Top 5 Famous Foods of Odisha: A Food Guide for Bhubaneswar and Patia

Quick answer: Dalma, a lentil and vegetable stew, is the dish most people link with Odisha. The other four foods to try are Chhena Poda, Pakhala Bhata, Machha Besara and Rasabali. If you are staying at Livotel Premium Hotel in Patia, Bhubaneswar, our in-house restaurant is an easy place to start.

Odia food is simple, seasonal and closely tied to the state’s temples. Many well-known dishes are linked to the kitchen of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, where food is cooked as an offering, and that style of cooking carries over into homes and local restaurants across Odisha. Here are five dishes worth trying while you are in Bhubaneswar, and where to look for them.

1. Dalma

Dalma is lentils, usually arhar (toor) dal, cooked with vegetables such as raw banana, pumpkin, brinjal and yam. It is finished with a roasted spice mix of cumin and dried chilli, and often grated coconut. It is eaten with rice for lunch or dinner in most Odia homes, and dalma is also part of the mahaprasad cooked at the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Where to try it in Bhubaneswar: look for an Odia thali at traditional restaurants in the city and around Patia. Dalma is almost always on the plate.

2. Chhena Poda

The name means “burnt cheese”. Fresh chhena (cottage cheese) is mixed with sugar and a little semolina, flavoured with cardamom, and baked slowly until the outside turns dark and caramelised. The result is dense and smoky outside and soft inside. It comes from Nayagarh district and is now sold all over Odisha.

Where to try it: most sweet shops in Bhubaneswar sell it, and it is best when it is fresh and still slightly warm.

3. Pakhala Bhata

Pakhala is cooked rice soaked in water and left to ferment lightly, so it turns soft and a little sour. It is a summer meal, eaten with sides like fried fish, mashed potato (aloo bharta), fried greens, papad, raw onion and green chilli. Odisha celebrates Pakhala Dibasa on 20 March each year.

Where to try it: traditional Odia restaurants often serve pakhala at lunch in the hotter months. Ask for it with the sides.

4. Machha Besara

Machha besara is fish, usually rohu or katla, cooked in a paste of mustard seeds and garlic with turmeric and green chilli. Some cooks add dried mango (ambula) for sourness. The mustard gives it a sharp, pungent taste that is quite different from other Indian fish curries.

Where to try it: restaurants serving Odia non-vegetarian thalis usually have a mustard fish curry on the menu.

5. Rasabali

Rasabali is flattened patties of chhena, deep-fried until golden and then soaked in thickened, sweetened milk flavoured with cardamom. It comes from Kendrapara, where it is offered at the Baladevjew Temple, and it is now sold in sweet shops across the state.

Where to try it: sweet shops in Bhubaneswar often stock rasabali alongside chhena poda. Pahala, on the highway between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, is also known for its chhena sweets.

Street food to try in Bhubaneswar

• Dahi Bara Aloo Dum: soft lentil vadas in spiced curd, served with potato curry and ghuguni. The city’s best-known street snack.
• Gupchup: the Odia name for pani puri.
• Ghuguni: a spiced yellow pea curry, often eaten with puri or as a chaat.
• Chhena Jhili: fried chhena dumplings in sugar syrup.

Looking for places to eat near the hotel? See our guide to restaurants near KIIT.

Eat in at Livotel

Livotel Premium Hotel in Prasanti Vihar, Patia has an in-house restaurant and room service, and breakfast is complimentary for staying guests from 8:00 to 10:30 am. If you are in Bhubaneswar for a few days, combine your food trail with the city’s temples and other places to visit.

Staying in Bhubaneswar? Livotel Premium Hotel is in Patia, about 1 km (a short walk) from KIIT University. Book direct or go back to our home page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most famous food of Odisha?

Dalma, a lentil and vegetable stew eaten with rice, is the dish most closely linked with Odisha. It is also part of the mahaprasad at the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

What are the famous sweets of Odisha?

Chhena Poda and Rasabali are two of the best known. Chhena Jhili and the rasagola from Pahala are also popular.

What street food should I try in Bhubaneswar?

Try Dahi Bara Aloo Dum, Gupchup and Ghuguni, which are sold at stalls across the city.

Is Odia food very spicy?

Most Odia dishes are mildly to moderately spiced. Mustard-based dishes like Machha Besara are sharp and pungent rather than very hot.

Does Livotel have a restaurant?

Yes. Livotel Premium Hotel has an in-house restaurant and room service, and breakfast is complimentary for staying guests.