Jaganaath dham. Where Vishnu takes his meals. Cooked by none other than his celestial consort Goddess Lakshmi. In the precincts of an enormous kitchen. Helped by a retinue of a thousand cooks. Six times a day.
In a kitchen capable of feeding over one lakh pilgrims on special occasions, rice is more than ‘naiveidyam’. Almost fifty quintals of rice are consumed to prepare an array of rice dishes in the temple kitchen. The Mahaprasad is said to ensure salvation. People believe that once it is blessed by the Gods it will always remain pure irrespective of the hands it passes through. The tradition of ‘Abadha’ or one that can be shared from the same pot undoubtedly harks back to the quaint but definitely tribal origins of Jaganaath.
Even the unused ‘Anna’ from the day’s stock of Mahaprasad has its own sanctity. It is dried and sold in little red packets as ‘nirmalya’ or ‘kaibalya’. But it is doesn’t stop at that. The ‘pej’ or drained rice water feeds the Pejanala which is a source of food for the cattle and the poorest of the poor. It finds mention in the tale of a devotee Bandhu Mahanty .
And last but not the least, the fermented rice water and the last few grains of rice cooked for Mahaprasad make their way into drink that rejuvenates the weary travellers. Tanka Torani finds a mention in the stories of Chaitanya mahaprabhu and Salabega. But not much is known about the origin or when it came into being. A school of thought holds that it was available for free at one of the ‘Matha’s before being sold at the Ananda bazaar in a move that smacks of monopolistic ambitions. Whatever maybe it’s origin, this refreshing mixture of fermented rice water, curd and various aromatics is most sought after during a trip to the temple.
From the section on “Margasira” [November-December] Sweta Biswal, Beyond Dalma: A holistic foray into Odia Food. Notion Press, 2023.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fermented rice water
- 2 tsp soft cooked rice
- 1/2 cup thin curd
- tender curry leaves
- 3-4 lemon leaves
- 3-4 green chilis slit
- A few slices of lemon
- A tbs of lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp roasted cumin chili powder
- 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
- Salt
Instructions
- Use the rice water drained from cooking rice a day before, along with 2 teaspoons cooked rice.
- Mash the rice and mix with all other all ingredients in an earthen pot.
- Mix and let it stand for 1-2 hours before consuming.
