03/05/2025
20 Authentic Food Of Odisha: Taste It When You Are In Odisha
Odisha Food - A Mouth Watering Treat for Foodies.
Odia people are very simple, down to earth people. They’re extremely religious but at the same time very accepting. No wonder their food is an accurate representation of their traditions and cultures.
Having spoken about the religious factor, Odia food is greatly influenced by the Mahaprasad (temple food offered to the deities) of the Jagannath temple in puri; hence, it is widely veg.
The Hindu scriptures have always advocated finding and worshiping the “God” within oneself and respect to all living creatures, that’s why one may find several animals and trees associated with deities in some or the other way and people in India worshiping them.
The Hindu scriptures emphasize on food without meat, onion, ginger or garlic because they’re easy to digest and as it is important to stay healthy to do anything important, the Hindu scriptures have taken good care of that by guiding people to eat and stay healthy.
Odia cooks, in the Puri area, were much sought after because of their capacity to cook in accordance with the Hindu scriptures. Throughout the 19th century, many Odia cooks were used in Bengal, and they required several Odia dishes together.
This time also saw hefty demand for Brahmin cooks, causing several Odia cooks to pretend their caste. Odisha could be called as one of the founding members of the ultimate Indian “Satwik Bhojan” (satwik: meaning “pure”; Bhojan: meaning “food”).
In a world where chaos is a growing constant in the outside world and within, eating healthy Satwik food is a growing favourite in the worldwide scenario and for all good reasons because the negativity people project upon others only comes from the insecurities from inside of them and the first step avoid such situations would be to start from monitoring what we take in as “food”.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
So the Odia cuisine uses minimal oil and mostly “ghee” (saturated fat), which again is very good for health as it contains good cholesterol and is made in the kitchens with cow’s milk.
Panch phutana a blend of five spices, namely mustard, cumin, fenugreek, aniseed, and kalonji is widely used in Odia cuisine. Most dishes use ginger garlic paste-like the rest of India but the temple Prasad doesn’t allow the usage of these ingredients.
Curries include a touch of dried mango powder or used as it is (called “ambula”) to which makes the dish a little sour. Rice is the staple and is available in a variety of dishes.
A very good amount of fruits are also eaten with the main dishes. The Jagannath Temple at the area around Puri-Cuttack significantly influences the meals and therefore is sweet.
On the flip side, skillet and kalonji are used from the area Bengal, and therefore they are generally sweeter. From to Andhra Pradesh, curry tamarind and shrub leaves are utilized. The coastal region oozes with a variety of seafood.
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