TEMPLE RUN

Odisha

ODISHA’S FOOD IS unlike any other. A potpourri of cultures, flavours, and cooking techniques, it fascinates you. And in the cities of Bhubaneswar and Puri, the experience goes well beyond flavour. Famous for their age-old temples, both cities are replete with folklore and tradition. For instance, it is said that Lord Jagannath appeased his wife with a rasgulla, at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, after he returned from a nine-day pilgrimage. A dozen other tales will crop up as you sit down to eat a 56-course meal in its corridors. It takes no less than 752 wood-fired stoves and over 600 cooks to prepare these holy dishes, collectively called mahaprasad, for the thousands of pilgrims visiting each day. Likewise, in Bhubaneswar’s Ananta Vasudeva Temple, a similar platter that includes dishes such as plain rice, ghia anna (lemon spiced ghee rice), khechudi (asafoetida-laced khichdi), kanika (sweet rice with warm spices), dalma (dal cooked with indigenous seasonal vegetables like plantain, gourds, eggplant, and drumstick), mitha dali (sweet dal), saaga (lightly seasoned, braised leafy greens with coconut), accompanies the centuriesold temple rituals.

Clockwise: Bhubaneswar's Ananta Vasudeva Temple is famous for dishes such as ghia anna and khechudi; Mayfair Lagoon is a luxury stay option in Bhubaneswar; seasonal vegetables in earthern pots inside the temple; a devotee carries pots of rice.