Odisha Mo Odisha

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