Bhubaneswar: With mercury gradually rising day by day, a number of Odia families residing across the globe are celebrating March 20, Sunday as ‘Pakhala Dibasa’. The Day is being observed since 2012.
The typical diet and Odia staple food ‘Pakhala’, which is widely eaten in most of the households in Odisha, is a time-tested recipe to beat the sizzling heat of summer.
It is also an immunity booster to fight against viruses including Covid-19, a study earlier conducted by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar showed.
Pakhala is prepared by leaving cooked rice in water and then it is allowed to ferment overnight. The fermented water is a storehouse of microbes which in turn by-produce short-chain fatty acid (SCFA).
Also read: Locals demand restoration of passenger train services
The typical Odia dish can be tried in various ways by adding a wide variety of flavours to it like Saja Pakhala, Basi Pakhala, Dahi Pakhala, Chupuda Pakhala, Sugandhi Pakhala, Amba Kasi Pakhala, Malliphula Pakhala, Ghee Pakhala and Mitha Pakhala.
The term Pakhala has been derived from Pali word ‘pakhaliba’ and Sanskrit word ‘prakshyalana’ which means ‘wash’.
It is not only preferred in Odia households, but also the most revered deities – Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra love Pakhala. The Holy Trinity is served the dish during many occasions in a year as per the Vaishnavite temple tradition.
It is pertinent to mention, Pakhala (water-soaked and fermented rice) has several necessary ingredients to fight against viral attacks and is a magical immunity booster too, a group of researchers at the AIIMS had previously said.
According to additional professor of Biochemistry and Head of the AIIMS Center of Clinical Microbiome Research (CCMR) Balamurugan Ramadass, who had spearheaded the study, Pakhala has anti-inflammatory properties. Moreover, fatty acids present in the ‘Torani’ (fermented water of soaked-rice) have potencies to help one’s body to fight against Covid-19, the researcher had added.
A scholarly article in this regard was also published by the team of researchers at CCMR, which carried out the study under AIIMS.
“Pakhala certainly boosts our body’s immunity. I, myself drink at least 500ml of Torani every day before leaving for my work. Not only it boosts immunity in the body, but also the anti-inflammatory property present in the dish can help relieve our pain and bring down our fever,” Ramadass had said.
Pakhala has Lactobacillus bacteria too that can help create antibodies in our body. It can also aid in stopping the malnutrition issues – especially during the development of fetus in ovary, the researcher had further said.
PNN
