Taste dalma at Oddiyana, which serves authentic Odia cuisine with a contemporary twist

Oddiyana, from Mumbai-based cloud kitchen Rroshashala, serves authentic Odia food in a contemporary setting

“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.