    Method

    1. Rub the fish steaks with turmeric and salt and rest for 15 minutes.
    2. Soak the mustard seeds for 15 minutes, then grind with garlic, green chillies and salt into a smooth paste using a little water.
    3. Heat the mustard oil in a kadhai until smoking, then lower to medium. Fry the fish 2-3 minutes per side until golden and firm. Remove and keep aside.
    4. In the same oil add panch phoron and the dry red chilli. When they crackle, add the brinjal if using and fry for 3 minutes.
    5. Add the tomato, turmeric and chilli powder and cook for 4-5 minutes until the tomato breaks down.
    6. Add the besara paste and cook on low heat for 2 minutes, stirring, then pour in 1 cup water with salt and slit green chillies. Bring to a gentle simmer.
    7. Slide in the fried fish and simmer on low heat for 6-8 minutes, spooning gravy over it, until the gravy thickens slightly and the oil floats on top.
    8. Sprinkle coriander, cover, and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

    Tips

    • Once the mustard paste is in, keep the heat low – a hard boil makes it bitter.
    • Add a teaspoon of mango kasundi or a few pieces of raw mango in summer for the classic tangy variation.
    • Shake the pan rather than stirring after the fish goes in so the steaks do not break.

    Serve with

    Steamed rice or pakhala bhata.

  • Santula

    Santula is the Odia home cook's answer to a light, nourishing vegetable dish. It is cooked for children, for the elderly and for anyone recovering from illness, and it fits right into a summer meal. Some families make it without any tempering at all, simply boiling the vegetables and adding salt and ghee.

    The flavour is mild and clean: mixed vegetables simmered until soft, then dressed in a tempering of mustard oil, panch phoron, garlic and green chilli. A splash of milk at the end, in the 'dudha santula' style, makes it gently creamy. It is not meant to be rich or fiery; the vegetables should taste of themselves.

    At a glance

    RegionOdisha
    CuisineOdia
    DietVegetarian
    CourseSide dish
    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time20 minutes
    Total time35 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsraw papaya / potato / brinjal / pumpkin / milk

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup raw papaya, peeled and cubed
    • 1 medium potato, cubed
    • 1 small brinjal, cubed
    • 1 cup pumpkin, cubed
    • 1/2 cup french beans, cut into 3 cm pieces
    • 1 raw banana, peeled and cubed
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 1/2 cups water
    • 1 tbsp mustard oil
    • 1/2 tsp panch phoron
    • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
    • 2 green chillies, slit
    • 1 dry red chilli
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 1 tsp ghee
    • Salt to taste

    Method

    1. Put all the vegetables in a pan with turmeric, salt and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 10-12 minutes until tender.
    2. Lightly mash a few pieces of pumpkin and potato against the side of the pan to thicken the stew, leaving most of the vegetables whole.
    3. Heat the mustard oil in a small pan until it smokes, then lower the heat. Add panch phoron and dry red chilli and let them crackle.
    4. Add the crushed garlic and green chillies and fry until the garlic is light golden, about 1 minute.
    5. Pour the tempering into the vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes.
    6. Lower the heat, stir in the milk and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes without boiling hard. Finish with ghee and serve warm.

    Tips

    • Keep the milk off a rolling boil so it does not split with the vegetables' acidity.
    • Use whatever seasonal vegetables are at hand – ridge gourd, ash gourd and drumstick are all common.
    • For a sick-day version, skip the tempering and just add ghee and a pinch of black pepper.

    Serve with

    Plain rice and a little dal, or with pakhala in summer.

  • Dalma

    Dalma is the everyday dal-and-vegetable stew of Odisha and a fixture of the Jagannath temple's mahaprasad, where it is cooked without onion, garlic, tomato or chillies. In homes it is eaten almost daily with rice and is considered wholesome enough to be a full meal on its own. Odia restaurants now serve it as the anchor of a thali.

    Toor dal, or sometimes chana dal, is boiled with chunks of vegetables until both are soft but the vegetables still hold their shape. The dal is mildly sweet from pumpkin and raw papaya, earthy from raw banana and yam. The defining touch is a dry-roasted powder of cumin and dried red chillies sprinkled at the end, and a panch phoron tempering in ghee.

    At a glance

    RegionOdisha
    CuisineOdia
    DietVegetarian
    CourseMain course
    Prep time20 minutes
    Cook time30 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientstoor dal / pumpkin / raw papaya / raw banana / brinjal

    Ingredients

    For the dal

    • 3/4 cup toor dal, rinsed and soaked 30 minutes
    • 1 cup pumpkin, cut into 3 cm cubes
    • 1 cup raw papaya, cut into cubes
    • 1 raw banana, peeled and cut into cubes
    • 1 small brinjal, cubed
    • 1/2 cup elephant foot yam (optional), cubed
    • 1 inch ginger, grated
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 3 cups water
    • Salt to taste

    For the tempering and finish

    • 2 tbsp ghee
    • 1 tsp panch phoron
    • 2 dry red chillies
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 tbsp grated coconut
    • 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 dry red chillies, dry-roasted and ground (bhaja masala)

    Method

    1. Pressure cook the soaked toor dal with turmeric and 2 cups water for 2 whistles on medium heat. Let the pressure release naturally.
    2. If using yam, boil it separately for 5 minutes in salted water and drain; this reduces its itchiness.
    3. Open the cooker, add the pumpkin, papaya, raw banana, brinjal, yam, ginger, salt and 1 cup water.
    4. Simmer uncovered on medium heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are tender and the pumpkin starts to break into the dal.
    5. In a small pan heat the ghee. Add panch phoron, dry red chillies and bay leaves and let them crackle for 15-20 seconds.
    6. Pour the tempering over the dal. Stir in the grated coconut and half the roasted cumin-chilli powder and simmer for 2 minutes.
    7. Serve hot, sprinkled with the rest of the roasted powder and a little more ghee.

    Tips

    • Do not cook the vegetables in the cooker with the dal – they turn to mush; simmering them in the open pot keeps the texture.
    • For the temple-style version, skip the red chillies in the tempering and use only ginger and ghee.
    • Dalma thickens as it stands; loosen with hot water when reheating.

    Serve with

    Steamed rice with a fry such as aloo bhaja or saga bhaja.

  • Pakhala Bhata

    Pakhala bhata is cooked rice soaked in water, sometimes left overnight to ferment lightly, and it is the food Odisha turns to in the blistering summer. The state even celebrates Pakhala Dibasa on 20 March. Farm workers ate it for centuries because it keeps the body hydrated and cool, and it is offered at the Jagannath temple too.

    There are several styles: jeera pakhala with roasted cumin, dahi pakhala with curd and a tempering, and basi pakhala that has fermented overnight and turned pleasantly sour. The rice itself is bland, so it is eaten with strongly flavoured sides – fried fish, badi chura (crushed lentil dumplings with onion and mustard oil), aloo bharta and saga bhaja.

    At a glance

    RegionOdisha
    CuisineOdia
    DietVegetarian
    CourseRice
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time5 minutes
    Total time15 minutes
    Serves3
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientscooked rice / curd / curry leaves / ginger

    Ingredients

    For the rice

    • 2 cups cooked rice, cooled
    • 3 cups water, at room temperature or chilled
    • 1/2 cup plain curd, whisked
    • 1 tsp grated ginger
    • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp chopped coriander
    • A few mint leaves (optional)

    For the tempering

    • 1 tsp mustard oil
    • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
    • 1 dry red chilli
    • 8-10 curry leaves

    Method

    1. For basi pakhala, put the cooked rice in a clay or steel pot, cover with water and leave overnight at room temperature. For instant pakhala, simply soak the cooled rice in water for 1-2 hours.
    2. Gently break up any lumps of rice with your fingers so the grains float loosely in the water.
    3. Whisk the curd with salt, ginger and green chilli and stir it into the rice and water.
    4. Heat the mustard oil in a small pan until it smokes, then lower the heat. Add mustard seeds and let them pop, then cumin, red chilli and curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds.
    5. Pour the tempering over the rice and stir. Add coriander and torn mint leaves.
    6. Rest for 10 minutes so the flavours mingle, then serve in bowls with plenty of the water.

    Tips

    • Overnight fermentation in hot weather can go too sour; in peak summer 6-8 hours is enough.
    • Use a starchy local rice rather than basmati – the grains soften and give the water body.
    • Serve with a squeeze of lime and raw onion if you skip the curd.

    Serve with

    Fried fish or badi chura, aloo bharta and a slice of raw onion.