Have you ever known of a cuisine that is not served in restaurants or doesn’t have dedicated food festivals? A cuisine which is so underrated that most Indians don’t even know about it. Well, we are talking about Oriya cuisine, from the state of Odisha, which has never been spoken about.
Chef Ananya Banerjee took it upon herself to educate a select audience about Oriya food. According to her, it is hard to find a restaurant dedicated to Oriya cuisine even in Odisha, let alone anywhere in the country.
She says, “I have spent many years in Odisha and love the food there; so I have this Oriya connection. My favourite cuisines have always been the ones, which are not-so-talked about or are not too famous, but are full of flavours. I have never attempted to learn to cook French food, because everyone out there is talking about it. Oriya cuisine is full of flavour. It might not be very fancy and you can’t plate it like the others, but the cooking is simple and it tastes delicious. It surprises me that such a wonderful cuisine is not getting its due.”
If it is easy to cook then why has it not garnered enough attention, one may wonder. “With other cuisines you have to marinate the chicken for a very long time and there is a tedious and long cooking process as compared to Oriya cuisine. You don’t need to fry the masala or sauté anything; it is a very rustic kind of cooking. The cooking method is very different but easy. An Oriya meal always has Doi Baigan (brinjal and curd), be it a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian meal. Mustard oil is another ingredient, which makes Oriya stand apart from other cuisines. What is unique is that garam masala is not used in the cooking, everything is topped with dry roasted jeera powder and even roasted chili powder, which makes it flavourful.”
So what’s really different and varied in a typical Oriya meal? “There is a specific kind of dal called Dalma, which has a lot of vegetables like drumsticks, arbi, potatoes and onion etc, mixed with the dal, which you will never find in other cuisines.”
Ananya’s favourite part of the cuisine? “Khaja, which is a sweet and I think it is absolutely amazing. I have a sweet tooth and love it. The best part about it is the simplicity of the cuisine. It gives the warmth of a home-cooked meal.”
“The best part about the cuisine is that from the very rich to the very poor, everyone eats the same food. The fermented rice, also called Pokhal Bhat, is a staple food and is enjoyed with chingri bata and maach bata (prawn sukkha and fish sukkha),” she adds.
Well, after listening to Ananya share so much about Oriya food, I couldn’t wait to sample it.
You can contact Chef Ananya Banerjee and order a home-cooked meal.
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