This is Part 13 of Flavours of India, our series on India's regional cuisines. Start from Part 1: Chettinad or read the previous part, Part 12: Andhra Pradesh.
Odia cuisine is less known outside the state than it deserves to be. It is light on oil and spice, uses mustard and panch phutana generously, and is strongly shaped by the Jagannath Temple in Puri, whose kitchen is often described as one of the largest in the world, cooking the Mahaprasad in earthen pots over wood fires every day.
What makes Odia cuisine special
- Panch phutana: a five-seed tempering of mustard, cumin, fennel, fenugreek and kalonji.
- Mustard paste in fish and vegetable dishes like machha besara.
- Rice in every form: including pakhala, cooked rice soaked in water and lightly fermented, eaten in the hot summer months.
- Chhena (fresh cheese) sweets: chhena poda and Odisha's rasagola, which received a GI tag in 2019.
What is dalma?
Dalma is a comforting dish of lentils cooked with chunky vegetables, finished with a ghee tempering and a sprinkle of roasted cumin-chilli powder. It is part of the Mahaprasad offered at the Jagannath Temple, where it is made without onion, garlic, tomato or potato. At home, many families add these, and potato is common.
Dalma recipe
Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup toor dal (or chana dal, or a mix), soaked 30 minutes
- 2 1/2 cups chopped vegetables: raw papaya, raw banana, pumpkin, brinjal, sweet potato or potato, and a drumstick
- 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt to taste
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
For the tempering
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp panch phutana
- 2 dried red chillies and 1 bay leaf
- A pinch of hing
For bhaja masala (roasted spice powder)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 dried red chillies, dry-roasted and crushed
Method
- Cook the dal with turmeric and 2 1/2 cups water until soft but not mushy (2-3 whistles in a pressure cooker).
- Add the harder vegetables first (raw banana, papaya, potato, drumstick), then pumpkin and brinjal, with salt and ginger. Simmer until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Mash a few pieces of pumpkin to thicken the dalma. It should be thick, not watery.
- Heat ghee in a small pan, add panch phutana, red chillies, bay leaf and hing. When they crackle, pour over the dalma.
- Finish with grated coconut and a sprinkle of bhaja masala.
Tips
- Don't overcook the vegetables; they should hold their shape.
- The roasted cumin-chilli powder is what gives dalma its signature aroma.
- For the temple style, skip onion, garlic, tomato and potato.
How to serve
Serve with steamed rice, a spoon of ghee, a fry (bhaja) such as potato or brinjal, and a simple saga (greens).
Other Odia dishes to try
- Pakhala bhata: fermented water rice with fried fish and badi chura.
- Machha besara: fish in mustard gravy.
- Santula: lightly spiced mixed vegetables.
- Dahi bara aloo dum: Cuttack's favourite street food.
- Chhena poda: a caramelised baked cheese dessert.
Next in Flavours of India: Bihar's litti chokha.
