Less oily, less spicy, yet more flavourful, that’s the magic Odias bring to their food every day. A bowl of a healthy yet delicious meal is what Odisha’s Pakhala is all about. By Tanvi Jain
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Pakhala or watered rice is one of the most favoured and widely-eaten dishes of Odisha, so much so that the state has a dedicated day for it — Pakhala Divas. It is basically cooked rice, washed or fermented in water — a staple among Odia families. Odia folks mostly live in a joint-family structure and rice is part of their staple diet. And, in order to reuse the excess/left–over rice, they soak it in water overnight and have it the next day in the form of delicious Pakhala. The rice is usually paired with items like burnt potato, tomato, or brinjal, fried fish or leaves, and an authentic Odia dish called Badi Chura.
Apart from Odisha, this humble dish is also consumed across Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam, and is known by different names like Pazhaiya Sadam, Panta Bhat, Bore Bhat, Paani Bhat and Poita Bhat, respectively. Moreover, it’s also popular in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
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What makes it so popular especially in eastern India, is the fact that not only is it economical but its water and salt content help keep the body cool and hydrated during summers. That’s another reason why March 20 is commemorated as Pakhala Divas because it marks the arrival of the summer season. The dish is also considered auspicious because it holds a place in the offerings made at Puri’s Lord Jagannath Temple.
Pakhala is just rice soaked in water, but it can be tweaked in a variety of ways to make it more delicious and interesting and is called by different names such as Dahi Pakhala made by adding yoghurt, mustard curry leaves, salt, chilli, ginger and oil; Jeera Pakhala is made by adding cumin and curry leaves. The simplest form of making it is Basi Pakhala where all you need to do is keep cooked rice and water for six to eight hours, and then add salt to it. The dish is lovingly paired with fish fry called Maccha Bhaja or Badi Chura.
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Another favoured way of making this delicacy is Saja Pakhala where cooked rice soaked in water is mixed with lemon or a cut stem of raw mango to give it a unique flavour. Meanwhile, in Sugandhi Pakhala, ginger, roasted cumin and salt are added to the rice. Moreover, if you squeeze the cooked rice after thoroughly washing it in water, and then add curd, sliced ginger, roasted cumin and salt to it, it gives you a bowl of Chupuda Pakhala.
The dish is even popularly consumed in a sweet form. All you have to do is add sugar, sliced orange, grated ginger, curd and roasted cumin; it is also offered to deities during summer months.
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Moving on to its most favoured partner without which a discussion on this authentic Odia delicacy is incomplete, Badi Chura is crushed wadi – dumplings made of sundried lentil — mixed with salt, onion, garlic, green chilli and mustard oil. The flavourful side dish, in fact, has a permanent place in almost all Odia dishes.
A good restaurant to have delicious Pakhala would be Kanika, an Odia restaurant in Mayfair Lagoon Bhubaneswar, where a Pakhala meal starts at INR 625.
Related: Unexplored India: Visit Odisha For its Hidden, Wild Gems
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