Bhubaneswar: Pakhala has always had a special place in the Odia food scene. An Odia’s relationship with Pakhala is very old said the CM on Pakhala Dibasa.
It is a unique identity of our food diversity. As a traditional food like every Odia, pakhala is my favorite. Wishing everyone a Happy ‘Pakhala Dibasa’.
According to the Odisha CM wrote on his X (formerly known as Twitter) post in Odia which roughly translates as, “Pakhala’ has always had a special place in the Odia food scene. Odia’s relationship with Pakhal is very old and it is a unique identity of our food diversity. As a traditional food like every Odia’s, pakhal is my favorite. Wishing everyone a Happy ‘Pakhal Day’.”
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଖାଦ୍ଯ ସମ୍ଭାର ମଧ୍ୟରେ ‘ପଖାଳ’ର ସ୍ଥାନ ସର୍ବଦା ସ୍ଵତନ୍ତ୍ର। ପଖାଳ ସହ ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ସମ୍ପର୍କ ବହୁ ପୁରାତନ ଏବଂ ଏହା ଆମ ଖାଦ୍ୟ ବିବିଧତାର ଅନନ୍ୟ ପରିଚୟ। ପାରମ୍ପରିକ ଖାଦ୍ଯ ଭାବେ ପ୍ରତି ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ଭଳି ପଖାଳ ମଧ୍ୟ ମୋର ଅତି ପ୍ରିୟ। ସମସ୍ତଙ୍କୁ ‘ପଖାଳ ଦିବସ’ରେ ମୋର ଶୁଭେଚ୍ଛା ଜଣାଉଛି। #PakhalaDibasa pic.twitter.com/zURA1ZyNzU
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) March 20, 2024
Pakhala is the Odia term for an Indian dish consisting of cooked rice that is lightly fermented in water. The water of the dish is called ‘Torani’. In order to make the traditional Odia dish more delicious curd, cucumber, cumin seeds, fried onions and curry leaves are also added to the fermented rice.
Mostly, people prefer to eat it with side dishes such as aloo bhaja, fried brinjal (baigana bhaja), fried and crushed badi (badi churaa), saga bhajaa, fish fry (maaccha bhaja) or fried pumpkin flowers (kakharu phula bhaja).
There are many classifications of this dish such as Jeera Pakhala, Dahi Pakhala, Garama Pakhala and Basi Pakhala. Due to fermentation of rice, when one eats Pakhala, that person feels sleep and even have a good sleep.
Pakhala is not only popular in Odisha but neighbouring states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu have also added it in their cuisine. However, they all have different names for it. Where in West Bengal it is called ‘Panta bhat,’ people in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh call it ‘Paani Bhat.’ Similarly, in Assam it is known as ‘Poita Bhat’ and in Tamil Nadu it is called ‘Pazhaya Sadam.’