Odia Cuisine -The Little Known cuisine from the Land of Lord Jagannath in Eastern India-ODISHA

LAUKI RECIPE -1 For 3-4 serves Lightly peel off the skin of a tender lau ( lauki/ green bottle gourd – 1 no.). Dice into small pieces. Peel and dice potato (one large) into similar sized pieces. Clean (take out food pipes, food pouches from head, shells – leaving the head with the body) and wash chungudi ( prawns - about 250-350gms, or more, if you want). Marinate them with salt and haldi ( turmeric). Keep ready a mustard paste ( grind together mustard seeds 2 tbsp+ a pinch of haldi +4-5 cloves of garlic + a bit of green chilli ). (Mustard paste should never be used immediately after grinding as it tastes bitter. It is always better to prepare a generous quantity of the paste and store it in fridge for use in batches. When stored in fridge, it can stay fresh for days together, at least 7-10 days. You can also store some of it in freezer section and thaw it before use. Always soak mustard seeds in warm water for at least 20-30 mins, then grind, adding a pinch of

Yes, I really love my Indian food. More so, my Odia food-which is very diverse, simple, yet delicious and healthy! Especially when abroad, sighting an 'Indian' Restaurant  in itself makes me jump off my feet in excitement. I love the dishes and buffet spreads there on offer. But what saddens me everytime is: I find invariably what all are offered as Indian food is basically Punjabi ( main course) or South Indian( snacks). Or at the most, some Bengal sweets, some Gujurati pharsan. Nothing from the other areas, especially the Eastern part of India - Odisha, Bihar, Bengal, North-Eastern states - which have great and very ancient history and heritage of richly diverse, tasty and healthy cuisines, because of their unique flora and fauna, that inspires both veg and non-veg eating habits! Worse still, inside our own country- India, after Punjabi and South Indian cuisines, vary many popular dishes of Odisha are either not known beyond the state boundaries, or known as part of Benga