Ratha Yatra At Baripada

 The Supreme Personality Of Godhead....Jagannath Swami..Nayan Patha Gami... Bhava Tume

            Baripada Ratha Yatra second only to Puri.

   The Famous M.P.C College, Which was once the Royal Palace of The Kings of Mayurbhanj

   The only Place ,where only women pulls the chariot of Maa Subhadra.

                                  Chariot Pulling In Progress.

Pakudi /Vegetable Pakoda.

Come rainy or winter season and we want some hot pakudi  and tea to go with the evening khatti. Have you ever tried eating pakudi with mudhi.......if no then i will recomend you try it once. And if you are in my group then who will know better then me about the taste nd fun about it.

                       In some parts of Odisa we eat pakudi with Pakhal bhata ,If you have never tried it i will suggest you to try this once . It tastes awesome.Pakudi can be eaten with a little bit of chat masala sprinkled over it , or with hot n sweet tomato sauce, or mint coriander chutney. It goes well in breakfast too. You can  eat Maharastra Bhaji Pav by applying some green chutney to two slices of bread and keeping pakudis in between. So here goes the recipe for this yummy starter.

Ingredients:

1/2 Potato

1 big Onion
1 cup Spinach ,chopped
1/2 cup Bell pepper / Capsicum
1/2 cup Cabbage
Few florets of Cauliflower,chopped
1 inch Ginger grated or finely crushed
1-2 Green Chillies (as per taste)
1 sprig of Curry leaves.
2 cups of Besan /Gram Flour
1/2 tsp Carom seeds /Ajwain
1 tsp Kasoori methi
1 pinch of Sodium Bicarbonate
Salt
Oil to deep Fry.

Preparation:
  Chop all the vegetables into thin long slices. In a deep mixing bowl mix all ingredients leaving the Oil for deep frying. I will suggest you to put water in it after you dry mix all the stuff,so that you have an idea how much water u need to make the dough.Add water to it,make sure it should not be runny. Leave it for 10 -15 mins so that everything will mix well and the flavour is absorbed. In a deep frying pan or kadai heat oil.Drop small amount of dough to the oil carefully . Fry the pakudis till it s golden brown in colour and crispy. Try to make thin and long shapes so that it will be well cooked and look beautiful. Sprinkle with chat masala and serve hot. A perfect recipe for any evening chat and catching up with friends n family.

Rohi Machha Jhola.

A typical Oriya meal is served of Rice and one or two gravy and some fried vegetables. The gravy or jhola mainly made of mustard , khuskhus or (posta), cumin seeds, coriander seeds, onion ,garlic and ginger. Fish Curry in Odisa is prepared basically by using mustard and khuskhus. There are three ways to prepare the fish. One is with gravy, second one is a semi liquid or dry version,and the 3rd one is just deep fried. All the three types are delicious though. This time i prepared a gravy, so here goes the preparation for that.

Ingredients:-
500 gm Fresh water Fish (i took Rohu /Rohi)
2 tbsp Mustard seeds (soaked for 1hr)
1 tbsp Posta / Poppy seeds /Khuskhus( soaked in hot water for 1 hr)
1 medium sized Onion( sliced )

1 Big Tomato( sliced finely)

1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Green chillies
Oil for deep frying
Cilantro leaves to garnish
salt

How I Made It:-
  
       Wash the fish throughly . Marinate with salt and turmeric powder. In a frying pan fry the fish on both sides. Make a fine paste of mustard , posta ,green chillies with 1/2 tsp of salt. In a pan take 3 tsp oil, fry the onions till its light brown in color ,add the tomatoes ,turmeric powder stir well and cover and cook it till it is soft. Mix the mustard paste with 1cup of water and add on to the tomato gravy. Mix well and let it to be cooked for a while.(Never fry the mustard paste dry, as it gives a bitter taste to the gravy). Add 2 cups of water to the gravy( you can add water according to your gravy thickness you want). When the water  starts boiling  add the fried fish pieces into it,cover the lid and let it boil it for another 5 mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Rice.

Sooji Upama

  
Ingredients:

2 Cups Sooji / Rava
1 Onion finely Chopped
1 Cup chopped Vegetable (carrots,beans , patatoes, corn)
1" Ginger Slice (finely crushed or grated)
1 Sprig Curry Leaves
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds.
2 tbsp Lemon Juice.
1 Pinch Asafoetida
1Tbsp  Oil
Salt

How i made it:-

            Dry roast the sooji in a pan, till its turn into light brown. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside. Heat oil in the same pan and add asafoetida,urad dal, curry leaves,and mustard to it. When the dal turns golden brown and mustard seed starts to splutter , add the onions. Fry it till its translucent ,add on the ginger stir it for a while , now add the vegetables ,stir well. Put 3 cups of water and cover the pan till the vegetables are cooked. Now add the roasted rava to it slowly stirring it to prevent forming lumps. Add salt and continue stirring. Cook it for another 5 mins. Add the lime juice to the Upma. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
Beautiful and yummy Upma is ready for eating.

Lau Muga Dali Dalma.

Ingredients:

muga dali/ moonga dal - 3 palm full

2 cups diced long gourd / lau

1 medium sized tomato diced

 1medium sized onion cut into slices.

1 tsp jeera /cumin seeds

1-2 dry red chili.

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp oil / ghee.

salt.

Preparation:

      Take a deep pan, lightly roast the moong dal in it, till you get the nice aroma of muga dali.Take out from the flame and keep aside. In a pressure cooker put the lightly roasted moong dal, the diced long gourd, tomato pieces, turmeric and salt. Add on sufficient water required to cook the dal. Bring on medium flame to 2 whistles, till the dal is cooked. let it cool down.

Put a deep pan on high flame. Pour the oil or ghee to the pan, add the red chili, cumin seeds when starts to splutter add the sliced onion and stir it. Fry it  till the onion is golden in colour, add the boiled dal to it. You can add on some water to adjust the thickness of the dal. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve hot with steamed rice, roti or paratha. Nice and yummy.

Enjoy folks.

       

Puri Aloo kasha And khiri.

                      Puri and aloo dum with kheer is my daughters favourite food. She will ask it for days after she had it once. I remember while during any puja or festival this particular food is cooked in many homes in Odisa. Some time  the "Aloo kasha or aloo dum" is cooked without onion and garlic for the occasion. When we were kids it was the yummiest  food for many of us. Nothing can beat this mouth watering delicious dish for a morning breakfast or snacks. So here goes the recipe for the simple yet delicious recipe .

Puri:
ingredients:
serves 2-3
2 cups atta or whole wheat flour.
1/2 tsp ajawin / carom seeds.
 1/2 tsp salt.
oil for deep frying.


preparation:

     In a deep bowl mix all the ingredients. Mix it well to make a firm dough ,just like the regular roti dough.Make small balls out of the dough. With a rolling pin roll it into small rotis , occasionaly using a little oil to help it into the rolling process. Put a kadai or deep pan on flame for frying the puris. Pour oil int  the pan. wait till its smoking hot. now carefully fry the puris on both sides till its golden and puffed.
drain it into plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra oil. your puris are ready to be served hot.

Aloo kasha:
ingredients:
4-5 big potatoes.
2 big onins cut into thin slices.
6-7 garlic cloves.
1 inch ginger slice.(crush the ginger and garlic together to make a paste)
1 big tomato, cut into slices.
1 -2 tsp kitchen king powder.
1 tsp garam masala powder.
1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
2 tbsp oil( I used mustard oil, but you can make it with any vegetable oil or olive oil).
whole garam masalas (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom)
Salt
Cilantro leaves for garnishing.

Preparation:
      Pressure cook the potatoes , after it is cool down , peel them and cut into cubes. Heat the oil in a deep pan.Add on the whole garam masalas .Fry the sliced onions till golden brown , stir in the ginger garlic paste , mix well and stir it for another 2-3 mins. Add on the  tomato slices, the garam masala powder, the kitchen king, turmeric and salt. Cook till the masala leaves a nice aroma and the raw smell disappears. Stir in the cubed potatoes and cook in a low flame till 10-15 mins. You may add a little water to it.Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with puri or paratha. (you can add green chillies or chili powder to it while cooking as per your taste).

Kheeri or Kheer:
ingredients:
1 ltr whole milk( you can use the skimmed milk)
1 small cup basmati rice.
250 gm sugar( as per your taste)
2 cardamoms.
1 bay leaf.
(cashew and raisins optional)


Preparation:
  Soak the rice for 30 mins in water. Boil the milk with the soaked rice , bay leaf, cardamoms in a medium flame. Stir it occasionally to prevent burning. Cook it till the rice is soft and you get a thick consistency . Add on the sugar and stir it well. Cooking time may take 45mins to 1 hr. Let it cool down before you serve. Serve it chilled or cold it tastes awesome both way.

Enjoy Folks!

Masala Machha Bhaja.

                  I learned cooking this dish from my grandmom-in -law. She is an amazing cook. I relish her foods.  I tried this delicious fish fry and it came out to be too good. You can serve it as a starter to lunch or dinner or it can be eaten with rice or famous odia "pakhala".

ingredients:-
 4-5 slices of rohu fish (rohi machha).
1 medium onion cut into cubes.
2-3 cloves of garlic.
1/2 inch ginger slice.
1 tbsp besan / gram flour.
1tsp turmeric powder.
1 tsp chilli powder.
Oil for frying.
(I took mustard oil but you can take any cooking oil. )
Preparation:-
     Make a fine paste of the onion cubes, garlic and ginger in a food processor or grinder. Don't add water into it as the recipe require it to be dry. Clean and wash the fish. In a bowl take the fish ,put the onion ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and besan or gram flour. Mix it well so that the masala will coat the fish slices.
         Put  a frying pan on flame. Add oil for frying. When the oil is smoking hot , sprinkle some salt in it to prevent spluttering of oil later on. Now fry the masala coated fish till its cooked throughly on a medium flame. Serve it with onion slices and lemon wedges. Nice and yummy traditional Odia dish is ready to eat.
Enjoy !