5 delicious, tourist-approved local delicacies of Orissa

There's a lot to love about eating traditional Odiya cuisine. For one thing, the food of Odisha carries a unique flavour due to the variety of products that go into the making process; so there's always something to go with every occasion and mood. Many tourists and bloggers have loved the Odiya cuisine to such an extent that they have at one point or another expressed their fandom on social media. Others have gone scouring their own residential city’s markets to find their favourite Odiya delicacy. So, if you are new to the food of Odisha and want to know what these are, this story is dedicated to acquainting you with five of the best Odiya delicacies. Take a look ahead to find out.

A product originally invented in Cuttack, Dahibara Aloodum can’t be ignored by any tourist in Odisha. It is a lentil cutlet served with spicy and sizzling aloodum, ghughni (pea curry) and chopped onions, garnished with coriander leaves for best taste.

A traditional tiffin food item of Odisha, bara (or vada) of Dhenkanal town is a mouth-watering delicacy made from black gram lentil aka urad dal and rice. It is a tender cutlet served with hot and spicy potato and tomato curry for maximum satiety, nutrition and flavour.

The popularity of this savoury dessert is not limited to the borders of Odisha. Even small towns and the old halwai shops in cities cook khaja for the sweet-toothed discerning buyers. Served as a dessert in the chappan bhoga (56 items of food offerings) to Lord Jagannath, Khaja is a flaky pastry or a sugar-coated crispy savoury that can be stored in a container for months. It is traditionally made with flour, sugar, ghee and cardamom.

Odisha’s own, though not officially GI marked version of Rasagulla available in West Bengal is a much-loved dessert of the locals. It is made by caramelising sugar and then dipping cottage-cheese balls in it. It is a bit different from the Bengali version of the dessert due to its taste and colour.

As a food offering meant for Lord Balarama, the elder sibling of Lord Krishna, at the Baladevjew Temple of Kendrapara in Odisha, rasabali has acquired much fame in the entire Indian state. It is a delicious preparation made by thickening and flavouring the milk with cardamom, and then garnishing with dried fruits. Rasabali is served as one of the 56 delicacies to Lord Jagannath in his world-famous temple.