Hotels in Bhubaneswar have come up with various foodplatters to attract customers. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 15: Colourful dresses, dolis (swings), folk songs and games define the essence of Raja. But it is the mouth-watering authentic Oriya delicacies that add grandeur to the festival.

Keeping this in mind, city-based hotels have come up with various lip-smacking delights. The week-long food festival in various restaurants offers a spread that varies from traditional Oriya cuisine to north Indian tandoor cuisine. Right from the ambience to the diverse aromatic culinary delights, hotels have geared up to attract gastronomes.

Delectable dishes have been served on the platter at a well-known hotel near Sriya Square, which includes as many as 32 traditional Oriya dishes. “Pithas are an integral part of the festival. For this reason we have decided to lay out a varied collection — kakara pitha, chenna podo pitha and also kheer and chana gaja,” said T. Viswanath Rao, manager of the hotel.

“We have also arranged for a buffet at a very nominal price, which includes moong dal, saga badi nodia, aloo baingan bharta, machha bhaja, chingudi besara, mansa jhola, kukuda kassa and amba khatta,” he added.

Another city-based hotel near Master Canteen Square has decided to give a twist to the festival. Instead of the typical Oriya platter, they have organised a “Tandoor Da Dum” festival. “People have Oriya cuisine all the year round, and during festivals they prefer to eat something different. That’s when we came up with the idea of a tandoori food festival, ” said chef Sanjay and Ajay Panda.

An assortment of 20 tandoori items such as tandoori prawn, hariyali tandoori, seekh kabab, afghani kabab, chicken banzaara, panner tikka have been doled out for the tandoori lovers.

Meanwhile, other restaurants have tried some innovative ways to attract customers.

“On the occasion of Raja, we have organised a Raja Rani contest where the winners will get an opportunity to savour a lovely lunch in our hotel, ” said Debasis Roy, a chef in one of the hotels.

Connoisseurs of food seem to be making the most of this occasion.

“I love food and I have decided to try out on every food festival that’s going on in the city,” said Tripti, who attended one of the food festivals with her family.