ODISHA RECIPES
The cuisine of Orissa or Odisha is said to be very simple and easy to prepare. It has influences from its neighbouring state of Bihar. Food is very subtle and delicate with less use of spices unlike the other Indian cuisines. Dalma is a very famous dish prepared here. It has much vegetables and dal without much spices which is very healthy.
The people of Odisha do not use much of coconut oil as their neighbours and instead opt for mustard oil. Fish and sea-foods are popular and they use mutton and chicken sparingly. Most of the population of Orissa are non-vegetarians. "Panch Phutana" which is a mix of cumin, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek and kalonji is sued for tempering the curries. The people of Orissa are also much fond of sweets.
PODA PITHA RECIPE 
Ingredients
Black gram dal
500 gm
Rice
500 gm
Coconut medium
1
Salt
2 tbsp
Ginger
2 inches
Ghee
2 tbsp
Method
- Soak black gram dal and rice for about six hours. Wash the dal and rice cleanly and grind it. The paste should be fine and thick. Add salt and mix well. Keep paste aside for 2/3 hours.
- Grate the coconut.
- Cut ginger into very small cub sizes.
- Then mix coconut, jaggery/sugar, ginger and black pepper powder and mix well
- Pre-heat oven for 10 minutes and grease it with ghee.
- Pour the paste into the tray and keep it in the oven. Keep the oven very hot for 30 minutes. Then keep it moderately hot for 30 minutes. It should be checked with a needle and when its colour is golden brown the Poda Pitha is ready to eat.
- Then remove the whole Poda Pitha (baked cake) from the oven and allow it to cool down.
- Cut it into small pieces and serve it with any chutney preferably with coconut chutney.
ARISA PITHA RECIPE
Arisa Pitha is the popular delicacy of Odisha. Pithas are home made cakes known all over in Odisha for their unique taste and presentation. Prepared from rice flour, powdered cinnamon, jaggery syrup and vegetable oil or ghee, Pitha is luscious, mouth watering Odisha special. Similar to Kachoris, Pithas are easy to prepare and can be stored for few days.
Ingredients
Good quality rice
Jaggery
1/2 kg
Cinnamon
4 pieces
Vegetable oil or ghee
200 gm
Salt
1/2 tbsp
Method
- Boil 2 ltrs water in a wide mouth pan, add sugar,salt,cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp ghee
- Pour semolina slowly and stir continuously, cover the pan and reduce the flame
- Cook till it absorbs the water completely (to the consistency of chappati). Let it cool.
- Knead it properly to make a smooth dough.
- Heat a pan, add coconut and sugar, fry till the coconut turns golden brown.
- Make small balls of semolina dough, roll it and stuff it with the fried coconut.
- Deep fry till golden brown.
SEMOLINA KAKARA RECIPE
Ingredients
Semolina
1 kg
Sugar
1/2 kg
Cinnamon
4 pieces
Salt
1/2 tbsp
Vegetable oil
1 litre
Method
- Boil 2 litres water in a wide mouth pan, add sugar, salt, cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp ghee.
- Pour semolina slowly and stir continuously, cover the pan and reduce the flame.
- Cook till it absorbs the water completely (to the consistency of chappati). Let it cool.
- Knead it properly to make a smooth dough. Make small balls and roll each to the size of puri's (with about 3mm thickness).
- Deep fry till golden brown.
SEMOLINA MANDA RECIPE
Ingredients
Semolina
1 kg
Sugar
1/2 kg
Cinnamon
4 pieces
Coconut finely grated
1 full
Vegetable oil
1 litre
Salt
1/2 tsp
Method
- Boil 2 ltrs water in a wide mouth pan, add sugar,salt,cinnamon powder and 1 tbsp ghee.
- Pour semolina slowly and stir continuously, cover the pan and reduce the flame.
- Cook till it absorbs the water completely (to the consistency of chappati). Let it cool.
- Knead it properly to make a smooth dough.
- Heat a pan, add coconut and sugar, fry till the coconut turns golden brown.
CHHENA JILABI RECIPE
Ingredients
Cheese
2 cup
Maida
1/2 cup
Sugar
1 cup
Baking powder
1/2 tsp
Ghee
1 tsp
Rose water
Refine oil
Method
- Squeeze out water from the cheese.
- Add Maida, baking powder and ghee.
- Add cheese to it and mash it with hand. Keep it for half an hour.
- Divide it into 10 parts. Prepare 6 cm long rolls out of each part and prepare the jilabi shape out of it.
- Add 1 cup water to sugar and boil it to make the sugar syrup. The syrup should not be very thick.
- Heat oil in a pan and fry the jilabi over low flame.
- Put the jilabi in the sugar syrup.
POTALA RASA RECIPE
Ingredients
Parwal
Potatoes
2 large
Onions
2
Ginger
1 cm
Garam masala
1 tsp
Cumin seeds
1 tsp
Coconut
1/2 cup
Oil
1/2 cup
Salt
Method
- Grind the grated coconut. Add 3 cups warm water to it. Pour out the coconut milk and keep aside.
- Grind the onion, ginger and cumin seeds and make a smooth paste.
- Peel the skin and cut the parwal into two pieces.
- Cut the potatoes into pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes, parwals, salt and turmeric powder. Cover the lid for sometime. Then fry it till it is red.
- Add the grated spices and powdered spices and fry.
- Then add the coconut milk and grated coconut to it and let it boil till it is cooked.
DALMA RECIPE
Ingredients
Toor dal
3/4 cup
Pumpkin cut into large pieces
150 gm
Brinjal large
2 cup
Banana green
1 pcs
Papaya
1 pcs
Potato peeled and cut
1 pcs
Pancha phutana
1 tsp
Red chillies dried
4-5
Ginger minced
1 tbs
Turmeric
1 tbs
Cumin fried
2 tbs
Chilli powder
1/4 tsp
Cooking oil
1 cup
Salt to taste
Method
- Dry roast 1 tsp of cumin and red chilli in a pan.
- Grind it properly and leave it aside.
- Boil 4 cups of water and add both dals (toor and chana), coconut, salt, minced ginger, turmeric and sugar and leave it until Dal is half cooked.
- Add all vegetables viz. potato, banana, pumpkin, brinjal and papaya and cook until vegetables become soft and tender.
- Fry the panch-phutana until it crackle and then add it to the cooked dal.
- Sprinkle roasted cumin and chilli powder.
- Decorate with grated coriander leaves (optional).
- Serve with hot steam rice.
KHICHDI RECIPE
Ingredients
Rice
1 cup
Green gram dal
1 cup
Resins
18-20
Cashew nuts
10-12
Ginger
3 cm
Coconut
1/2 cup
Sugar
2 tbsp
Cumin seeds
1 tsp
Cinnamon
4 pcs
Cardamom
4-5
Green chillies
10-12
Refine oil
1/2 cup
Ghee
1 tbsp
Turmeric powder
Salt
Method
- Wash the rice and dal properly.
- Cut the coconut into small pieces.
- Put oil in a pan and fry the coconut pieces and cashew nut. Keep it aside.
- Chop the ginger and chillies.
- Heat oil and put the cumin seeds and cardamom and cinnamon pieces. Add the rice and dal. Put the chopped ginger and chillies, salt and turmeric powder and fry it for 10-15 minutes.
- Add 5cups of water to it.
- Put the resins, cashew nuts, sugar, fried coconut pieces and cover the lid.
- Take out when cooked.
KAKARA RECIPE
Ingredients
Powdered rice
1 cup
Jaggery/ sugar
2 cup
Flour
1 cup
Coconut
1
Black pepper
1 tsp
Refine oil or ghee
Salt
Method
- Grate the coconut. Mix with black peeper and one cup jaggery and fry it for 5 minutes.
- Divide it into 20 parts.
- Take the other cup of jaggery and salt. Add 3 cup water to it. When the water comes to 2/3 boils add the rice and flour to it and cook it for 5 minutes over low flames.
- Mash the dough thus prepared nicely. Divide this dough into 20 parts.
- Inside each part put the coconut stuffing and shape it.
- Heat oil and fry the kakara.