Out Of The Garden

“For me, a large part of the experience of being an Indian is the humbling realization that it will take considerably more than one lifetime to know even the basic history, geography, culture and food of my land.”

— Nupur of One Hot Stove

serene sunrise over beautiful Lake Huron

This statement of Nupur’s struck a chord within, and it humbled me; I believe this rings true for people everywhere.
Now, I am not Indian, but my love affair with Indian cuisine has gifted me with a special affinity for the country, her culture and her people, so….

I was really excited about RCI: Orissa! Hosted by lovely Swapna of Swad, this challenged me to learn about Orissa — a part of India I knew absolutely nothing about. I now know it lies on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, and that it is home to, among other things, the famous Jagannath Temple at Puri, and one of the world’s longest dams (according to wiki) across the Mahanadi River.

And indeed, what little I do know; till now the only Mahanandi I knew was the delightful website, through which I knew Mahanandi is a temple town near Nandyala. New faces, new places — I am ever learning.
That’s what I love about blogging!

I really enjoyed this piece detailing Mahaprasad at the famous Jagannath Temple. Not only is the food (56-item thali!) described in great detail, but after reading it slowly, the whole ritual of temple prasad finally became a clear picture in my mind. Some of the most beautiful prayers I’ve ever seen are here on this page, as well this very touching and beautiful tradition:

“To seal any promise or vow, two friends hold a pot of MAHAPRASAD together and eat together from this same pot. This pot is called ABADHA, meaning that which cannot be taken away or put into another pot. Friends then say to each other, “You are my MAHAPRASAD, You are my ABADHA.” When they see each other in the future, they address each other as “ABADHA” only, that which cannot be taken away”.

What a beautiful sentiment for a friend!

I loved making these Oriya dishes. Thank you Swapna, for choosing this wonderful region for your RCI and giving me the chance to learn so much more about Indian culture. I hope I make it under the wire for the 12AM deadline! 😉

Four Oriya Dishes

I can’t wait to try this first one in the chill of winter — with mellow sweetness from horsegram and the rich flavor of drumsticks it’s sure to be a winner. The recipe didn’t specify how much water to use, so I saved half the dal-water to make this gravy. Another time I would probably save it all. It lends an earthy quality that cannot be replaced.

I halved the recipe, simply because I had no idea how it would taste.
I also made a few substitutions as noted below, according to what I had on hand. See the original recipe here at oriyanari.com. Who knew that of the four Oriya dishes I cooked, this would be my favorite.

Do try it.

Cook the horsegram beyond what you think it needs. Save the cooking water to make the gravy. Keep the finished dish overnight and reheat it the next day.

I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Kolatha Dali

about 1/2c horse gram (kolatha dali)
1/4c rice flour
1 big brinjal (long asian type)
1 medium potato
1-2 tomatoes
1-2 drumsticks (I had some frozen)
1/4 c green beans
1/4 c snake gourd (or use some other handy frozen veg)

For tempering:
(the original recipe calls for mustard oil, which I do not have; to compensate I increased the amount of mustard seeds for extra flavor)

1 teaspoon canola oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 big garlic cloves

Salt to taste

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The following instructions are taken directly from the original recipe:

“Boil the kolatha dali (horse gram) in pressure cooker. Cut and wash all the vegetables. Make a mixture of rice flour and water. Add the vegetables to the cooked kolatha dali and place the cooker on the flame with its lid open. Add salt. As soon as the vegetables start boiling, add the flour mixture and go on stirring continuously. Fry mustard seeds and garlic in mustard oil and add to the prepared kolatha dali. Now your Kolatha Dali is ready. It should be served hot. Tastes great if served with rice and fried vegetables, especially in the winter season. This is a popular dish of Sambalpur district.

(Contributed by: Subhadarsini, Sambalpur)”

Thank you, Subhadarsini, for this most different and delicious dal!

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Here is another recipe from a different site. This time I adapted by using plain button mushrooms and omitting the potato. Otherwise I made it just as directed in the original post here — right down to soaking the mushrooms in water! That was something new to me — I was taught never to soak a mushroom, in fact brush off any clinging dirt and don’t really wash at all (though I must wash a really dirty mushroom!). This made me wonder, are oyster mushrooms in India different than the oyster mushrooms I know here? I haven’t associated mushrooms with Indian cuisine as I have with other Asian cuisines — Chinese or Japanese for example.
Just one more thing to learn!

Mushroom Besara
I used plain mushrooms — from Jihli of North Carolina, original recipe calling for oyster mushrooms here

1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

To grind:

1 TB soaked mustard seed
1 dried red chile
1-2 big cloves garlic

1 tsp canola oil

1 tsp punch-phutan

1/2 tsp amchur powder (original called for dried mango slice or tamarind)

salt to taste

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Grind soaked mustard seed, chile, and garlic to a paste with drops of water and keep aside.

Slice the mushrooms and soak in water with turmeric powder “awhile” (I did about 10 minutes). Drain water well and squeeze any excess from the mushrooms.

In a small shallow pan, heat oil over med-high heat and add the punch-phutan. When fragrant, add the drained mushrooms. Raise heat to high and fry the mushrooms 5 minutes to take off the water. Add ground paste and stir well, then sprinkle with amchur powder.

Raise heat to high and cook, turning often, till liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are beginning to brown.

Add salt to taste, and serve hot or room temperature.

Thank you Jihli, for this great mushroom dish!

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Summer Squash Rai
original recipe calls for ridge gourd

1 tsp canola oil
1 small onion, diced roughly

2-3 small summer squash, peeled and cut in cubes

To grind:

1 TB mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera
5-6 big garlic cloves

1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
salt to taste

Grind mustard, jeera and garlic to a paste with a little water. In a medium pan, warm oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook till it begins to brown and turn dry. Add the summer squash and stir well. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the ground paste stir again. Reduce heat to med-low and cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until squash is soft (your mileage — time — may vary here depending on what type of squash you are using).
Salt to taste and serve hot or room temperature.

See original recipe here.

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This last recipe doesn’t seem so unusual to me — lots of recipes out there for brinjals in yogurt — some call it raita, others dahi baingan, etc. As with so many variations in many dishes common to different areas, the difference here seems to be in the seasoning. I found numerous versions even within Oriya cuisine, but this one from Harmony India seemed a little different, and caught my eye.

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Dahi Ke Baigan

8 oz brinjal

1 tsp canola oil (or use Pam)
1 TB ginger-garlic paste

Mix the following with 1/4 c water:

1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp kashmiri chile powder
pinch turmeric

1 c sweet yogurt mixed with 3-4 TB cold water

For tadka:

1 tsp canola oil
1-2 slit green chiles
few curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds

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Slice brinjal long way and in half, to make spears.

Mix powdered spices with 1/2 c water and keep aside.

Heat oil (or use Pam spray) in a shallow pan and add ginger-garlic paste, fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the spices in water and let it boil just a second, then add sliced brinjal. Cook over medium-low heat till brinjals are soft but not mushy. Remove to a plate and hold aside.

Do the tadka with canola oil, adding chiles, then curry leaves and mustard. When mustard pops, pour the tempering over yogurt. Mix in the cooked eggplant stir well. Serve room temperature or chilled (I preferred room temp).

Thanks to Ranjita, “a young Oriya housewife”, and Dr. Pushpesh Pant for this recipe which originally appeared in Harmony Magazine.

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a humble attempt at oriya cuisine, clockwise from top left: button mushrooms besara, jahni rai (with summer squash), dahi ke baigan, and scrumptious kolatha dali — basmati rice in the center