Pariba Khechudi and Dahi Bainga – Odisha

Odisha or Orrisa is the next state that we are travelling to in this Indian Food Odyssey series.In the ancient times, this was the Kalinga kingdom and was also known as Utkala as mentioned in India’s national anthem.

This is the 9th largest state by population and 11th largest by population.

Since the per-historic times, this place has been inhabited by various people and has a history of over 5000 years.

Bhuvaneshwar, the capital of Odisha is a house to 1000 temples! The famous among them is the Puri Jagannath Temple.

This is the place where the oldest dance form – Odissi originated.

Coming to the cuisine,mainly relies on local produce/ ingredients. The flavors are subtle and has a mild use of spices.Only 6% of the population is vegetarian and for the rest of the folks, sea food is the most widely used and most popular one.Mustard oil is used for cooking and turmeic poswer, panch poran seeds, garam masala are widely used in this cuisine.

These people are fond of sweets and no meal is complete without a dessert.

Garlic and onions are shunned during festivals and even some restaurants near the Puri Jagannath Temple have dishes without garlic and onion in their menus!

This cuisine boasts of a large repertoire of dishes in all categories.

Today’s post is a rice -lentil one pot meal with vegetables and milk spices. It is paired with a raita

Behind the scene:

Since
rice is a staple at home, this sort of one pot meal is always welcome.
All of us enjoyed it. Hubby felt I could have avoided the raisins.The
raita was something different and I loved eating it as such.

And
I must admit that the fried brinjal pieces are super addictive so I
sincerely advice you to keep them out of reach till it is ready to be
used in the recipe..

Pariba Khechudi:

I used:
Adapted from – Kumkum’s Delicious Kitchen

Rice – 1 cup
Moong dal-1/2 cup
Onion-1, chopped
Tomato-1 chopped
Red chilies- 3,broken
Whole spices- Bay leaf-1, cloves-2, cardamom-1,cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon,cinnamon -1″ piece,Black pepper corns-1/2 teaspoon
Grated ginger- 1/2 teaspoon
Mixed vegetables- a little of carrot, peas, potato, cauliflower, beans, chopped
Turmeric powder- 1/8 teaspoon
Ghee- 2 tablespoons
Oil-1 teaspoon


To garnish

Roasted peanuts
Raisins

Soak the rice and dal for half and hour. Heat a pressure cooker with oil and add the whole spices and red chilies.Saute for a minute. Add the onions,ginger and saute till onion turns translucent.

Add the tomato and cook till it softens. Add 3 cup of water and bring to boil.Add the vegetables.

Add salt and turmeric powder. Drain water from the soaked rice-dal mixture and add it to the cooker.

Pressure cook for 15 minutes or 4 hisses or until done.Remove from the pressure cooker onto a serving dish.Heat the remaining ghee and pour over the rice. Garnish with roasted peanuts and raisins.

Serve as such or with a raita…

The next dish is a raita that goes well with any flavored rice dish….

I used:
Adapted from – Kumkum’s Delicious Kitchen

Eggplant / brinjal-1 large,chopped into finger sized pieces
Besan-1 tablespoon
Red chili powder- 1 teaspoon
Fresh yogurt- 2 cups
Kaala namak / black salt- 1/8th teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

For tempering:

Oil-1 teaspoon
Mustard- 1 teaspoon
Green chili-1,chopped
Curry leaves- a few

Take the brinjal pieces, besan and red chili powder in a bowl and mix well so that the masala coats the brinjal.Keep aside.  Whisk the yogurt.

To the yogurt add salt, kala namak and keep aside.Heat oil for deep frying and fry the besan coated brinjal pieces till they turn golden brown.Drain and keep aside.

Heat oil for tempering and add the ingredients mentioned under it. When the mustard splutters, pour over the yogurt mixture and mix.

Just before serving, add the brinjal piece, gently mix and serve…

Other Oriyan / Odiyan recipes

Olo Kopi Bhaja – Odiyan Turnip stir-fry
Chenna poda – Indian cottage cheese based dessert

Bon Appetit…