Bhubaneswar, April 3: The School of Hotel Management, faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University, here, organised ‘Pakhala Utsav’, on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the five-day food festival, Mrs Saswati Das, Vice-President of SOA said ‘Pakhala Utsav’ aims at popularising the traditional Odia cuisine.
‘Pakhala’, the traditional Odia cuisine, comprising cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water, has been one of the most popular dishes across the state for ages.
The dish is traditionally consumed round the year in Odisha though it is specially looked forward to during the summer for its myriad health benefits.
Prof Susanta Ranjan Chaini, dean of SHM, said ‘Pakhala Utsav’ is being organised to popularise the cuisine, which is part of every Odia home transcending the rich-poor barrier.
During the festival which will continue till April 7, different varieties of ‘pakhala’ are being served to the visitors at the institute between 12 noon and 3 pm every day.
Visitors would be served the dish, said to be a cooling probiotic, with a number of mouth-watering accompanying dishes in an ambience highlighting the Odia culture and lifestyle.
Several variants of ‘Pakhala’ like ‘Usuna Pakhala’, ‘Arua Pakhala’, ‘Dahi Pakhala’, ‘Lembu Pakhala’ and ‘Ada Pakhala’ are being served to the guests with accompanying dishes which include ‘fish patrapoda’, ‘chingudi chhecha’, ‘chuna machha bhaja’, ‘kukuda kassa‘, ‘sukhua bhaja’, ‘pohala bhaja’, ‘chingudi jharjhari’, chhatu patrapoda’, ‘alu kalara batti tarkari’, ‘alu bhaja’, ‘saga bhaja’, ‘baigan bharta’, ‘gota bhendi bhaja’, ‘poda tomato chutney’ and ‘amba chhecha chutney’.