Oriya Thali

Orissa is famous for Jagannath temple and Konark temple.

Jagannath is a Sanskrit name used to describe a deity form of Krishna. The term means master (nath) of the universe (jagat). Jagannath is considered amongst Vaishnavas to be a very merciful form of Krishna. The oldest and most famous Jagannath deity is in the city of Puri, in Orissa, India (the city is known to many as Jagannath Puri) where each year the famous Rath Yatra festival takes place.

This famed Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, has one of the biggest kitchens in the country. Around 500 cooks and 300 helping hands prepare 56 different offerings known as 'Mahaprasad' or 'Abhada' for Lord Jagannath, which are served to the deity six times a day.

The kitchen has 32 rooms, 752 stoves and nine earthen pots.The meals include seven different types of rice, four types of pulses, nine types of vegetables and different items of sweet dishes. Fine molasses, instead of sugar is used for preparing sweet dishes. Potatoes, tomatoes and cauliflower are not used in the temple.
Every meal that is prepared has a name like Jagannath Ballabh, ladu, mathapuli, sarapuli and many others.

In one hour, food for one lakh (one hundred thousand) devotees can be prepared in the kitchen.Temple cooks say there is no limit to the quantity of offerings made.
It is not written in any book how much rice is to be cooked. Food is cooked for the devotees who come. Devotees consider the holy offerings as being as important as the prayers offered at the sanctum sanctorum.

The 12th century Jagannath temple is one of the holiest places for Hindus and is usually swarmed with devotees, who come to get a glimpse of it.
Lord Jagannath is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, one of the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. The other two are Brahma, the Creator and Shiva, the Destroyer.

Lord Jagannath's idol [Deity] is carved in wood, unlike other Hindu temples where the idols [Deities] are made of granite or a combination of metals.

Konark is best known as the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, a World Heritage Site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Orissa. The temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the sun god and is decorated with exquisite stone carvings.


The Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda), red sandstone (Khandolite) and black granite by King Narasimhadeva I (AD 1236-1264) of the Ganga dynasty. The temple is one of the most well renowned temples in India and is a World Heritage Site.


Stone carvings of Konark Temple
Picture source : Wiki

The Gandhi Mandir is perhaps the one and only temple, where the father of our nation is worshiped as a deity. It is situated in a "Harijan" village known as Bhatra in Sambalpur.

Oriya Cuisine

A typical meal in Orissa consists of a main course and dessert. Typically breads are served as the main course for breakfast and dinner, whereas rice is eaten with lentils (dals) during lunch. The main course also includes one or more curries, vegetables and pickles. Given the fondness for sweet foods, the dessert course may include generous portions of more than a single item. Oriya desserts are made from a variety of ingredients, with milk, chhenna (a form of ricotta cheese), coconut, rice, and wheat flour being the most common.

(Source: Wiki)

Dalchini Palau/Pulao (Cinnamon Fried Rice)


Ingredients

2 cups Basmati rice
4 tsp ghee (Clarified butter)
2 cinnamon Stick (1 inch length each)
4 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp ground cumin
Pinch of turmeric powder
Pinch of salt
Boiling water (twice the amount of rice)


Preparation

Heat a big pan on medium and add ghee.
When ghee is sufficiently hot and gives off aroma, add cumin seed, cinnamon sticks and fry for a minute. Add turmeric powder, washed rice and salt. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
Carefully, add boiling water and bring whole mixture to boil. Cook until all water is evaporated and rice is done. Add sugar and mix well and bring out from heat.
Cover rice with a lid for 5 minutes and serve with your favorite gravy.



Phulcobi Do Piaji (Cauliflower Subzi)


Ingredients

1 cup Cauliflower
1tsp Cumin powder
1tbsp chopped Ginger
1tsp garam masala
1 finely chopped Tomato or tomato puree
4 green Chillies
1 cup chopped Onion
1 tsp Panchporan
Salt
2 tbsp Oil

Preparation

Cut the cauliflower into medium size pieces. Heat oil in a pan, add the panchporon, once they splutter add onions and fry well. Also add cumin powder, green chillies and ginger.
Now put the cauliflowers into the pan and cover it with tomato pieces. Add the garam masala, turmeric and salt too. Cover the lid and lower the flame until cauliflower is cooked completely.

Channa Dal of Puri Jagannath Temple (Orissa)


Ingredients

1 cup Channa dal (Gram dal)
1/4 Cup Coconut (grated)
2 Cinammon sticks
4 black Cardamom
4 whole Cloves
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
a dash of Turmeric
1 tsp Sugar
Salt

For Tempering

1 tsp Panchporan
2 tsp Ghee (clarified butter)


Preparation

Pressure cook the dal in 2 1/2 cups of water, salt, sugar and turmeric. Blend together the coconut, cinammon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper,cumin and coriander seeds to form a thick paste. Combine the coconut mixture and the cooked dal and cook in medium-low heat until they combine well to form a thick gravy. Temper the dal with Panchporan and ghee and relish.

Jagannath Temple's Bhat Payasa


This is the worlds oldest rice pudding. Read more about it in Kurma Dasa's "The world's oldest pudding" and Bee and Jai's "A rice pudding from antiquity". The recipe is from cooking with Kurma.

2 tablespoons ghee or unsalted butter
3/4 cup long grained rice, washed and dried
1/2 bay leaf
2 litres milk
1/2 cup ground rock sugar, or raw sugar
1/4 cup currants
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
one pin-head quantity of pure cooking camphor (optional)
1 tablespoon toasted nuts for garnish



Heat the ghee or butter in a heavy pot over medium heat, and toast the rice for a minute.
Add the bay leaf and milk. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally,
until reduced to half it's original volume.
Add the sweetener, currants, and cardamom, and simmer the mixture until it reaches one fourth of it's original volume, and is thick and creamy.
Stir in the optional camphor, and cool to room temperature, or refrigerate until chilled.
Serve garnished with the toasted nuts.


Poori


Ingredients

3 cups wheat flour
2 tsp oil
1 tsp salt
oil for frying


Preparation

Mix two spoons of oil and and salt with wheat flour and then add water
to make a pliable dough. Leave the dough for 1/2 an hour, covered with lid. Make small balls and roll them into flat circles with rolling pin to medium thickness.
Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Fry the pooris until they puff up. Pooris are ready.

This Thali goes to dear Swapna's RCI Orissa.

Its raining pooris in the blog sphere, I am sending my Poori/cauliflower bhaji entry to A Mad Tea Party.