Bhubaneswar: The ‘Pakhala Utsav’, organised by School of Hotel Management, faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University, got underway on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the five-day food festival, SOA Vice-President Saswati Das said that the ‘Pakhala Utsav’ aims to popularise the traditional Odia cuisine, comprising cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water.
Among the most popular dishes across the state for ages, the ‘Pakhala Festival’ will help in making the dish even more popular in every Odia home transcending the rich-poor barrier, said SHM Dean Prof. Susanta Ranjan Chaini.
Different varieties of pakhala are being served to visitors at the institute between 12 noon and 3 pm every day, till April 7.
Along with pakhala, visitors to the food festival will be treated to several accompanying dishes in an ambience highlighting Odia culture and lifestyle.
Among variants of pakhala being served are ‘Usuna Pakhala’, ‘Arua Pakhala’, ‘Dahi Pakhala’, ‘Lembu Pakhala’ and ‘Ada Pakhala’. The accompanying dishes 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’.
