Swad: RCI: Orissa round-up

Many thanks to all the enthusiastic participants for sending such lovely entries for RCI: Orissa and thanks to Lakshmi for giving me the oppurtunity to host this event. Most of you (including me) had no idea about Orissa cuisine, but we all took great efforts to dig up some mouth-watering recipes. Sincere apologies from me for not replying to all your mails. This was partly because of my India trip and mostly because some mails landed up in my Spam folder. All those who will be hosting blog events in the future, please remember to check your Spam folder from time to time so that you don't miss any entries. (Updated: I had missed out Cinnamon's and Priyanka's beautiful entries in the round-up. Check it out in the Besara, Mitha, and Meals section.)

A little information about Orissa cuisine before we move to the round-up. Orissa cuisine can be broadly divided into the following categories:

Rice or bhata: comprises of khichdi, jeera rice, and other rice dishes.
Roti: covers the famous luchis made using all purpose flour, puris, and chakuli (a type of dosa made using rava, maida, and besan)
Pitha: These are mostly prepared using rice flour, suji, sugar, or jaggery. Pithas are made by stuffing a sweet mixture into rice balls and then steaming them (just like the modaks). Pithas are prepared during all Orissa festivals and poojas.
Dali: These curries are made using toor daal or chana daal and an abundance of spices. The famous dalis include Dalma and Chana dali.
Bhaja: This is the stir-fried method of cooking vegetables.
Tarkari: These gravy vegetables are made using individual or a combination of vegetables mixed with spices. Famous curries include Ghuguni, Jahni Posta, and Alu Posta.
Khatta: These sweet and sour condiments complete an Orissa meal. Khajur (dates) khatta, dahi nadia, and tomato khatta are some well-known khatta types.
Non-veg items: are made using mutton or fish and served in the form of curry.
Besara: These vegetable curries are made using a base of mustard paste and panch phoron or panch phutan. Panch phutan is a unique mixture of 5 spices - mustard (rai), fenugreek(methi), fennel (saunf), cumin (jeera), and nigella (kalonji). These spices are dry roasted and ground to a powder and used in vegetable preparations.
Mitha: Famous Oriya sweets include Rasgolla and Chena Kheeri.

While most of us explored the Bhata, Roti, Dali, Tarkari, Khatta, Besara, and Mitha categories of Orissa cuisine, we did not explore the Pitha category. Ghuguni, Dalma, and Aloo Posta were clearly the favorites.

I have divided your entries into categories based on the type of dish and the snaps you sent me. Here's presenting RCI: Orissa round-up.

Dali

Dalma : Sra of When my soup came alive

Dalma: Manasi of A cook at heart

Dalma: Sheela of Delectable Victuals

Khatta and Bhaja

Dahi Nadia: Raaga of The Singing Chef

Aloo posta: Suma of Veggie Platter

Alu Posta and Khajur Khatta: Madhuli of My Foodcourt

Begun bhaja: Meenakshi from her Yahoo blog

Bhendi Masala: Mandira of Ahaar

Palette in pastels: Sra of When my soup came alive

Jahni Alu Posto: Aarti of Aarti's Corner

Mashed potatoes with Oriya flair: Nupur of One Hot Stove

Besara and Tarakari

Bhanda gobi khofta curry: Roopa of My Chow Chow Bhaath

Cabbage curry: Nags of For the cook in me

Dahi Baigana: Musical from Musical's kitchen

Ghuguni: Madhu of Ruchi

Ghuguni: Suma of Veggie Platter

Ghuguni: Jyothi of Andhra spicy

Jahni alu rye: Sajeda of Chachi's Kitchen

Saru Besara: Musical from Musical's Kitchen

Phul Gobi do Piaji: Roopa of My Chow Chow Bhaath

(Updated: I had missed out Cinnamon's beautiful entry in the round-up. Check it out.)
Chhatu Besara: Cinnamon of Cinnamon Trial

Non-veg items

Machha Besara :Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cookbook

Goat curry aka Mangso Tarkari: Pragyan of Cooking at Pragyan's

Rotis

Luchi with ghuguni : Prema of My cookbook

Luchi: Suma of Veggie Platter

Luchis with Dalma and Anda Saga Rai: Asha of Foodie's Hope

Chana Dali & Piaj Sag Bhaja with Luchi: Sia of Spice Corner

Bhata

Vegetable Khichadi: Roopa of My Chow Chow Bhaath

Jeera Pakhala: Swapna of Swad

Jeera Rice: Nags of For the cook in me

Orissa Kichdi: Kajal of Kajal Dreams

Tomato rice Oriya style: Srivalli of Cooking 4 all seasons

Mitha

Rice Pudding: Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi

Rasgulla: Aarti of Aarti's Corner

Nadiya Kheer: Archana of Tried & Tested Recipes

Chena Kheeri: Asha of Foodie's Hope

(Updated: This was missed out earlier.)
Rasabali: Priyanka of Lajawaab

Oriya Meals

Oriya Thali: Sharmi of Neivedyam. Her thali comprises of Dalchini Palau, Phulcobi Do Piaji, Channa Dal, Bhat Payasa, and Puris.

Oriya thali: Linda of Out of the garden presents her special Orissa thali complete with Kolatha Dali, Mushroom Besara, Summer Squash Rai, and Dahi Ke Baigan.