This Rath Yatra, tease your taste buds with Delectable delights

From early Thursday morning, the city restaurants witnessed serpentine queues of devotees who had been waiting to satiate their taste buds with several Satwik gastronomic delights.

BHUBANESWAR: Rath Yatra is always a great festival. It showcases Lord Jagannath’s chariot procession along with his siblings to his Mausi’s (aunt’s) place. The city’s devotees are busy joining the Yatra and at the same time they are having ‘Bhog Thalis’ prepared by restaurants here.

Orissa POST talked to restaurants offering special ‘veg thali’ or ‘Bhog Thali’ minus onion and garlic, colloquially called ‘Satwik ahaar’, to customers on this special day.

Bimohan Padhi of Babu Mosai restaurant here said, “We are serving strictly vegetarian food to the devotees. Each item is well cooked and we make sure that it’s Satwik with no onion and garlic. From morning there is a long queue to get a seat and for parcels and so, we are working overtime. Our menu has everything from ‘Kanika’ to the ‘Dahi’ favourite of the Lord himself. We also serve special ‘fruit thali’ to those who order fruits only.”

Similarly, Pet Puja, a new eatery in Patia, offers ‘Roti’ with ‘Makhan’, ‘sag’ and varieties of dal and sweets along with curry.

Renuka Sasmal, a homemaker and mother of two, said, “Today is a holiday, and I and my family have come to eat something delicious without onion and garlic. The ‘veg thali’ certainly meets my requirements.”

The Harekrushna Restaurant at Master Canteen offers a huge ‘Ratha Yatra Thali’. Niranjan Bisoi, a steward here, said Harekrushna Restaurant is the only authentic restaurant for ‘Bhogs’, apart from Sai Prasad, another nearby restaurant.

Here is a list of Chappan Bhog as told by Swami Chitananda of Iskcon to please the Lord –

1. Sadha Anna – plain rice water
2. Kanika – rice, ghee and sugar
3. Dahi Pakhal – curd rice and water
4. Ada Pakhal – rice, ginger and water
5. Thali Khechedi – lentil, rice with sugar and ghee
6. Ghea Anna – rice mixed with ghee
7. Khichdi – rice mixed with lentils
8. Mitha Pakhal – rice, sugar and water
9. Odia Pakhal – rice, ghee, lemon and salt

SWEETS

1. Khaja – made from wheat
2. Gaja – made from wheat, sugar and ghee
3. Laddu – made from wheat, sugar and ghee
4. Magaja Ladu
5. Jeera Ladu
6. Jagannath Ballav – made from wheat, sugar and ghee
7. Khuruma – made from wheat, sugar and salt
8. Mathapuli – made from ghee, ginger and a kind of bean ground in to a thick paste
9. Kakara – made from ghee and wheat
10. Marichi Ladu – made from wheat and sugar
11. Luni Khuruma – made from wheat, ghee and salt

(On Bahuda Yatra during Suna Besha, Rasagollas are offered as Bhog, but on no other day Rasagollas are allowed for Bhog)

CAKES, PANCAKES AND PATTIES

1. Suar Pitha –wheat and ghee
2. Chadai Lada –wheat, ghee and sugar
3. Jhilli – rice flour, ghee and sugar
4. Kanti – rice flour and ghee
5. Manda – made from wheat and ghee
6. Amalu – made from wheat, ghee and sugar
7. Puri –wheat and ghee and deeply fried like a small thin pan cake
8. Luchi – made of rice, flour and ghee
9. Bara – made from curd, ghee and beans
10. Dahi Bara – cake made from a kind of a beans and curd
11. Arisa – a flat cake made from rice flour and ghee
12. Tripuri – another flat cake made from rice flour and ghee
13. Rosapaik – a cake made from wheat

MILK DELICACIES

1. Khiri – milk, sugar with rice
2. Papudi – prepared only from the cream of milk
3. Khua – prepared from pure milk slowly boiled over many hours to soft custard
4. Rasabali – made of milk, sugar and wheat
5. Tadia – made of fresh cheese, sugar and ghee
6. Chhena Khai – made of fresh cheese, milk and sugar
7. Bapudi Khaja – made out of cream of milk, sugar and ghee
8. Khua Manda – made of milk, wheat and ghee
9. Sarapulli – This is the most famous and difficult milk dish to prepare. It is made of pure milk boiled slowly for hours and spread into a large pizza shaped pan.

CURRIES WITH VEGETABLES

1. Dali
2. Biri Dali
3. Urad Dal
4. Muga Dal
5. Dalama – This is one of the typical dishes in Odia homes. It is a combination of dal and vegetables. Usually eggplant, beans, sweet potato and tomatoes (tomatoes are not used in temple preparations) coconut and a dried root vegetable known as Bodhi, which looks like a mushroom and is high in protein, are added.
6. Besar
7. Sag –spinach dish
8. Potala Rasa
9. Goti Baigana
10. Khata
11. Raita – a yogurt like dish with curd and radish
12. Pita
13. Baigini

CHAITALI SHOME, OP