The Jagannath temple in Puri has the world’s largest kitchen, with about thousand chefs working around 752 wood burning hearths (chulas) and they feed about 10,000 people each day. That would be some sight to see. Rasgulla (my favorite) and kheer (pal payasam) are few of the dishes that originated in odisha. The dishes I made today, Mitha Khechudi and Mitha Dali, are very authentic to the region. I referred to the blog ‘The Turmeric Kitchen’, which has many authentic Oriya dishes.
Mitha Khechudi
Preparation time – 20 minutes Cooking time – 30 minutes Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients – Serves 4
Rice – 1 cup (I used basmati rice) Moong dal / payatham paruppu – ¼ cup Ghee / oil – 2 tsp Cinnamon – 1 small stick Cloves – 3 Bay leaf – 1 small Cardamom – 2 Sugar – 1 tbsp Turmeric powder – ½ tsp Nutmeg powder – ¼ tsp Salt – to taste Cashew and raisins – 1 tablespoon each
Procedure –
Wash and soak the rice and moong dal together for about 20 minutes. In a pan, heat the ghee or oil and fry the seasonings; cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, cloves. Then add the cashews and the raisins and fry them until golden brown. Immediately add the drained rice and lentil and fry them until light brown. Now add the water needed to cook the rice and lentil (about 2 ½ cups) and then add the sugar, salt, turmeric powder and nutmeg. Mix well and let it cook covered in low flame until the rice is done.
The same dish can be made in the pressure cooker as well. Serve with Mitha Dali!
Mitha Dali
Preparation time – 30 minutes Cooking time – 40 minutes Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients – (serves 4)
Channa dal – 1 cup Masoor dal – ¼ cup Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp Salt – to taste Sugar – 1 tbsp Ginger – 1 teaspoon (grated)
For the paste –
Desiccated coconut – ¼ cup (or fresh coconut - 4 tbsp) Cinnamon – ½ inch stick Cardamom – 2 Cloves – 3 Black pepper – 1 tsp Coriander seeds – 1 tsp Cumin seeds – ½ tsp Fenugreek seed – ½ tsp Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Procedure –
Wash and soak both the dals for about half an hour. This helps in cooking them quicker. Soak the ingredients mentioned for paste in hot water for about 10 minutes and then grind it into a paste and keep aside.
Cook the dals in about 3 cups of water until they are soft.
Now add the paste, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and ginger and cook it further until it cooks completely. Let the dal thicken and then turn off the flame.
Serve Mitha Khechudi and Mitha Dali!!
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