“Every dish has a story behind it and every regional cuisine is built on such stories. As a chef, my job is to pass on these stories to people through the meal,” says chef Abinas Nayak, co-founder of Rroshashala, a cloud kitchen in Mumbai, which has recently launched Oddiyana, a restaurant serving traditional Odia food in a contemporary setting.
The idea, says Abinas, is to showcase Odia recipes in their authentic form. He has been showcasing and promoting Odia cuisine, which he says is built on a zero-waste, preservative-free system of cooking. “We believe in nose-to-tail eating. Even if you take something like the drumstick, for instance, the leaves, flowers and fruits are used to make dishes. Or the ridge gourd, where we even use the spiny outer cover to make a chutney,” says Abinas, who was also the winner of the sixth season of MasterChef India.
“ Though our food has a rich history, Odisha, as a state has been modest about its food. I wanted to tell the world about my cuisine,” Abinas adds.
The charm of Odia cuisine has always been that it revels in seasonal produce. “Traditionally we always eat what is in season. Take the staple dalma (a traditional Odia dish made of dal and vegetables), for instance. It is had both during summer and winter, but the ingredients that go into it differ,” he adds. While it is usually made with raw papaya, in winter the same dish can be made with broccoli, too.
“I wanted to showcase dishes that truly represent the essence of the Odia culinary ethos. The chicken besara is one such. It is chicken cooked in a mustard-based gravy. It is spicy and tangy as well,” he says. Abinas feels it would appeal to non-Odia diners as well. The besara is one of his signature dishes on the menu.
The elaborate menu at Oddiyana includes starters, main course and desserts with ample options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Starters include crisp cutlets made of raw jackfruit and potato; nadia bara (lentil and coconut fritters) and besara poda (meat marinated in mustard sauce and grilled).
When he hosted an Odia food popup in Bali (Indonesia), a couple of years ago, Abinas realised that Odia food had immense potential. “I got so many enquiries about something as basic as the badi, for instance,” he says. Badi is a sun-dried lentil dumpling.
The main course covers the usual fare of rice and rotis. The vegetarian muga dalma, made using moong dal and seasonal veggies is popular, but the chindi dalma made with prawn is a favourite from the coastal region of Odisha.
Much of the Odia cuisine derives inspiration from the food cooked at the Puri Jagannath temple. And Abinas pays tribute to this with the tanka torani, a popular rice-based drink, traditionally made from day-old cooked rice offered toLord Jagannath. Another refreshing drink on the menu is the ambula rai, a tangy, sweet and spicy raita made of salted dry mango slivers.
Even as Abinas worked as an IT professional, his heart was in food. “I used to watch my mother and grandmother in the kitchen, going about their processes. My work is heavily influenced by them,” he says.
While he was working as an IT analyst, Abinas used to cook for his roommates and friends regularly. “I used to look forward to it. I realised that just as I wanted the food to taste good, I wanted it to look good as well,” says Abinas..
Oddiyana is open for dine-in and delivery at the Powai outlet in Mumbai. It is available on food aggregator platforms as well.
