Bhubaneswar, March 20: The state's favourite dish was omnipresent - from the dining table to a top trending topic on social media - as resident and not-resident Odias celebrated Pakhala Divas today.
Thousands of people took to various social networking sites to share stories of their attachment with pakhala, while many others shared pictures of feasts over the dish at their homes and outside. The dish was also among the top trending topics on micro-blogging site Twitter throughout the day with a number of well-known personalities talking about it.
Popular television personality and chef Sanjeev Kapoor tweeted: "I am sure if today I go to any house in Odisha (or an Odia living in any part of the world), I would get freshly made Pakhala." Writer Ravinder Singh wrote on Twitter: "Fermented rice to beat the heat. The haves would eat it with fried fish & veges. The have nots with onion & green-chillies."
Artist Sudarshan Patnaik created a sand art on the theme with a bowl of fermented rice in the middle and a number of popular side-dishes alongside. He posted a picture of his creation on Twitter that was shared by international chefs such as Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar and hundreds of people from around the world.
Pakhala is an Odia term for cooked rice washed or fermented in water. Depending on the palette, a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian accompaniments are served with it to spice up the taste.
It was included in the recipe of Lord Jagannath in the Puri temple since it was built in the 12th century. The dish has a number of variations, including jeera pakhala, dahi pakhala, basi pakhala, sajja pakhala and chaiin pakhala.
Rourkela resident Monalisa Routray added a twist to her pakhala. She said: "Instead of rice, I tried rice-stuffed dumplings immersed in curd. As side dishes, I had potato patties and fried drumstick. My family members all appreciated my unique spin to the dish."
Odia film-maker Biswananth Rath, who lives in Chennai, said: "The day is an attempt to preserve the tradition of this Odia cuisine. The Odia association here got together and had a hearty pakhala meal. We also invited a number of non-Odia people."
Akshaya Mohanty, who lives in Rhode Island, US, said: "I have invited my non-Odia friends here so that they can get a taste of the popular dish."
Lately, a number of hotels and restaurants have included pakhala in their menus. A vegetarian pakhala meal is available at Rs 350 and a non-vegetarian one comes for a princely Rs 400. There are budget eateries as well, which are offering the dish at Rs 70.
"A dish that hydrates the body is advised as a remedy against sunstroke. We have pakhala at home almost daily during the summer. But today, my friends and I wanted to celebrate the occasion in a special manner," said Manisha Dash, who visited the Dalma restaurant here.
