Oriyarasoi is on twitter !

Showing posts with label oriya rasoi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oriya rasoi. Show all posts

Friday, May 22, 2015

Chachindra Raee ( Snake gourd cooked in mustard paste )

Chachindra or snake gourd is not a very regular vegetable in my house. My mom used to cook it at times but I did not like it much as a kid. Later as I started making a lot of healthy changes in the menu, it started appealing to me as an easy to cook and tasty vegetable. As my husband is not fond of it, I usually make a quick 'Raee' or cook it along with channa dal/toor dal for lunch. Getting my kid habituated to all kinds of vegetables is my top priority and hence I an trying to introduce him to new vegetables (especially seasonal ones) on a weekly basis.

This is a simple recipe and the preparation is not different from the usual 'raee' that is prepared in most Odia homes. Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time - 10 -15 mins

Ingredients -

  • 4 cups chopped and peeled snake gourd
  • 1 medium onion chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp pancha-phutana/mustard seeds preferred)
  • 1 green chilli
  • 2-3 garlic flakes (crushed)
  • 1/3 tsp turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 2/3 cup grated coconut
  • cilantro for garnishing


For the mustard paste -

  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 1 red chilli

Preparation -Grind the mustard, cumin and red chilli into coarse powder in dry state .Then add a little water along with garlic flakes and grind again into a fine paste.

Chop onion into small pieces. 


Cooking - Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the broken green chilli and mustard seeds. Follow with the crushed garlic. Allow to garlic to brown lightly.

Add the chopped onion and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till translucent

Add the mustard paste along with 2 cups water. Add salt and turmeric, and bring to a boil.

Add the snake gourd pieces and cover with  a lid. Cook till it softens. (Do not throw away excess water as this curry tends to be watery.)

Garnish with grated coconut and cilantro.

Serve with rice and dal.


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Janhi-Chingudi Sukhua Tarkari (Ridge gourd-shrimp curry)

It is no secret that I love mixing veg and no-veg ingredients in my recipes. Maybe it has got something to do with my Odia roots. But I suspect that laziness plays a good part in it. Since cooking veg and non-veg separately calls for more effort and simply skipping one just does not sound/feel right, one has to choose the middle path of mixing and matching the ingredients from both core groups. I keep trying out recipes from different parts of the state/country. Poee chingudi, chingudi dalma,chicken saagwala,  maccha mahura, maccha chencheda, sukhua-bilati baigana poda, the list is a long one.

This recipe however is indigenous to Western Odisha. Most village folks prefer to add fresh shrimp caught straight from the neighborhood pond/river. But when the water dries up during the summers, the sun dried/smoked version of shrimp makes for a good substitute.

Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 3 cups ridge gourd (cubed)
  • 1 cup dried shrimp
  • 1 medium sized onion (roughly chopped)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp pancha phutana
  • 1-2 dry red chili
  • 2 tsp big mustard seeds
  • 2 pinch turmeric
  • 3 tsp oil
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Wash and soak the dry shrimp for 1/2 hour.

Grind the mustard seeds, garlic pods and 1 red chili into a fine paste. Dissolve it in 2/3 cup water.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the broken chili and pancha phutana. Once it gets spluttering, add
the onion. Fry till translucent.

Add the shrimp and fry for 2 minutes before adding the ridge gourd cubes to it. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the water in which mustard paste has been dissolved, taking care to discard the solid bits that have settled in the bottom of the cup.

Add salt and turmeric. Cover with a lid and cook on medium flame till the ridge gourd is done. Increase the flame a bit if there is a lot of water remaining. This curry should have a semi dry consistency.

Remove from the wok.

Serve with white rice.


Saturday, November 1, 2014

Pani Santula

Pani Santula or boiled veggies in a soupy base is one of the healthiest side dish that one can have with rotis. Most people in Odisha consider it as a must-have component of their dinner as it contains a heavy does of fiber and nutrients while being light on the stomach. It uses minimum spicing and one can also make it without adding any onion or garlic.

While I have used quite a few veggies as stocked in my fridge, one can also add more or skip a few as per convenience. Some veggies like cauliflower, carrot, drumstick add a lot of flavor to this dish. Read on for my version -


















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -



  • 1 cup red pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup raw papaya
  • 1/2 cup raw banana
  • 1/2 cup yam (mati alu)
  • 1/2 cup taro (saru)
  • 2-3 pointed gourd (potolo)
  • 1 small eggplant
  • 1 cup chopped yard long beans (jhudunga/barbati)
  • 1/3 cup beans
  • 1 medium potato
  • 1-2 tomatoes
  • 1 large onion (roughly chopped)
  • 3-4 crushed garlic flakes
  • 1 tsp pancha phutana
  • 2-3 dry red chili
  • 1/2-1 tsp roasted cumin-chilli powder (jeera lanka gunda)
  • salt to taste
  • turmeric (optional...but I have used it)
  • 2 tsp oil/ghee for tempering


Cooking - Boil 2 cups water along with a little turmeric and salt to taste.

Add the pumpkin, papaya, raw banana, yam, taro and potato. After 3-4 mins, add the remaining veggies except tomato. Cover and boil till they are cooked but not mushy.

Heat the oil/ghee in a pan. Add the broken chili and pancha phutana followed by the onion and garlic.

Once the onion turns translucent, add the chopped tomato. Allow the tomato to turn soft before pouring the tempering over the boiled veggies. Sprinkle cumin-chili powder and boil on high for 20-30 seconds.



















Remove from flame and serve immediately with hot rotis.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Budha Kakudi Raee

After making the khatta last week, I was still left with a big chunk. Since I was in a rather lazy mood (which is becoming a permanent fixture btw) for the next two days, I decided to make a simple raee that my mom used to make. While the raee can be made in a dozen ways, I stick to the method which is simplest and most frugal. It is something like one of those '5 ingredients fix' that one sees on lifestyle or cooking channels but I have used seven instead of five.

Read on for the recipe -





















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2 cups budha kakudi/ripened cucumber (chopped into small pieces)
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds + a pinch for tempering
  • 7-8 garlic flakes (crushed)
  • 1-2 green chilis
  • 2-3 pinch turmeric
  • 2 tsp mustard oil
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Grind the mustard seeds, 1 green chili and half of the garlic flakes into a smooth paste.

Take the mustard paste, chopped green chili, budha kakudi and turmeric in a mixing bowl. Mix together.

Cooking - Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and 2 crushed garlic flakes. Allow the seeds to splutter.

Add the budha kakudi and mustard seeds paste to the wok. Add salt and 1/2 cup water. Cover with a lid and allow to cook till the pieces soften.

Once the budha kakudi or cucumber pieces are cooked, drizzle the remaining oil over it and add the remaining garlic flakes. Remove from the flame.

Serve with white rice and dal.


Sunday, October 19, 2014

Kalara Chop (Karela Tikki)

Everytime my MIL comes to Blore, bittergourd or karela becomes an integral part of our meals. As she is a diabetic and bittergourd is the most beneficial vegetable for her, we keep finding/trying out new recipes with it. After we got bored of having it in various avatars like stir-fried, stuffed and mashed, we tried out an odia style chop with it. Yeah, we love our chop and make it with almost everything. Potato, green banana, cauliflower, cabbage, mushroom,prawns, chicken, fish. The list is endless. The North Indians lovingly call them 'tikkis' but I prefer to stick to the old-fashioned chop.

Read on for the recipe -







Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 2 medium sized bitter gourd
  • 1 large potato
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1-2 green chilis
  • 1 tsp mustard oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp chopped coriander leaves
  • salt to taste
  • oil for shallow frying
  • 3 tbsp cornflour for dusting
  • lemon juice (optional)


Preparation - Wash and transfer the bittergourd and potato into a cooker along with 1 cup water and salt. Cook for 2-3 whistles.
Keep aside till steam escapes. Open lid and drain off excess water.

Peel the potatoes, transfer to a mixing bowl and mash them. Cut the bittergourd open and remove the seeds if any. Mash it and add to the potatoes.

Chop the onions and green chilis and add to the mixing bowl. Also add 1 tbsp cornflour, 1/2 tsp mustard oil, salt and coriander leaves. Mix well.

Shape into small flattened dics.

Cooking - Heat a tawa. drizzle it with 2 tsp oil. Place the discs on the tawa and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. (Once you notice an even browning,

remove them from the tawa.)

Drizzle with lemon juice. Serve with white rice.


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Mula Besara ( Radish in a mustard-yogurt gravy )

Radish is one of those vegetables which is a must include for a weight loss diet.  It is low on carbs, high on roughage/fiber and loaded with water. It is low GI food which helps manage sugar levels more efficiently in diabetics and its high vitamin C, folic acid and anthocyanins make it an anti-carcinogenic. It also happens to be a wonder food for disinfecting, detoxifying and nourishing all the organs involved in the digestive system.

This vegetable is consumed in most Odia households in the form of khatta, raita, salad, bhaja and besara. All of these recipes are simple, doable and low in calories. Though my husband is not very fond of this vegetable, I quite enjoy it and make it when I am cooking a meal for myself. Today's recipe is a simple mula besara or radish cooked in a gravy of mustard-yogurt-garlic. I have tweaked the recipe a bit.

Read on -



















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1 1/2 cup radish ( peeled and cubed )
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 green chili
  • 3 tbsp thick yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 1/2  tsp mustard oil
  • salt to taste
  • freshly grated coconut for garnishing

Preparation - Grind the mustard, garlic and green chili into a fine paste. Dissolve in 1/2 cup water. Strain to remove all the black bits (skin). [ I was a bit clumsy while doing this and some of the un-strained paste fell into my mixing bowl. Hence you can see some black specks in the final dish]

Take all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the strained mustard paste. Mix well.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add the contents of the mixing bowl . Cover and cook till the radish is just cooked.
(I prefer to leave it a bit crunchy/chewy)

If there is still lot of liquid remaining, remove the radish and then reduce the sauce till it is thick. Pour this thickened sauce over the radish and sprinkle freshly grated coconut.

Serve at room temperature with white rice.


Note - One can also leave out the garlic as the radish is quite pungent in itself. The yogurt and coconut also help to reduce the pungency.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Soya Badi Jholo (Vegetarian Mutton Curry)

Sometime during my school years, soya nuggets or 'soya badi' as we call them in Odisha, began to make an apperance during the meal times. At first they seemed rubbery and had an yucky flavour. Almost all the kids hated them. But gradually people mastered the art of cooking this 'protein rich' ingredient (or maybe our taste buds got acclimatized to it) and it became very popular as vegetarian mutton. In those days, large families with limited income often added some soya badi to their Sunday mutton curry. With a texture that closely mimics mutton ( of course when both have been cooked thoroughly ) and a rather sponge like ability to soak/imbibe the flavour of whatever is cooked alongside, it became an overnight hit with the mutton loving Odia folks. Such was its popularity that it even began to show up at wedding banquets.

Those were the long gone days of sit-down dinners and one had to wait for one or two batches to finish eating before one could expect to find a place to sit down. Disposable incomes were low and so were the spending habits of people. It was sometime around this time that both chinese cuisine and IT appeared on the horizon. And both have since then revolutionized our lives. Maybe it was this indo-chinese food phenomenon that diverted one from the humble soyabean. Suddenly the curry of choice was the either a manchurian or something that that been 'chilli-fied' (read marinated and/or stir-fried with a mix of chinese sauces). But soyabean has finally staged a comeback after lying low for a couple of years. One finds it added to salads, tikkis, curries, biryani and even some desserts these days.

But the recipe that I will be sharing today is the time tested version that my mom used to cook. In Odisha you will find that it is prepared in the typical manner of a mutton curry. Read on for more -






Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 1/2 cup soya nuggets
  • 1 medium sized potato
  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 6-7 garlic cloves
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1 small tomato
  • 1 dry red chili
  • 2 green cardamom
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • a small bit of a black cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp meat masala
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1/3 tsp turmeric
  • 4 tsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • 2 pinch garam masala


Preparation - Roughly chop onion, ginger and garlic. Transfer to a mixer jar along with the broken red chili and buzz for 1 sec to get a very coarse paste ( you should be able to make out each ingredient ).

Soak the soyabeans in 4-5 cups hot water for half an hour. Remove from hot water and wash under running water. Squeeze out the water and once again wash it under running water. Repeat 2-3 times.

Cooking - Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the wholes spices and fry for 5-6 secs till they start to give out a fragrance.

Add the onion paste and fry till it turns reddish (use low flame with regular stirring else it will burn). Add the
tomato and cook for 2-3 mins till it softens.

Add the powdered masalas (except garam masala) and salt at this stage and fry for 1 min. Add the soaked (and thoroughy squeezed soya nuggets) along with the diced potato to the cooker. Stir fry on medium flame for 3-4 mins.

Add 2 1/2 - 3 cups hot water, adjust salt, sprinkle garam masala and close the lid of the cooker. Cook for 1-2 whistles on medium flame. Remove from flame and allow to stand aside till steam escapes.

Serve hot with white rice, roti or parantha.


Saturday, July 5, 2014

Lau Posta (Bottle gourd in poppy seeds gravy)

How do I classify if a recipe is 'authentic' odia or not ?? How far do I need to travel back in time to unearth its origins ? Now that people keep asking me that question, I have set my own parameters to gauge the authenticity of a recipe. If it was a dish that my 'Jejema/Dadi' or 'Aai/Nani' used to cook up, then I deem it as authentic else i contribute it to external influences. It is not a foolproof yardstick as both my grandmothers spent the better half of their adult lives in a place like Rourkela which has a very cosmopolitan feel to it. You find a lot of Bengalis, Biharis, people from the North and South alike due to the presence of SAIL in the city. But still they would have learnt a lot of cooking from their respective mothers ( girls in those days were trained in the kitchen at a very young age ) and picked up the nuances of regional Odia cooking.

However, I cannot say the same for the next generation ( my Mom, MIL, mausi, etc ) who were influenced to a great extent by magazines like Women's era, Grihalakshmi and the sort. Now this would vary from person to person given the kind of environment that they were exposed to. Not very accurate, many would argue. I agree on that point.  Given some kind of documentation, things would be easier to decide but sadly Odia recipes are not very widely published. One might find something written in Odia but it is difficult to find a good book that has been written in English. That acts as a hindrance for some people of my generation who are not very fluent in the written word owing to a convent school background within the state or maybe because their fathers were working in another part of the country or even abroad. But with a lot of Odia blogs coming up these days, things are looking brighter and better.

Coming to the recipe that I am sharing today, I first read about it in a Facebook group. It is very similar to the 'Janhi-Posto' but cooked using the traditional 'batibasa' method. Very easy and quick to make and quite delicious tasting too. Read on for the details -

















Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 small bottle gourd (peeled and diced)
  • 1 medium sized potato (peeled and diced)
  • 1 medium sized onion (cut into small pieces)
  • 10 garlic flakes
  • 1 medium sized tomato ( finely chopped)
  • 2-3 green chilis
  • 2 tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1/3 tsp turmeric
  • 1/3 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp mustard oil + extra for drizzling later
  • 1-2 tsp chopped cilantro
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbsp badi chura ( urad dal vadis, fried and crushed )
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Dry grind the poppy seeds with 1 green chili and 7 garlic flakes. Then add little water and grind again to get a smooth paste.

Take the chopped vegetables, chopped onion, slit green chili, turmeric, red chili powder, mustard oil, bay leaf, half of the cilantro, poppy seeds paste and salt in a wok. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well.

















Cooking - Put the wok on a low flame and cover with a lid.

Stir once or twice in between. Do check for water and top up with more hot water if it is catching at the bottom. ( Usually the vegetables leave a lot of water and extra water will not be required )

Once the vegetables are cooked through, add some more mustard oil (another 1-2 tsp), crushed garlic flakes and chopped cilantro. Give a stir and remove from flame.

Garnish with the badi chura just before serving.

















Enjoy with white rice or even rotis.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Bhendi Amba Khatta

Usually 'Ambula' or 'dried green mangoes' is the preferred ingredient for adding a touch of tang to this simple and tasty dish. But since green mangoes are plentifully available, i decided to save up on my ambula stock and use some green mango this time. And since some of our South Indian friends find the all out mustard-garlic flavoring a bit too overpowering, I also added a few slices of fresh coconut to the mustard paste to sweeten it a bit and turn down the heat.

The result was a sweet and tangy gravy that became the high point of my lunch. Had it with white rice and dal. Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time : 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 200 gm Ladies finger/bhendi
  • 3-4 thin slices of green mango
  • 1 green chili
  • 1 red chili
  • 3-4 flakes of garlic
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 4 tbsp chopped fresh coconut
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • a pinch of fenugreek for tempering
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 3 tsp oil
  • salt to taste


Preparation: Wash the ladies finger and cut across the section into 1.5 inch sized pieces (do not slit it along the length).

Keep aside a few mustard seeds and one pod of garlic for the tempering. Grind the mustard seeds and remaining garlic pods along with the coconut and green chili into a fine paste.

Cooking: Heat 2 tsp oil in a deep vessel and fry the ladiesfinger pieces till the stickiness goes away.
Remove from vessel and keep aside.

Add another tsp oil. When it starts smoking, add the broken red chili, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves and crushed garlic pod to the spluttering seeds.

Add the green mango slices and cook on high for 2-3 mins.

Add the mustard-coconut-garlic paste along with 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil and add the fried ladies finger pieces along with turmeric powder, sugar and salt to taste.

Allow the curry to boil for 5 mins or till the ladies finger becomes soft. Remove from the fire and serve with rice.




Friday, June 27, 2014

Nadia Bara Tarkari (Coconut-Lentil Dumping Curry)

A rich curry made with coconut and gram dal dumplings, it is one among those lesser known gastronomic delights of Odisha. While the crisp dumpling is more commonly eaten all by itself and is quite tasty, the extra usually goes into the making of a curry. The curry can be one with a thin red gravy (pania jholo) or a thick white one. The latter uses a paste of cashew and poppy seeds/watermelon seeds and some sugar too. While the thin version goes great with white rice, the thicker one complements rotis/parathas rather well.

Read on for the recipe -





Preparation Time - 45 mins

Ingredients-

For the dumplings -


  • 1 cup chopped/sliced coconut (fresh)
  • 1 cup gram/chana dal ( soaked for 3-4 hours, washed and drained )
  • 1 inch grated ginger
  • 1/3 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • a pinch of baking powder
  • 1/2-1 tsp cornflour (binding purpose)
  • salt to taste
  • oil for deep frying 

For the curry -

  • 1 medium sized onion  
  • 1 large sized tomato 
  • 1 large boiled potato
  • 3-4 nos garlic flakes
  • 1 1/2 inch long ginger 
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 nos dry red chillis
  • 2-3 nos cardamom
  • 1-2 nos  bay leaves 
  • 2-3 nos cloves 
  • 1 inch long cinnamon  
  • 2 tbsp broken cashews
  • 2 tbsp watermelon seeds
  • turmeric
  • 1-2 tsp sugar 
  • salt
  • 3 tbsp for cooking curry


Preparation: Grind the coconut and gram dal using into a very coarse paste. Add the remaining ingredients except oil and mix together.

Peel and chop the potato into large chunks.

Dry roast the cumin seeds ,coriander seeds, whole red chillis, cardamon, cinnamon, and cloves.

Grind the all the whole spices without adding any water . This should form a fine powder. Then add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic flakes along with very little water and grind into a smooth paste.

Soak the cashew and watermelon seeds for 1-2 hours. Grind into a smooth paste using little water.

Cooking: Heat oil in a wok for deep fying.

Pinch small portions of the coconut and dal mixture. Shape them into balls and then flatten them. Slide 4-5 such dumplings into the hot oil per batch.

Fry on medium heat till it has browned on both sides and the center is also cooked. Remove and keep aside. Repeat for the remaining mixture.

One can also use the same wok for preparing the curry. Remove the excess oil from the wok. Add the potato pieces along with a pinch of turmeric. Fry for 1-2 mins, remove from wok and keep aside.

Add the bay leaves followed by the masala paste and turmeric, and stir fry for 4-5 mins or till the raw smell goes away. Add the finely chopped/pureed tomato and cook till oil starts to separate oil. Add fried potatoes and stir fry for 2 mins.

Add 2-3 cups of water along with a little amount of salt. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 5-6 mins.

Add the cashew-watermelon paste along with the sugar and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add the dumplings and simmer for another 5-6 mins or till the dumpling soften. Do not stir vigorously so they might break. ( They will absorb the gravy if covered and kept aside for another 10 mins )

Serve with rice/roti.



Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Janta Roti

Does the name sound a little odd ?? Hindi speaking folks would confuse it with 'Junta' or the masses. So, is it a roti (indian bread) meant for the masses ? No, it is nothing of that sort. 'Janta' in odia loosely means 'pre-cooked'. The flour is cooked in hot water/milk to form a sticky mass. This is allowed to cool down before it is kneaded into a smooth dough which is then fried/baked/steamed. Most of the 'Pitha's' like Manda, Kakara, Arissa, or Poda pitha are prepared this way. The pre-cooking helps in easy chewing and digestion. Hence it is the preferred food for elderly folks and infacts who are just being introduced solid food. Even people who are recuperating from fever/jaundice/upset stomach can be given this 'roti'.

While many of my Odia friends may be knowing about it, still I would love to share the recipe as it is a very useful one. Read on -

















Preparation Time - 20-25 mins ( For about 1 cup of flour, will vary with quantity )

Ingredients -

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cup water (plus a little more might be required as different wheat varieties absorb different quantity)
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 2-3 tsp ghee
  • 2-3 pinch salt
  • extra flour for dusting
Preparation - Boil the water in a wok. Add sugar and 1/2 tsp ghee to it.

Dissolve 1 tsp of flour in 2 tbsp of water. Add this to the boiling water .

Then slowly add the remaining flour while stirring continuously. Cook for 4-5 minutes till the mass feels somewhat tight to move around. Remove from flame and allow to cool down completely. (it will be very sticky at this point.

Transfer the cooled mass to a working surface. Dust the surface with flour and drizzle 1 1/2 tsp ghee over the dough. Knead the dough till it forms a smooth mass.

Pinch small portions from the dough. Shape them into smooth balls and flatten slightly.

Dust the working surface with more flour and roll out the balls into small circles or rotis.

Heat the tawa and place the roti over it. Cook on medium flame till you can see small bubbles coming up on the surface of the roti. Flip it over and cook on the other side. The roti will swell up.Remove from tawa after 1 minute.

Repeat for the remaining rotis.

Serve with dalma and santula ( or dal and subzi ). These rotis stay soft for a very long time.




































Note - One can also brush a little ghee on the roti while cooking on the tawa or immediately after removing.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Chunchipatra Pitha ( an Odia Delicacy )

Today is the last day of Raja, a three day celebration in Odisha. (Click on the link to read more about the festival  ). I have been very busy making various types of pithas (sweet snacks) and hence did not get the time to post anything over the weekend.

This is a special recipe that I learnt recently from Ritu maam and had a chance to make it for the first time during Raja. A very interesting traditional dish, one does not rely on any fancy kitchen tool but a bunch of 'Doob' grass to fashion it. The batter used is a normal rice flour one but with a very runny (almost water like) consistency. One just dips the bunch of grass into it and sprinkles a cross symbol on a flat vessel or a tawa. Now, this 'tawa' should be maintained at an optimal temperature, not too hot nor too cold (quite like a dosa). Then one puts some stuffing ( this can either be sweet like a coconut-jaggery mixture or savoury like potato/paneer/vegetable ) in the center and folds the ends over it to close it like a pocket. But these days we find ourselves living in concrete jungles and grass is tough to come by ( and even if we do, God forbid what chemicals/pesticides people spray on the lawns these day ) . So, a clean piece of thin cloth folded into a rectangle shape will do in place of the grass. What I find most endearing about this dish is the fact that the layers are paper thin (almost transparent) and one can actually see the stuffing inside.

So, read on for a refreshingly different recipe -

















Preparation Time - 30-40 mins

Ingredients -

  • 1 cup basmati/jeera/arwa rice 
  • 1 whole coconut
  • sugar/jaggery to taste
  • 1-2 green cardamoms
  • 1-2 tsp ghee
  • salt to taste


Preparation - Wash and soak the rice overnight.

Drain excess water. Grind it into a very fine paste. Add salt and more water to the batter. Make it quite runny in consistency. Keep aside for 1-2 hours.

Grate the coconut and keep aside.

Cooking - Heat 1 tsp ghee in a wok. Add the coconut and fry till it starts turning light brown. Add sugar/jaggery at this point and keep stirring till it is completely dissolved. Remove from flame and keep aside.

Heat a tawa. Lightly grease with ghee. Use a paper towel to wipe off/remove the excess as it will not allow the batter to spread properly.

Take a thin cotton cloth/handkerchief and fold it into a rectangle. Dip into the batter, remove and brush lightly over the tawa making a cross symbol with it. Keep the flame low to medium. As it gets cooked, the ends will slightly lift up.

Put the coconut stuffing in the center and fold the ends over it. Remove from tawa and keep aside.

















Wipe the tawa with a paper towel and proceed with another pitha. (After making 4-5 pithas, the batter gets slightly thicker. Add a few teaspoons of water to dilute it and adjust salt accordingly)

Serve hot with curry/dalma.





Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Maccha Mahura

Mahura. Ghanta. Chencheda. Fish cooked with a medley of vegetables but known by different names by people from various parts of Odisha. Phew...it can get quite confusing at times. While Ghanta is usually vegetarian with loads of sprouts and fresh coconut ( Ex - Ghanta made on Dwitibahana Osa ), Chencheda is usually made by combining some kind of leafy vegetable with the fish ( Ex- Poi (malabar spinach) Chencheda or Bandha kobi Chencheda ). Even for Mahura, it can be either Niramish (no onion-no garlic, ex - Mahura besara prasad from Puri temple) or amish ( Chingudi mahura or maccha mahura ). Hence, there is no wrong or right categorization but yes the spices are different.

Traditionally, only the head and tail of a fish like Rohu/Bhakura is used in this recipe but one can also make it with the other parts. IMO, given the demands of a fast moving world, one needs to adapt rather than end up in the league of dinosaurs. And that requirement will dictate the future of most traditional recipes. So fret not.

Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

2 pieces of Bhakura/Rohu fish ( I used a tail and a fillet )
1/2 cup chopped eggplant
1/2 cup chopped pumpkin
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1 small potato
1/2 of a green banana
1 medium sized tomato
1 small onion
4-5 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 dry red chilli
1 large bay leaf
2-3 cloves
8-10 peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 green cardamom
1/4 tsp turmeric
oil (as per requirement)
salt to taste


Preparation - Marinate the fish with salt and a pinch of turmeric.

Grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a coarse paste. Chop the tomato into small pieces.


Cooking - All the vegetables (except tomato) should be chopped into similar sized cubes. Clean and transfer them to a cooker with 1/4 cup water. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt. Cook on high flame for 2 whistles.

Set aside for allowing steam to escape. Drain excess water and keep aside.

Dry roast the coriander, cumin, chili, bay leaf, peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom till fragrant. Remove and allow to cool down. Grind into a fine powder.

Heat 2-3 tsp oil in wok. Add the fish and fry for 6-7 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
In the same wok, add some more oil. Add the onion-garlic-ginger paste and fry till raw smell goes away.

Add the fried fish to the wok. Slightly crush it and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle a little salt. Allow to soften a bit. Add the boiled vegetables at this stage. Turn up the flame and fry for 3 minutes.

Finally add half of the powdered masala along with some water for cooking the vegetables. Cover with a lid and simmer on low flame for 8-10 mins.

Once done, add the remaining masala and remove from the flame.

Serve hot with white rice or rotis.
























Note - Grinding the onions along with the ginger and garlic makes the curry rich. If you want to keep it light, chop onions in medium sizes pieces and fry to a golden before adding the ginger garlic paste. Proceed as above.

One can even skip the onions if one wishes to as it is the 'mahura' spices that bring this dish together.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Special Alu Bharta

Had a very bad experience yesterday!!!! A very popular Odiya website 'http://recipe.fullodisha.com/'  is copying my images ( from very old posts ) and claiming it as own. While I duly sent them a message, they have not reverted back to me. Feel sad when people display a lack of spine. I have been working hard for the last 5 years trying to collect Odiya recipes from various people that I come across and showcase them as a part of our culture. This incident made me feel like going off the public platform. But then we do not throw away the tea cup if a fly falls into the tea. We discard the tea and start afresh. Hence will be 'water marking' all my pics thereafter. Hope this serves as a lesson for all bloggers.

For today, a special alu bharta that my mom used to prepare.............

















Preparation Time - 10 mins


Ingredients -



  • 2 large boiled potatoes
  • 1 medium sized onion ( chopped into mediun sized pieces )
  • 1/2 inch ginger (grated)
  • 1-2 dry red chilli (broken)
  • 1-2 green chilli (broken)
  • a pinch of jeera
  • a pinch of mustard seeds
  • 2 pinch curry powder ( or one can use meat masala /sambar powder - anything that you like )
  • a handful of peanut seeds ( my mom does not add it )
  • 2 1/2 tsp oil
  • salt to taste



Preparation - Peel and slightly mash the potatoes.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok.

Add the peanuts and allow to crackle . Then add the mustard, cumin, red and green chillis. Fry for 5-6 seconds.

Add the onion and ginger. Fry till translucent.

Finally add the curry powder and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add the mashed potato and fry till it starts to leave the sides and come together.

Remove from wok.

Serve hot/warm with rice/roti/parantha.





Note - While adding sambar powder, my mom used to add a few curry leaves and some tomato. Though not authentic alu bharta, it tasted great.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Kadali Kasa (Raw banana fry)

Simple fries served hot with white rice, dal and raita happen to be among my favorite meal options. Of course, my first choice would be some nice one-pot meal but since kid loves these fries so much that the one-pot meals are becoming increasingly rare.

This stir fry is made with green banana that was boiled first. Hence it uses very little oil for cooking. Add that to the natural goodness of green bananas and you have a very healthy and tasty side-dish that will become a regular on your lunch/dinner menu. It was a regular at home when we were kids as we had a lot of these plants growing in our garden. It used to be fun plucking the fresh vegetables and taking them right into the kitchen for preparing lunch.

Read on for the super easy recipe:





Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients - 

  • 1 raw banana
  • 1 dry red chilli
  • 1/5 tsp cumin-mustard seeds
  • a pinch of asafotida
  • few curry leaves (optional)
  • 1/5 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
  • 2 pinch turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tsp oil



Preparation - Cut the banana into two. Put it in a pressure cooker along with 1 cup water and little salt.

Cooking - Cook the banana for 2 whistles. Allow steam to escape before opening lid. Remove the peel from the banana (this step becomes a lot easy in this case as opposed to peeling the uncooked banana). Cut into small cubes.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add cumin-mustard seeds and broken red chilli. When it starts spluttering, add asafoetida and curry leaves. Allow curry leaves to brown a bit.

Add the banana pieces along with salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Fry for a few minutes till raw smell of turmeric goes away. Remove from flame .

Serve with rice/rotis.



Saturday, February 1, 2014

Mutton Dalma

Dalma or dal cooked with vegetables has the traditional image of being a fasting day 'Osa-bara' recipe. While this simple dish is equally tasty and healthy, it just does not feature regularly in our meals due to the mindset associated with it. The fact that it is little bland also contributes to its getting looked over.

But the introduction of a non-vegetarian ingredient can really work wonders to get this dish right back on the dinner tables. No more agonizing over whether to cook veg or non-veg for a meal (especially dinners as that is when most family get a chance to come together). A medley of pulses, vegetables and meat seems like a fantastic one-pot meal solution ( of course with some rice/ rotis thrown in ) for all our nutritional needs.

Read on:





Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients - 1 cup roasted split moong dal, 1/2 cup cubed green papaya, 1/2 cup cubed pumpkin, 1 medium sized potato cubed, 1 medium sized tomato cubed, 1 medium sized onion, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 2/3 tsp jeera lanka gunda (roasted cumin-chilli powder), 2 green chilli, 1/3 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp garam masala powder, 1 bay leaf, 3 tsp oil, salt to taste.

For the mutton marinade- 6-7 small mutton pieces, 1 tsp cooking oil, 1/2 inch cinnamon, 1 small green cardamon, 5-6 peppercorns, 1 dry red chilli, 2 pinch turmeric, salt to taste. ( Mix/rub everything together for 2-3 minutes. Allow to marinate for half hour.)

Cooking - Dry roast moong dal till it gives a sweet fragrance. Keep aside.

Cook the marinated mutton pieces (along with spices) in a pressure cooker till half done. Keep aside till steam escapes. Remove from the pressure cooker.

Add 1 1/2 tsp oil into the cooker. Add the chopped onion. Fry till light brown. Add the half-cooked mutton and stir fry for 3-4 mins.

Add all the vegetables along with the washed moong dal. Add salt, turmeric and 3 cups water. Close the lid and cook for 1-2 whistles.

Allow steam to escape before opening lid.

Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a tadka pan. Add the bay leaf, cumin, mustard and broken green chillis. Once it starts spluttering , pour over the contents of cooker. Add the garam masala. Boil for 3-4 mins. Add the roasted cumin-chilli powder and remove from flame.

Serve with rice/paratha .




Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Mutton Ghuguni ( Mutton and Yellow Peas Curry )

Mutton curry and  ghuguni(yellow peas curry) both have a cult following in Orissa. The two dishes cannot be more different from each other and yet are equally delectable. So it is little wonder that they had to come together and create yet another delicious recipe.

Mutton fat or 'Charbi' is usually added to ghuguni to improve its flavor while keeping the costs low, I preferred adding mutton pieces instead. This is my way of cutting back on my meat intake as one would have fewer pieces of meat in a ghuguni as compared to a full fledged mutton curry. One can serve this with roti, paratha, chakuli or even rice.

Read on for the recipe:

















Preparation Time: 40-50 mins

Ingredients: Mutton pieces ( 200 gm ), yellow peas (200 gm), potato ( 1 medium sized one ), tomato ( 1 medium), onion ( 1 medium), ginger-garlic paste ( 1 tsp), cumin seeds (1/5 tsp), cumin powder (1/3 tsp), coriander powder (1/3 tsp), chilli powder ( 1/2 tsp), garam masala powder (1/5 tsp), meat masala ( 1/3 tsp), oil (2 tsp), coriander leaves, turmeric powder, salt to taste.

For the mutton marinade - 1 small onion (chopped) , 2 green chillis, 1/2 inch cinnamon, 1 small green cardamon, 1 tsp mustard oil, 1/4 tsp turmeric, salt to taste.

Preparation: Soak the yellow peas for about 8 hours. Wash and put in a cooker along with potato, salt and turmeric powder. Cook for 1 whistle. Open when steam escapes and remove the potato.

Marinate the mutton pieces with all the ingredients for the marinade for 1 hour. Cook or 2-3 whistles or till it is sixty-seventy percent done. Transfer this to the pressure cooker containing the boiled peas. Cook together for another 1-2 whistle . Allow the steam to escape before opening lid.

Cut the onion and tomato into small pieces. Peel the potato and cut into medium sized cubes.

Cooking: Heat oil in a deep vessel. When it starts smoking, add the cumin seeds and bay leaf. Wait till it splutters, and then add onion pieces. Fry the onion for about 2-3 mins and then add ginger-garlic paste.

Cook for 2-3 mins, then add the potato pieces ,tomatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Fry for about 5 mins. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, meat masala and chilli powder.

Cook for 1-2 mins. Add the contents of the pressure cooker. Mix and cook on high flame for 4-5 minutes. Add boiling water, check the salt (add more if needed) and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the garam masala and remove from fire. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.



Thursday, December 12, 2013

Chenna Matar (Odisha style Matar Paneer)

Green peas are very much in season. Yes, they are harvested in the winters and frozen for use throughout the year. Most of us who shop at supermarkets tend to miss out on these details and assume that most vegetables are harvested and hence available throughout the year. Here is a delicious curry prepared from fresh green peas. A variant of the Matar-Paneer that most people from North are really fond of, this one substitutes the Panner cubes with fried 'chenna balls'. However I am not naming it 'Chenna-Matar' instead of 'Matar-Chenna' as the Chenna turned out to be the star of this home production. The soft succulent 'melt in the mouth' balls floating in an light aromatic gravy interspersed with tender green peas make for an unforgettable gastronomic journey. Read on for the recipe:

















Preparation time - 50 mins

Ingredients - whole milk ( 1 litre ), sour curd ( 1/2 cup ), maida ( 1 tsp, heaped ), finely chopped onion ( 1 no., large ), shelled green peas ( 2 cups ), ginger garlic paste ( 1 1/2 tsp ), tomato puree ( 6 tbs ), whole spices ( 1 cardamon, 2 cloves, 2 inch long cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf ), soy sauce ( few drops, optonal), sugar ( 1 tsp ), turmeric ( 1/2 tsp ), red chilli powder ( 1 tsp ), cumin powder ( 1 tsp), coriander powder ( 1 tsp ), salt to taste, sufficient oil for shallow/deep frying.

Preparation -

To prepare chenna - Bring milk to a boil. Add the sour curd and wait for a few minutes till the milk soilds separate from whey. The whey should have a clear apperance at this point. If not add more curd and boil for another 5 mins.

Once all the solids separate, strain the chenna using a fine cloth or even a strainer with very fine mesh. Allow to stand for sometime till excess water is drained.

Take the chenna in a vessel/mixing bowl and add the maida. Crumble and knead the chenna to remove lumps and it just comes togather into a soft dough ( takes abt 5-6 mins, do not overdo the kneading ). Pinch small lumps out of the dough and shape into balls. These balls can either be shallow fried or deep fried.

Cooking: Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Put one ball into the wok and test if it holds togather. If yes, add the remaining balls into the wok and fry them to a brown color on medium heat. (If it starts to crumble/break, add little more maida to the chenna dough and knead for another 2-3 mins.)

Once the balls are fried, keep them aside and drain the excess oil from the wok.

Put the whole spices into the remaining oil in the wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute on low flame till light brown ( abt 6-7 mins to allow the sugar in the onion to start caramelizing ). At this stage add the sugar and allow it to melt. Once the sugar melts, it gives a deep brown color to the onion. Sprinkle the soy sauce at this point.

Aded ginger garlic sauce and stir fry for 2-3 minutes till its raw smell goes away. Pour in the tomato puree and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add green peas and stir fry for 7-8 minutes.

Now add turmeric, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt. Roast the masalas for 1-2 mins.

Add about 2-3 cups of water and bring to boil. Allow water to reduce to 2/3rd.

Put in the fried chenna balls and simmer on medium flame for 2 minutes. Cover with lid and switch off the flame. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.

Serve Hot.









Sending this to Cooking With Green:



Featured Post

Green Papaya Laddoos (SugarFree recipe)

Mom is undoubtedly the dessert specialist at home. God forbid, if she takes to blogging, she could give a lot of folks a run for their mone...