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Dining Why We Love India: Savour The Dishes Of Odisha & Enjoy The State's Yummy Cuisine
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Why We Love India: Savour The Dishes Of Odisha & Enjoy The State's Yummy Cuisine

Odisha’s cuisine is a treasure trove of tastes and textures that go well beyond the famous pakhala and chhena poda, we explore more of it.

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By: Anubhuti Krishna Published: Aug 17, 2022 04:35 PM IST

Why We Love India: Savour The Dishes Of Odisha & Enjoy The State's Yummy Cuisine
ITC Hotels Bhubaneshwar Thali

Odisha’s little-known cuisine is a treasure trove of tastes and textures that go well beyond the famous pakhala and chhena poda, discovers our Travel + Leisure India’s contributor on a culinary sojourn in Bhubaneswar. By Anubhuti Krishna

‘Maa Gouri Sweet Stall’ reads the letters painted in pale yellow on one side of the blue board. On the other side, the same thing is written in Odia. A picture of Durga smiles from the edge, three bikes stand neatly underneath. Two steps lead into the shop where some tables are placed by the wall. The food counter is manned by three men from three different generations; each of them are handling a large aluminium pot. One is filled with thin and heavily garnished dahi-bara, second with orange coloured upma, and the third with pale brown rasgullas. Some samosas rest nearby in a large tub. I ask for a rasgulla and a samosa and take the corner table. 

Odisha Street Stall
A street stall in Bhubaneswar that sells Local specialities such as dahi-bara, samosa, and rasgulla.

The City Of Bhubaneswar

I have arrived in Bhubaneswar with a singular agenda: to experience the food of the city. And what better way to start exploring than by eating where the public eats? I know little about the food of Odisha apart from its luscious sweets and hearty street snacks. So, when I got a chance to travel to Bhubaneswar to experience its culinary culture at the city’s newest property, Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Bhubaneswar, I could not refuse. The team had also promised to show me the city’s famous food jaunts and teach me how to cook a few classics.  

Located on the eastern edge of the country, surrounded by forests, wetlands, hills, and seas, Bhubaneswar is one of the most underrated travel destinations in India. In a way, this is a good thing because the local culture, traditions, and cuisine have remained untouched by the homogenisation seen in most big cities. On my short drive to the hotel (post the scrumptious breakfast) I notice traits hard to find in state capitals and modern cities: small vegetable haats, fish market by the streets, and breakfast vendors on bicycles with large aluminium pots riding into residential lanes. When I arrive at the hotel, I am welcomed with the legendary chhena poda (caramelised Odia cheesecake), and I instantly know I am in for a feast.  

Introduction to Odisha Cuisine

My induction to traditional Odia flavours begins with the thaali at lunch. A representation of dishes made in home kitchens across the state, the meal looks delightful and inviting. There are curries and greens, cutlets and lentils, salad and curd, rice, and pitha. A drink called dahi pona, with a distinct banana and cardamom flavour, precedes the meal. “In Bhubaneswar, people still follow age-old customs related to food and use only local and seasonal ingredients to cook,” chef Animesh Alexander, executive chef at Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels Bhubaneswar, who has curated the meal for me, explains.

Odisha Cuisine
Odisha Cuisine at Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels, Bhubaneswar.

On my plate is a light chana tarkari cooked in tomato sauce; a cutlet called the kancha kadali bara, made with raw banana; dalma, the quintessential Odia preparation of lentils and root vegetables; kosla badi saga, greens fried with lentil dumplings; and local mushrooms cooked with mustard paste called chattu rai. There is also chakuli pitha, which looks like a dosa but tastes absolutely different; and ghee arna, a short-grain fragrant rice made with ghee.  

“Odia food is cooked with minimal spice and oil,” Chef Alexander informs as I slowly and delightfully navigate the thaali that is surprisingly light despite the number of things on it. “People here love their food and eat it even outside their homes,” he continues. “Our local guests get upset if a significant portion of our buffet is not Odia.” And has this popularity stepped beyond Odisha, I am compelled to ask. “With pakhala bhaat, the fermented rice dish served with multiple sides, featuring on international television, young Odia chefs travelling across the world, and efforts of the government, Odia food is definitely finding its feet in the fine dining space even outside the state,” he tells me. 

Dalma
Dalma, a traditional Odisha Cuisine made of lentils and vegetables.

The interest in traditional Odia dishes like pakhala bhaat, chattu rai, and dalma may be recent but the street food of the state has been popular for years now. Odia chaat, ghugni, dahi bara-aloo dum are legendary and the lassi here is world famous. Having read and heard about it for years, I am excited to try everything. 

Exploring More About The Cuisine Of Odisha

The sun is just about setting when we reach the ground outside Cuttack Cricket Stadium. The area is known for its street fare and comes alive every evening with rows of food vans, stalls, and carts. While Cuttack may sound like just another town to those living outside of Odisha, it is just 40 minutes away from Bhubaneswar, and hopping across the Mahanadi River to eat at the stadium is a common practice. I am with Chef Alexander who has graciously agreed to accompany and show me his favourite stalls. We walk to the first stall and ask for dahi bara-aloo dum. I had first heard of the combination of dahi bara and aloo dum about two decades ago from my husband who had spent his college years in the city. Tales of his adventures with street food had particularly drawn me to him. But even then, the combination of dahi bara and aloo dum had sounded odd.  

Odisha Sweets
Steamed chhena, peda, and rasgulla—the traditional Odia sweets.

My portion comes with four small urad dal vadas, a large ladle of spicy curried aloo dum, different kinds of chutneys, some watery yogurt, sev, fresh coriander, fried whole red chillies, and other garnishes. The first look intimidates me. I prefer singular flavours and there are clearly too many on the plate; I pick a spoonful and eat it tentatively. The first bite offers nothing special, but the second reveals a mélange of flavours: a hint of sweetness, a bit of salt, a little tartness, and a smidgen of heat; the vadas are soft, the potato has a bite, the sev adds crunch, and the curry depth. I am tempted to eat more but there are other things to try—gupchup, a cousin of golgappa; ghugni-bara, a curry made with white peas served with vada; and Odia chaat, a mish-mash of multiple things served with chutneys and curd.  

It is late evening by the time we return from the lanes of old Cuttack, stopping for rasgulla at Pahala village and tasting Bhubaneswar’s signature lassi in Shaheed Nagar. On regular days, dinner would be impossible after such a heavy treat, but chef has arranged for me to cook kanika, Odisha’s favourite sweet rice dish, and I am looking forward to my time in a commercial kitchen.  

Kanika is very special to Odias. It is cooked during every important occasion and is mainly eaten with richer curries like chana tarkari (chickpea preparation), mangsa kasa (mutton curry), and kukuda jhola (chicken curry),” Alexander tells me while guiding me through the recipe. As I roast nuts in ghee, add rice to fry, I think of all the new flavours I have experienced in just one day. With the mutton simmering and chicken frying on adjacent burners, I realise I am not done with the treasure trove that is Odia cuisine just yet. It warrants many more trips. 

Getting To Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is well connected by rail to all major cities. Biju Patnaik Airport has daily flights to all metros. The roads from towns across the eastern coast are excellent and offer scenic drives. 

Stay At  Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels

Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels Bhubaneswar is a great place to taste authentic Odia cuisine. Doubles from INR 6,750, Trident Bhubaneswar is located in the centre of the town. Doubles from INR 6,650. 

Related: Cooking Age-old Royal Recipes With The Maharajas Of Maheshwar

Written By

Anubhuti Krishna

Anubhuti Krishna

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