A view of the Bali yatra ground and visitors check out what's on offer at a food kiosk at the fair.

The famed Bali yatra fair has turned into a one-stop destination for foodies with the festival offering lip-smacking cuisines from different parts of the country.

Be it the hot and spicy mirchi vada, khaman dhokla, pyaaz kachori or the delicious Bikaneri jalebi, the special food pavilion has become a huge hit among visitors. Set up inside the Pallishree mela, the food mela is offers a wide range of Indian delicacies from five states, including Rajasthan, Punjab and Odisha.

A special kiosk selling traditional Gujarati and Punjabi food are the new entrants to the food court this year.

A record six lakh people visited the Bali yatra ground on Chadkhai here on Friday. The heavy turnout caused chaos for sellers as they struggled to serve on time.

"This is our first visit to Bali yatra, which is now considered a major fair in the country," said Santosh Kumar, a vendor from Gujarat.

He said visitors are lapping up delicacies, including the mohan thaal, chhole with rice and other traditional sweets.

"We plan to introduce more dishes on our menu in the next few days in keeping with the demand," he said.

The Apano Rajasthan stall selling uniquely flavoured and spicy dishes has been the biggest draw so far with its dal bati, special thali, churma laddu and Jodhpuri dahi vadas.

"This is our third time at Bali yatra," said owner Raghuvir Singh.

Singh said that though they have set up shop in various government fairs in Mumbai, Goa and other parts of the country, they have received maximum support from the people of Odisha.

Popular Odia cuisine and delicacies such as the rasgulla of Salepur, jhili of Nimapada, rasabali of Kendrapara and Cuttack's very own dahi-vada aloodum have been regular draws.

"It is only during the annual festival that foodies like us get the chance to taste a variety of dishes in one place," said Pratik Das, a visitor to the fair.

A lot of visitors also made a beeline to the kiosks selling various mouth watering non-vegeterian dishes, including mutton and chicken curry, prawn chops and mutton biryani.

Text by Vikash Sharma, pictures by Badrika Nath Das