Our brush with Odia food had been at the best perfunctory, that is, till our visit to Jajpur, a city that was once the capital of Odisha, a place with a history that dates back to mythological times. Being vegetarians, somehow we were guilty of having a misconception that Odia food has limited vegetarian options in its cuisine. But our experience in the historic city of Jajpur made us think again and engineered a paradigm shift in our perception.

A Tryst With Odia Food In Jajpur

When you are travelling and staying in luxury hotels and have a tight schedule, you end up on a diet of Pan-India, Continental, or Pan-Asian food. You hardly get time or the opportunity to indulge yourself in local fare. The local flavours and aromas entice you from a distance, but alas, they need to wait!

This is the story of most if not all of our trips. However, there are occasions when we steal time and conspire with fate and the palate to indulge in local and earthy flavours. Our hosts on our Jajpur sojourn seemed to have read our minds and took pains to ensure that we were treated to local Odia food and it was a real bonanza.

Vegetarian Odia Food At Odianee

It was our first day in Jajpur and we had kicked off our trip with a visit to the sacred Biraja Mandir Shakti Peeth, followed by a visit to a few more of the many ancient temples scattered around Jajpur. It was afternoon and we stopped by a restaurant that stood right on the highway. It was appropriately named Odianee and served authentic Odia cuisine.

A boy wearing a sombrero greeted us and ushered us into the restaurant. His attire was of course misleading, after all, we were poised to have our lunch at an Odia restaurant and not a Mexican one! Maybe, the wide-brimmed sombrero protected him from the sun.

Soon, we were settled at our respective tables. We vegetarians all waiting expectantly at one table. A bevvy of waiters surrounded us, large leaf plates materialized in front of us, and we were all set for action!

A plethora of vegetable curries were served left, right, and centre. More than 10 different vegetable curries soon sat on our plates.

They seemed to be smiling at us and saying, “so you thought that there are fewer vegetarian options in Odia cuisine?”

The waiter rattled off the names of the curries, there was Odia Saag Curry (Amaranthus stem curry), Odia Mixed vegetable curry (Ghanta), Odia Bandh Kopi Ghanta(Cabbage Curry), Raw Jackfruit curry, Dalma, Aloo Potol Rasa, Niramish Doi Begun (Brinjal Masala Curry), and many others. Our plates soon resembled a palette of colours.

There were red, green, yellow, and white. There were different textures, flavours, and aromas, merging together into a conflux on our plates. And as we dug into our food, rice with the different curries and Dal, chapatis with the curries, and the curries all by themselves, our palates were thrilled with the new tastes that they experienced.

And when we were finished exulting in our new-found love for the vegetarian Odia food, there arrived the desserts, and we were completely bowled over, lock, stock, and barrel.

First off the block was the spherical and white Sijha Manda, which was a real treat and reminded us of the sweets we make at home during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, and Naag Panchami. Next came another traditional delicacy, one of the tastiest of Odia Pithas, the Kakara Pitha, that simply melted in the mouth leaving a taste of heaven in its aftermath.

And when we thought that our stomachs were about to burst, there arrived in cute little mud pots, Rabri, which, of course, we could not say no to! And when you are in Odisha, you cannot leave without tasting its iconic dessert, Chenna Poda, which literally translates as, ‘Baked Cheese,” a low-calorie dessert, rich in calcium and proteins.

What we really loved about all the desserts was the fact that they had just the right amount of sweetness, neither too much, nor too less. We also found that all the dishes were really healthy and made use of oil sparingly. That is of course barring the desserts!

As we left the Odianee restaurant, happiness was writ large on our faces, after all, a satisfied palate is the root of happiness. That lunch in Jajpur completely converted us to Odia cuisine, and we have now added this to one of our favourite Indian cuisines.

Do you like Odia cuisine? What is your favourite Odia dish? Do let us know through the comments section, and before you bite into that luscious slice of Chenna Poda, don’t forget to subscribe to our blog. If not already connected, do connect with us on our social media channels too.

Our visit to the District of Jajpur in Odisha was part of a familiarization trip organized by the Jajpur District Administration. The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are our own. #Jajpurodisha #HACTJajpur #visitjajpur #Odishatourism #UNWTO #jajpur #Odisha #OdiaFood #Odianee

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