If you are an epicurean living in Bengaluru and are out on a hunt for new places and cuisines to try out all the time, you must have noticed how the creme de la creme of the city's food places have been hosting pop-up events since the last year. From Australian and Japanese to Kashmiri and Bengali – the most exotic cuisines across the country and even the globe have dropped by the city at least once since the last year.
However, we still had a complaint. In a country like ours, where every state has a rich and unique culinary culture, lesser-known cuisines like that of states like Assam and Odisha seldom finds representation in such pop-ups, let alone having entire food festivals dedicated to them. But sounds like someone addressed our unspoken concerns when hotel Aloft Bengaluru Outer Ring Road hosted Odian Food Festival last month. And just when we thought it could not get any better, we came to know that the menu for the ten-day pop-up was to be curated by MasterChef India finalist Smrutisree Singh.
For the uninitiated, the 29-year-old chef from Odisha, who started her career in the kitchen of yet another hotel in Bengaluru, is known for her love for the cuisine of her land and her unwavering passion to bring it into the mainstream culinary discourse of India. We spoke to the chef to know more about what makes Odia cuisine stand out from the other cuisines of India and what makes it so close to the culinary cultures of South India! Excerpts:
Tell us a bit about your journey of becoming a chef.
Growing up, I was always helping my father in baking or standing by my mom in the kitchen learning new things. I started baking at the age of 5, though I never thought of becoming a chef till the 10th/12th standard. My interest developed only later; I did a course and became a chef at 18.
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How do you introduce Odia cuisine to people?
Odia cuisine offers dishes that can be eaten by anyone, anywhere and at any time. It's rich yet simple, so it'll not cause any health-related discomfort. Though the cuisine is a mix of non-vegetarian and vegetarian items, it is balanced well with rice and other side dishes like dal, leafy vegetables, salads and the likes. The mix is tasty for the palate and at the same time, does not harm the body.
The people of Odisha are well-known for their culinary skills. Why is the cuisine still underrated across the country?
That’s the reason why after becoming a chef, and now being a finalist at MasterChef, I decided to bring the cuisine to national and international spaces. The reason for its limited exposure is perhaps the language barrier. Hence, whenever I post any update on my social media about a recipe or any content related to Odia cuisine, I try and do it in both Odia and English, so that I can introduce it to more people. Also, you are right in stating that Odia people are skilful cooks -- most of the best hotels and restaurants would have an Odia chef as they can learn any new cuisine fast.
What is the most special thing about Odia cuisine?
Simplicity. Odia cuisine is a very simple cuisine with minimal vegetables, minimal spices, and minimal preparation time. Also, the usage of spices – every curry has a different blend of spices. We have different bases for every curry that we cook.
What are some methods of preparing food that are unique to Odia cuisine?
Odia cuisine has several unique methods of food preparation such as steaming, frying with multiple layers of cooking, and wood-fire cooking. For example, Kakara Pitha is a sweet dish that involves making a dough with hot water and cooking it, creating a filling with oil, forming a dumpling, and then frying it. Additionally, Patra Poda involves wrapping food in leaves and cooking it on a wood fire. Odia cuisine also has a great tradition of roasting, exemplified by dishes like Paga and roasted vegetables. At the recently concluded Odia food festival at Aloft in Bengaluru, a different Paga dish was made every day, highlighting the diverse range of roasting methods used in the cuisine.
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On that note, tell us about this food festival you lead last month at Aloft. How did you curate the menu?
It has been an absolute delight to showcase the rich and diverse flavours of Odia cuisine to the guests. I curated the menu for the festival using recipes passed down from my mother and grandmother. It was a thali comprising 23 different dishes, each prepared with authentic ingredients. We made sure to source the correct ingredients, as they play a vital role in bringing out the unique flavours, tastes, and textures of Odia cuisine.
Odisha’s neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh is said to influence its cuisine in certain regions. What do you think are some important similarities and differences Odian cuisine has with South Indian cuisines?
There are indeed some significant similarities between Odian and South Indian cuisines, particularly in the regions of South Odisha. For example, tamarind is a common ingredient in both cuisines, with its distinct sourness and ability to add depth of flavour to dishes. Additionally, certain dishes such as charu, khatta, and saar that are sour recipes and resemble rasam in South Indian cuisines, are also common in the Odia cuisine.
Your dish Kutta-a-pasta elevated your popularity at MasterChef India. But creating such dishes also come with an inherent risk of failure. What is the biggest challenge of creating a fusion dish and how do you overcome it?
During my time on MasterChef India, creating the Kutta-a-pasta dish was a challenging experience. Working with kuttu arta, a type of buckwheat flour, was challenging as it lacks the agents needed to proof or stretch like traditional flour. Also, I aimed to create a dish that was not just healthy but also flavourful. For example, I substituted a traditional cream sauce with a healthier avocado-based sauce. But the biggest challenge in creating a fusion dish is to balance the flavours and textures of two distinct cuisines but the same time ensuring that the dish remains tasty.
You've always championed the cause of bringing Odia cuisine to the world. What are your plans next to further that?
I aspire to organise more pop-ups and food festivals to showcase the cuisine. Also, I plan to establish a chain of franchisees under my own company Desi by Smrutisree that will allow people from India and all across the globe to savour authentic Odia food.
Email: prattusa@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @MallikPrattusa