Odisha Mo Odisha

This is a okra (bhindi) recipe that I learnt from an aunty in Nashik... I am no expert.. But I think.. the typical marathi food has some groundnuts in it.. So here goes the recipe for bhindi dry fry with groundnuts..  What we need: 20 -25 small okras {Bhendi} cut into slices. I cut them diagonally (see the picture below) 1/2 cup of groundnuts.. crushed into a coarse form 1/2 white onions sliced 1 tea spoon jeera powder 1 tea spoon turmeric powder Salt and Turmeric powder Oil to fry okra and then make the "subjee" Process Dry roast the groundnuts and crush them to a coarse form using mortar-pestle. Chopper might also help, but its too much for 1/2 cup of groundnuts. Heat oil in an open pan and when hot, add the okras and fry them until they are soft. Do not let them to burn. When done, remove from fire and set aside. Now heat some more oil and splutter jeera in it. When done, add onions, salt + turmeric powder Fry till the onions are soft and nearl

When it's fish.. there is no story to be told..  Truth of an Odiya's life.. We LIVE for fish.. We LOVE fish.. and We'd DIE without fish !! :) {Not true for vegetarians of course} Here goes the simples fish recipe (for me).. with Golden Pompano from the Asian market.. White onion + Green chillies..Lovely mix of colors and flavors are simple and I am sure you'll enjoy it.. What we need: 2 golden pompano fishes.. cleaned & cut into medium steak pieces One large white onion sliced into long slices 5-6 green chillies slit in the middle-length-wise 2 tea spoons whole cumin seeds {Jeera} Salt + turmeric powder + little bit of fish seasoning powder (skip if you don't have) Oil for frying {I used olive oil.. Not sure how it'll taste with any other.. May be mustard oil will also work good..} Process: Marinate fish pieces in salt + turmeric + fish seasoning powder for 30 - 40 mins. Heat oil in a open pan till real hot. Add the fish pieces

Don't you just LOVE simple recipes which taste great and are super healthy !!! Really Simple... Greatly Healthy.. Enjoy this simple Cabbage Stir Fry - " Bandha Kobi Bhaja " What we need: One small cabbage - chopped into thin slices and washed properly 1 cup green peas - I used frozen, put them into warm water till they were ready to be added to the fry 1.5 tea spoon Turmeric powder Salt to taste 1 tea spoon garam masala powder {or only home made cinnamon powder is good too} 2 table spoons (or less) olive oil to make the fry Process: Heat oil in a shallow pan/kadai When oil is smoky hot, add the chopped cabbage, salt and turmeric powder.. Stir When cabbage is half cooked (like probably 12 mins or so).. add the green peas.. This will be a sight for sore eyes.. beautiful yellow and green combo.. :) Mix well and let the cabbage & peas cook well together. Finally add the garam masala powder, give one quick stir.. and server hot with roti/paratha/pu

Inspired by my Bada Dada {Father's younger brother}, this Chena Poda (Literally means Burnt Chena/Paneer) recipe is a quick fix for the Odisha famous chena poda sold on pretty much every corner of Cuttack (I am sure its available in BBSR, Puri etc too}.  In USA ( Saat Samandar Paar - Seven Seas Away...), a tub of creamy ricotta cheese does the trick. This recipe is a family favorite & this recipe is so easy that you can literally whip it up in a few minutes if you have all the ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator. This serves as a perfect fix for dessert blues during tough week days.  Things that I used A tub of ricotta cheese - 16Oz 2 table spoons of Sooji/Fine Semolina 2 - 3 tbsp Jaggery 1/2 cup raisins powder of 4-5 pods of green cardamon 1 table spoon ghee Process Mix with hand - Ricotta + jaggery + cardamom powder + raisins + sooji. Please do not use electric mixer or stand mixer. Its much better with hands. :) Spread ghee in a 6 inch round ba

Inspired from Edible Garden's Roasted Baby Potatoes recipe. Check it out  here . What we need 15 - 20 baby potatoes - boiled & peeled 2 table spoons sambar powder 1 medium onion chopped fine 4-5 garlic pods chopped fine 8-10 curry leaves 2 tea spoons urad dal for tempering 1 tea spoon mustard seeds for tempering Salt and turmeric to taste Oil to fry Process: Marinate the boiled & peeled baby potatoes in salt, turmeric and sambar powder for 30 mins. Heat oil in a open pan and splutter mustard seeds and urad dal Add onions + garlic into that Fry for 5-6 mins until onions starts to brown rapidly Now add the potatoes + curry leaves Sprinkle some water so that the masala coats the potatoes nicely Roast on medium heat for about 10mins. Do not let it burn. Keep stirring continuously. Enjoy !!!

Its almost end of summer and the farmers market are still in full swing in the Bay Area. The farmers market here are very restricted to certain fruits and vegetables only unless we are real lucky and we get something extra ordinarily unique in the markets. No matter what, we visit the market every week and get our week worth of green leafy vegetables & some local vegetables... " Laau " or Lauki or Bottle gourd being one of them. The trick to buy a nice "Laau" was taught by my F-I-L. The stem should be intact and should have small shiny fibre hairs on them. Thats when we know they are young and fresh. Like I ever cared whether a "Laau" is young but  mind you.. my F-I-L is very particular about his vegetables so off we go and look for "Laau" with small shiny fibre hairs. Ingredients for making my M-I-Ls famous " Laau-Mooga Dalma " 1 medium sized laau (Lauki or Bottle gourd) skinned & cut into cubes 1/2 cup of yellow

California weather is really weird. It rains in the winter... shines the very day after.. and then again becomes cloudy the next day.. It is weird.. I think this happened last winter.... I got up hearing the pitter-patter of rain drops on my window pane and I was happily shocked that it was already 9:30 in the morning. Good lord, did not wake me up thinking that it is a Sunday and everyone needs the rest. But then, I had to think of a brunch which will be quick and have proteins as well (a must add ingredient these days in my household). I had some left over dosa batter, but to make some curry with it was out of the question. Have you ever felt that, when you wake up late you feel very very hungry and need to eat something right away (well a 10 min break is fine)? The same feeling went running in my stomach... So I thought up to combine dosa and eggs with a glass of milk and of course our very own Apple for the brunch. Healthy-check; Proteins-check;Fruits-check;Tasty-Lets see !!!

Whenever there is a potluck, the most lazy person picks the yoghurt accompaniment called Raita. :) At least thats what my friends think. So I decided to make a better yoghurt dish and prove that bringing Raita to a potluck does not mean you are lazy. Just means, there are more things that can be done with Yoghurt ..... and Egg Plant. LOL. Dahi Baigana , is a favorite Odiya dish. Its always made at weddings and summer lunches where there is fried rice and mutton curry. Yoghurt is very cooling, so having this dish with rich food is good for the food-intaker (thats you..silly !!). Here is what we use... Egg-Plant (the longer ones taste the best.. according to me) cut into long pieces 1/2 small red onion sliced thin Few curry leaves {8 - 10} 1 cup plain yoghurt 2 tea spoons sugar {adjust with the sourness of the yoghurt} 3-4 green chillies slit through length salt to taste Cumin-Red Chili powder {Home Made -- Dry roast cumin seeds + red chillies on a open pan

Once again, here I am with yet another of my ever so loved "bara" recipes. This time, its a newly discovered (not invented.. but just discovered) during my recent pregnancy. Its made with the bitter " Kalara Patra "(Bitter gourd leaves) along with some very easily available pantry ingredients. You'd think why on earth will I use bitter gourd leaves.. Well I did not know they did, but once I had tasted these fritters, I fell in love with them.. also I am a sucker for pan-seared fritters (the healthy way to enjoy fritters). Here goes the ingredient list followed by the process. Around 40-45 bitter gourd leaves chopped fine (We get it in huge bunches in the local farmers market for a dollar which is like very very less). Need to pick the leaves and wash them thoroughly. A quarter red onion chopped fine 2 -3 green chillies chopped real fine 3-4 table spoons besan 1 table spoon rice flour Wee bit oil in the marinade + olive oil to pan sear Salt to tast

No stories today... directly the recipe.. :) Kadali Bara (Raw Banana Pan Seared Cakes) .. Goes so well with our very favorite evening tea.. and of course.. for the Odiya at heart.. simple white rice & daal will also do justice to this amazing (& healthy to some extent)  pancake. What we need :  2 small raw bananas peeled & boiled with little turmeric 1 small potato boiled & peeled 2-3 green chilies chopped 2 table spoons besan 10-12 strands of coriander leaves chopped red chili powder to taste salt to taste. How I did it :  All you need to do is to mix and mash all ingredients together to make a mashed potato like mix. Heat a few tea spoons of oil in a non-stick pan. When oil's hot, make small cakes of the mixture and gently pan-sear them till brown on each side. Enjoy the  oriya favorite.

Do you guys remember the famous Sundays of our school times? Yes my dear ones I am talking about the 7AM Rangoli program followed by 9AM Chandrakanta and then the 10AM Mahabharat...It was all so magical...and we used to always finish homework early so Baba will allow us to watch those Sunday programs... Unlike today, we had only one day off in any week and that was Sunday....so we used to make good use of it.. finish all pending work.. press school uniforms.. and yeah.. run through the kitchen to get a nose-full of Mami's style chicken curry's "khushboo"...yummmyyyy... The whole process starts with Baba going the market and getting fresh cut chicken. Yes, it is fresh cut chicken... which tastes the best with Mami's recipe.. then the masala getting ground in our very own old style "grinder".. It's not a blender.. and then the famous chicken curry cooking starts.... spreading the awesome aroma all around... :) I don't have the exact

Bhendi Besara (Bhindi or Okra cooked in mustard gravy with a hint of tanginess of the dried mango) Here is what you need: Bhindi (okra) cut onto 1/2" pieces. One small potato cut into 1/2" pieces. 1 small tomato cut into small pieces. 1/2 medium onion cut longitudinally. 2-3 green chilies slit across length. 6 teaspoons of mustard paste (2 Tbl-spoons mustard seeds + 4 Garlic cloves + 4 Green Chilis + little water) 4 Tbl-spoons oil 1 tea spoon panch phoran (if you don't have that, just add mustard and cumin seeds) 1 small piece of dried mango (Ambula... Slurrpp) Here is how I did it.... Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan until smoke comes off. Use mustard oil if you like or olive oil's good too.. but not as good as mustard oil.. remember we are cooking Odiya food !! Fry the okra and potatoes separately and keep aside. In the same pan heat some more oil and when hot, add panch phoran + green chilies. Then add the onions after like 5 sec

During any wedding in Cuttack, all relatives stay in one place for many days preparing for the wedding and shopping and what not. When there is a wedding to come, how can people leave out good food... especially the Katakis (Residents of Cuttack)...  Usually, there is a dedicated cook and his assistant staying in the house of the wedding cooking spicy & oily yet yummy meals for the whole family... starting with the breakfast Puri-Sabjee .. to lunch special Rohu fish curry .. and ending with yummy D alma in dinner... One of my personal favorites is the lunch item for vegetarians... the " Chana Chena Tarkaari " (Meaning Paneer fritters in gravy)... The gravy is simple.. it can be made complicated with multiple things... but the paneer is melting-in-mouth soft on the inside and dunked crispy in the gravy.. which makes it unique in picture, taste and texture !! Here's what I used to make the " Chana Chena Tarkaari " For the "Chana Chena" (Pa

Many of my friends are not from Odisha. When I was going through my posts, I thought ... hhhmmm... my non-odiya friends... will they like mustard paste and what not.. I should make something for them which they can relate to and still it should be kind of Odiya.. What better than "curd" (Yoghurt) can I remember my friends from Hyderabad and Bangalore. Every lunch.. every dinner.. I have to put out curd for sure. One of my very close friends said.. "We end all our meals with curd.. no matter what the weather is" !! So I thought, what do we Odiyas make with curd.. Pakhala bhata yes.. but they won't know how to eat it.. :) Next.. any raita.. but even in Nothern India they make raita.. why should I make just raita for them.. next moment.. I looked at the bright green bhindi.. and it struck me.. "Of course.. Dahi Bhindi" .. So here it is.. ... Here is what you need....simple ingredients 10-12 small sized bhindis (okras) cut into 1/2&q

Tomatoes are an integral part of every kitchen.. and I don't just mean every Odiya kitchen... they are  everywhere... no matter what cuisine we are preparing.. tomatoes will be there... in some form or the other... Curries... Gravies... Salads... Chutneys....Sauces... and one of my favorites... Tomato Khatta (Literally means Tangy Tomato)  But in Odisha, this tomato khatta is more on the meetha side.. i.e. sweeter.. Made usually on Mondays because it's a no-onion-no-garlic dish... goes very well with Rice+Dalma combo... And is also seen in menus of weddings... mainly because of their ease of preparation I think hee hee hee .... and the fact that no matter what.. everyone loves the dish... Full of Iron and Vit.C (I think, not so sure), tomatoes are "YUMMY" in this preparation ... I am still wondering, why they call it " Tomato Khatta" .. when it is actually quite "Meetha" Here's what I used 6 big size garden tomatoes (These days

Come summer and its always "pakhala bhata" for lunch. What can we do? We Odiyas are crazy about pakhala, the poor man's staple food. Hee Hee Hee.. thats such a big joke now, because big restaurants like Grand Hotel in Puri (Puri Jagannath) also serve Pakhala with delicacies that we dream of... Here is one more bhaja (or hash as we say it in English) which goes very well with Pakhala bhata. Add some dahi into the rice+water mix and enjoy with this quick and easy kunduri bhaja . Here are the ingredients Kundru (1/2 Lb) cut into longitudinal slices. 1 tea spoon Panch shoran 1 tea spoon turmeric 1 tea spoon red chill powder Salt to taste 1 table spoon Mustard paste {mustard seeds + garlic + green chilies} Oil (as needed) How you do it? Heat oil and add turmeric. When oil is hot, add the panch phoran and let it splutter. Then add the kundru slices + salt and cook with the cover on. Fry regularly so that the veggies do not stick to the pan. After the

Before I start writing the recipe.. Let me tell you that 20th March is World "Pakhala" Day !!!  You know, when we start to talk about "pakhala bhata" all we Odiyas go crazy...Yes.. we are crazy for food.. we are food "crazies" !! The side dishes for "pakhala" are simple to make and yet delicious..one of them which I adore is drumsticks in mustard sauce... Ohh, please do not think that it is some curry.. it is quite dry.. and yummy... Since this takes mustard paste, mom used to make a lot and store in glass closed containers. Why make the paste again and again? Odiya kitchens use mustard paste for many many other things.. Drumsticks are just one teeny tiny part of that.. What she used: 6-7 medium sized drumsticks. 4 table spoons mustard seeds. 6 fat garlic cloves 4 green chillies 1/2 spoon panch phoran (If you don't have panch phoran, you can use only jeera and mustard seeds) Mom would clean and cut the drums

Someone very very intelligent had once said.. "When the going gets tough.. the tough gets going" ! It essentially means, that when life throws you off the road.. you've gotta be very tough to get through its challenges.. Well, in my opinion.. everyone has their own way to get out of tough situations. We don't really need anyone to tell us how to manage our problems or how to get out of crappy situations.. somehow I feel.. we do approach people when we are lost.. but in the process of getting suggestions and consolations and what not... we eventually figure out our own way... do you guys agree?? Anyways... why am I talking about all this?? Well.. I came across a very similar situation myself.. and I had no one to reach out to.. I wanted to make the very famous Odiya "Amba Khata" at my sister's place.. but the her spinster pad kitchen had no jaggery .. no chili-cumin powder.. and no curry leaves.. but she wanted "amba khata".. and it