Pakhala is a traditional Odia dish which consists of cooked rice with fully or half washed in water. Basically rice fermented overnight and served in next day. The watery part is called as Torani. It is well liked among the people of Odisha. During summer it has offered to Lord Jagannath as Avada or Maha Prashad.
In hot summer season people eat this dish to satisfy their stomach and also in some families they eat Pakhala throughout the year. While eating this dish no poorness and richness arise. People who slaving in the sun such as farm hands have it as it fills up the salt and water lost by the body.Pakhala is prepared with cooked rice, curd, green mango, cucumber, ginger, cumin seeds, fried onions and mint leaves and also people have this only with cooked rice, some cold water, salt and lemon. It is generally served with dry roasted vegetables—such as tomato, potato, garlic, brinjal, pickle, badi, Onion, saga bhaja and fish fry. This dish is also there in five-star hotels in their menu in Odisha.
To hit the heat people, love to eat Pakhala by cooling the rice with cold water and serve it in a wide bowl. To maintain this traditional dish,20 March is celebrated as Pakhala Divas or Universal Pakhala Day. We can also call this dish as Water Rice. There is various type of Pakhala present, such as Dahi (curd) Pakhala, Garama (Hot) Pakhala, Basi (Stale) Pakhala, Jeera (Cumin) Pakhala and many more.
West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,Tamil Nadu, and Assam, India. It has different names in different places. Like, in Odisha it is called as Pakhala, In West Bengal it is called as Panta Bhat, In Assam know as Poita Bhaat, In Jharkhand & Bihar it is well-known as Paani Bhat, In Chhattisgarh it is tagged as Bore Bhat, Pazhaiya Sadam is called in Tamil Nadu and Poita Bhat in Assam.
Cover Photo Credit: The Dimpled Cook
