SOA University In Bhubaneswar Revives ‘Pakhala Utsav’ To Promote Traditional Odia Cuisine

Bhubaneswar: The School of Hotel Management, faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management of SOA Deemed to be University, here, organised ‘Pakhala Utsav’, after 2-year discontinuity, on the occasion of Utkal Divas on Friday.

The six-day ‘Pakhala Utsav’, which aims at popularising the traditional Odia cuisine, is being held in a special rural ambience in the institute campus.

Inaugurating the food festival, Saswati Das, vice-president of SOA said it was a unique move to promote ‘pakhala’ which has created an identity for the Odia people outside the state.

Prof Sitikantha Mishra, advisor-cum-dean of SHM, said ‘pakhala’ is part of every Odia home transcending the rich-poor barrier. The festival, which was started seven years ago, was interrupted for the last two years because of COVID pandemic, he added.

Different varieties of ‘pakhala’ (cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water) are being served to the visitors at the institute between 12 noon and 3 pm every day. The festival will continue till April 6.

The visitors can have their pick from ‘Usuna Pakhala’, ‘Arua Pakhala’, ‘Dahi Pakhala’, ‘Ada Pakhala’, ‘Chhunka Pakhala’ and ‘Lembu Pakhala’ which are accompanied by an assortment of vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dishes.