Odisha Mo Odisha

"Chakuli" in Odisha comes in mainly three forms: Regular Chakuli - Made with Dosa batter (Rice + Urad Daal) -  Maida Chakuli - Made with Maida a.k.a Refined All-purpose flour And finally Atta chakuli - Made with "Atta" a.k.a Whole wheat flour Atta Chakuli is usually a form of sweet pancake in Odisha. It is a very good breakfast usually made on week days where making roti/paratha is either boring or time consuming. Growing up, I was not a fan of the dish though because it is sweet & as a kid I did not have a sweet tooth. I still don't & I think I am blessed because sugar kills (like literally).  This recipe was a result of three things... - I was sick of eating rice & poha (basically gluten-free) and wanted something different but should have tons of veggies 🍅 🌽 🌶  - I wanted something that is NOT sweet - I did not want to make roti (I am not very good at it & the Rotimatic is resting in the garage) Because of the above mentioned reasons, I sta...

 Some nights just call for hot, creamy, cheesy, veggie-loaded, gluten-full pasta.  Yes, during the current pandemic, there have been days where I totally forget that gluten is my enemy. Gluten causes migraine for me & I try to steer clear of it whenever possible. But this pasta had so many colors & so many flavors & such heavenly aroma of garlic & mushrooms that I just could not resist myself. The portion you see in the pictures is not mine. I ate 1/3rd of it or may be less but BOY was it yummy.  So here goes the recipe inspired by my Bhabhi who does not love to cook but whenever she does the dishes turn out YUMMY !! What I used 1 box (20oz) rainbow pasta (Barilla is a easily available brand here in California but I am sure you could use any other too) Cooked as per packet instructions When you drain the pasta, reserve some of the pasta water for later use (may be 1/2 cup) 2 X 8oz packets of white button mushrooms - so that's total 16oz Cleaned properly Sl...

Poha (Flattened Rice) is a staple carb. found in all Indian households. Irrespective of which state of India you belong to, I am sure, your childhood has some "Poha" related recipe that you can totally relate to.  My story is something different. Yes. I used to know "Poha" as "Chuda" (Pronounce as Choo-daa). And no, we did not eat the world famous Poha (Flattened Rice cooked with onions & spices). We ate it is with ripe bananas & sugar for breakfast. We used to eat it sometimes with homemade chenna & jaggery. Yes, eating chuda was a nightmare back home. I did not like it then & I am not a big fan today as well.  But when I came to Mumbai, I was SO Happily Surprised that "Chuda" can be cooked with savory flavors too. It is actually cooked & not just mushed up with bananas. Thats when I found that even in Odisha we have this recipe but it's just that my mother did not make it at home.  Since my Mumbai days, I have been a SUP...

 Recently I made Chicken Patra Poda , a traditional Odiya dish using "Besara" which is a special Odiya Masala paste made out of Mustard Seeds.  As usual, I had made extra. Here are the two special recipes that I made with the left over marinated chicken from Chicken Patra Poda recipe.  Approach was simple.  Look inside the Pantry/Refrigerator for available ingredients --> since chicken is the protein, search for a staple carb --> Pick rice, noodles, paste, vermicelli or veggies.  I picked boiled noodles (which were left over from some other noodles dinner) & then cooked rice (left over again).  For Chicken Besara Noodles... Heat a non-stick pan & add 1 tsp mustard oil. You do not need more because the marinated chicken has oil in it.  Once oil is hot, add the marinated chicken (Click here to see what the marinade contains) & cover & cook till the chicken is cooked through. This will take 12-15mins. Mix in between just to ensure t...

 Growing up in Cuttack, we were more like "Fish" people than "Chicken" people. If given a choice between Fish & Chicken, I'd pick Fish in a heart beat.  I grew up eating a variety of fish recipes both Odiya & Mixed-Odiya like curries, pan-fry, chop etc. But after leaving Odisha for job, getting fresh water fish was a far fetched dream. Especially because I went to Mumbai & Mumbai is on the ocean hence no fresh water fish. All we had was salt water fish. They were adorably tasty.. there is no doubt about it but I was not a huge fan like I was of fish back home. Like every non-veg food lover, I started to incline towards the next best option which was chicken and BOY was I in for a surprise.  Back home in Odisha, we used to eat chicken too. Mother made the traditional Odiya style curry on Sundays sometimes & the whole house (including her Saree) will smell divine. She also made chili chicken (the Indo-Chinese style). But that's it. She did not ...

 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!.  Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning ...

 Some days I remember home very very much. The smell of fresh air back home is so different. Even if I had my eyes shut, I'd still know it.  Those are the days, when all I do is dream with my open eyes of the day when I will be with my mom, in her kitchen, making snacks & other foos items for everyone while everyone else watched TV or enjoyed the amazing Odisha weather on the roof top garden.  Since COVID started, we have all been cooped up at home. No parties to go to. No parks to ride our bikes in. No library. No mall. No going to friends house for tea. No potluck dinners. No hanging out with our loved ones. No take out off especially Pizza. Sitting at home & just watching Netflix is definitely not a good pass time but we do it anyways.  So I decided to make something which will take time (so that I keep busy) and taste good for the kids (meaning not spicy at all) and may be have some flavors that we usually don't make at home. Pizza flavors came to mind si...