Bhubaneswar, June 13: Get ready to titillate your taste buds, as a number of hotels in the city will serve traditional Odia fare on the occasion of Raja festival, which begins tomorrow.

Timeless Odia pithas, which are gradually fading from household menus, are being served at a four-day food festival that began at Exhibition Ground today. Odisha Tourism has organised the festival.

Apart from various types of pithas, the festival offers special dishes such as dalma, curries and fries, sweet and sour dishes and leafy vegetables or sago, which forms the core of the traditional Odia meal.

"Odia food is very delicious but these days fusion cookery is replacing it. People want to try out various types of cuisines but in the process our traditional recipes are losing their charm. So, it is important to celebrate Odia cuisine and there can be no better occasion than the Raja festival," said tourism minister Ashok Panda.

A food festival was also inaugurated at Panthanivas in Sambalpur. A number of special delicacies, including manda pitha, arisa, kakara, chakuli, ghuguni, muga bundi and khira gaja are being served at the fair. Decorated swings that are typical to the festival have been put up on the Panthanivas premises.

"We have attempted to provide a rural ambience to the visitors apart from offering traditional Odia pithas and sweets. These days, people are busy with their lives so very few get the time to make traditional delicacies at home. Also, tourists coming to our hotels during this season can get the taste of Odia food," said Alok Mishra, marketing manager, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation.

Traditional Odia cakes such as khuda manda, kadamba, and muga papchi are also being served at Panthanivas.

If you want to get the taste of Odia fast food, then take a pit stop at some of the city's favourite food junctions such as Sudup Sadap near Jaydev Vihar or a Green Chilly outlet.

There are also a number of street food vendors at Janpath that will offer popular Odia snacks such as mudhi mansa and chaat.

Zodiac Restaurant of The Crown Hotel, Bhubaneswar, has laid out a special buffet for the festival from June 14 to 18. The buffet includes typical Odia vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes apart from pithas and sweets.

"These pithas have been made in the traditional manner using handmade ingredients. Also, we have tried to experiment and come up with new recipes like a special poda pitha for diabetic patients," said head chef at the hotel, Rahim.