Odias celebrate classic ‘pakhala’

Bhubaneswar: Come March 20 every year, Odias across the globe celebrate the popular traditional Odia dish — “pakhala” — the fermented water rice.
Started as an online campaign, Pakhala Divas emerged as a mass festival with a series of pakhala parties and feasts being planned for Monday. The quintessential Odia dish of pakhala is savoured with a platter of vegetarian and non-veg side dishes. Hotels and restaurants across the state geared up for the day, notwithstanding the cloudy weather this year.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik greeted the people of Odisha on Pakhala Dibasa and said in his tweet, “Pakhala is at the top among the unique culinary styles of Odisha. This dish is unique among the diversity of our food. On Pakhala Dibasa I urge everyone to make selfless and collective efforts for the promotion of Odia foods.”
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan also shared his photo while eating pakhala on Twitter and said, “Pakhala is an inseparable part of Odia culture and lifestyle.”
Social media platforms were flooded with photos, and memes of Pakhala Dibasa celebrations not only from Odisha but from across the globe.
Though the celebration of March 20 as Pakhala Divas started from 2015, it is getting bigger and grander every year. Though pakhala is a round-the-year dish for the people of Odisha, with the rise in temperature people prefer the healthy and cool dish as their main meal of the day from March. Besides, pakhala is served to Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra every day in the Jagannath temple in several varieties.
The rituals of eating pakhala to beat the heat during the sweltering summer months can be traced back to Odisha’s traditional agricultural practices. The celebration of Pakhala Dibasa on March 20 serves to highlight and protect the distinctive culinary heritage of Odisha and promote the health benefits of pakhala at the international stage. “This year, we have started Pakhala Festival from March 10 and getting a very good response despite the clement weather for the last three days,” said Chef Michael of Michaels Kitchen restaurant in the city.
He said apart from the traditional pakhala platter, there are several experiments being done with the superfood. “We have introduced some new flavours of pakhala this year in contemporary taste like mandarine pakhala, pakhala with a Thai punch and South Indian chaska. There is an array of side dishes in vegetarian and non-veg to accompany pakhala,” said Michael.
This year, several organisations have come forward to host poetry recitals, literary discussions and musical shows along with pakhala feast to celebrate the day. “Pakhala is associated with Odia feeling and we have been celebrating the festival every year at home, but this year, we are planning to celebrate it with a Kabita Asara (poetry recital) at Ekamra Haat,” said Anuradha Dash, secretary of Satyanagar Ladies Club.
According to health experts, pakhala is probiotic rich due to the presence of lactic acid and helps in digestion, gut-friendly and improves body immunity. After fermentation the rice becomes rich in nutrients like iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It is also a rich source of vitamin B12. “It also balances electrolytes in the body and prevents dehydration and fatigue,” said Dr Swarupananda Mishra, a senior physician.