By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has wished people of Odisha on Pakhala Diwas.
The Chief Minister Patnaik also shared an old photo in which he was taking Pakhal at Naveen Niwas along with former president late Pranab Mukharjee, former Prime Minister HD Devegowda, former deputy Prime Miniter LK Advani and CPI(M) General secretary Sitaram Yechury.
“It is always a pleasure to relish Odia cuisine, especially my favourite #Pakhala which I have a special liking for. Remember fondly the appreciation of guests from outside the state and country whenever we served them #Pakhala. Wishing you all a happy #PakhalaDibas,” Chief Minister Patnaik tweeted@Naveen_Odisha.
Pakhaḷa is an Odia term for an Indian food consisting of cooked rice washed or lightly fermented in water. The liquid part is known as toraṇi. It is popular in Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu. A traditional Odia dish, it is prepared with rice, curd, cucumber, cumin seeds, fried onions and mint leaves. It is popularly served with dry roasted vegetables—such as potato, brinjal, badi and saga bhaja or fried fish.
In Tamil Nadu it is called Pazhaiya Sadam. The Bengali name for this dish is panta bhat, in Chhattisgarh it’s called bore bhat, in Jharkhand linguistic communities use names like paani bhat, paakhaal or pakhala, and in Assam it’s called poita bhat.
It is a preparation that is had during summer, although many families and communities eat it throughout the year, especially for lunch. People who toil in the sun such as farm hands have it as it replenishes the salt and water lost by the body.
