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For Chef Niyati Rao, exploring history is best done through its food. As partner and head Chef at Ekaa – a cuisine agnostic restaurant in Mumbai geared towards contemporary reimaginings of Indian cuisines – she’s always looking for new ways to showcase the country’s diversity on a menu. Recently, through a collaboration with The Belgadia Palace in Mayurbhanj, Odisha and Suntory Roku Gin she and the Ekaa research and development team dove headfirst into the flavours in Odisha and are bringing it back to their kitchen to showcase the underrepresented culinary and cultural heritage of the state.
From unique ingredients and techniques, Chef Niyati used their trip to Mayurbhanj as a launchpad to tell the stories of the Bhanj Dynasty and the region’s rich history. To foraging for wild ingredients to snacking at local markets they tasted and tested out a wealth of dishes and are soon to be showcasing them with the signature Ekaa style through a series of exclusive dinners in support of the Mayurbhanj Foundation, led by Akshita Bhanj Deo.
The 8 course menu will be paired with a selection of four cocktails, also inspired by the flavours of Odisha. “Each of the cocktails curated is a tribute to Odisha’s vibrant food and drink culture, blending tradition with flavour in every sip. From the communal warmth of Daula Khichdi to the tangy soul of Gongura, the timeless sweetness of Aam Rai, and the ancient spirit of Mahua, these creations invite you to experience the deep-rooted heritage of Odisha in a new and unforgettable way”, says Jishnu AJ, Head Mixologist at Ekaa.
Ahead of this immersive meal into the cuisine of Mayurbhanj, we caught up with Chef Niyati Rao to know more about her experiences in Odisha and which ones will be translated to the plate.
What first inspired you to delve into the food of Mayurbhanj?
When Ekaa started, we always thought that every year we would like to go to one state and maybe explore a province or a structure or another. We’ve always wanted to tell stories through food, and this experience is exactly that—a way to bridge history and the present through flavours that most people in the city have never tasted before. And this time we thought we should do it with Odisha. We were in talks with the princesses, Akshata and Vrindika from the Velika palace, and they would do some great work there, and we thought that it's a perfect collaboration to actually learn the royal cuisine of Mayurbansh from them, and see their cultural history, the old traditions and recipes, and then maybe get it back in a very new age format at Ekaa. Odisha is something that people don't really know of except for Vrindravan.
While exploring the food, what were some of the biggest learning experiences for you?
Odisha made me eat vegetables that I would have never touched normally. Everything that grows on a vine, like from Parwal to Tinday to Todi, you know, or Ash Gourd, everything that I usually would always frown at whenever my mother would actually make it. The Odias actually made it in such a tasty way, all the recipes were so good that I could not get enough of them. And that was the most unusual thing of how they use such common ingredients, but with their taste with cooking, they made it oh so lovely.
I think their cooking is extremely holistic. I think because it's got to do so much with Lord Jagannath and his philosophy. So the vegetarian side of the Odia cuisine is extremely holistic, and so is the non-vegetarian side when it comes to how wholesome it is and how much they focus on the purity and the good quality of the ingredients. Odias are rice eaters, but I've never seen anybody eat rice in a puffed rice format. One of the only communities I know of that will eat puffed rice with salt, or they will eat puffed rice with the mutton dish. That is extremely famous in Mayurbhanj.
Were there any new dishes to you that you tried on this trip?
When we went to the market, we were all feeling hungry. It was a hot day. In the evening, we saw a guy who was selling boiled potatoes with so many different concoctions being added to it. And he was eating it on a leaf. And that was something they called Dahi Aloo. So it was a very spicy curd concoction with a very sour chilli chutney on the side. It was a very unusual dish. And he would put a lot of the mustard on it, a load of onions. And that was extremely interesting. So, it's made with mustard, spice, chilli, and sour curd, and some lovely herbs like that. It was so refreshing.
How did this trip introduce you to the royal cuisine of Mayubhanj?
I actually got a very close peek at the royal families where they said that their grandmother, on the paternal side, their grandmother was actually the princess of Nepal. And their mother, she's from a royal family in Rajasthan. And there are so many such women who actually got married into the house of Mayurbhanj and into the Bengali palaces. Their influences as well merged very well with the Odia ingredients. And that's why the cuisine of the royal family is very innovative and still very traditional. And a lot of new influences have been put into it over time by the women who come in and their eating habits and the cooks that they've gotten along with them. And what they've learned being in Odisha and how they've adapted, how their cuisine has adapted.
What would you say sets Odia cuisine apart?
I think it's the balance of the ingredients. They use a lot of dried fish. They use freshwater fish and seawater fish. They use a lot of meat. They use a lot of vegetables. They use a lot of curd. One thing that I also noticed is how much they focus on the condiments. Their condiment game is extremely strong. They would not eat food. They want a textural balance with everything. When you see the Pakhala Bhaat that they actually have, which is overnight fermented rice, they would need at least 10 things around it. And even though you add similar ingredients to a lot of different dishes, like mustard oil, everything ends up tasting different in different dishes.
Here we're using this souring agent called the Elephant Apple. We're using a souring agent called Ambulo, which is their version of a dried mango that they use very liberally. Then we're using the special rice from there called to make a special dessert. We're using the crystal palm jaggery that we actually got from there very liberally in our menu with rice, and little mini pomfrets, which we've gotten from the local farmer's market what we'll heavily be incorporating in the menu as well. So, a lot of little bits of that. And tea leaves are smoking our main leech dish and our vegetarian dish with tea leaves. We are getting specialised mushrooms from Odisha to be featured in it in a very special preparation.
There’s also a Parwal (pointed gourd) dish that you serve with the freshest baby shrimps and you're also serving it with some straw mushrooms, which are very difficult to find over here. You only find them canned. You're serving them with fresh mushrooms. Actually, just fresh mushrooms, a melange of mushrooms. And, you know, we're serving it in a mustard plus coconut milk mixture. And that is had with something we call a patwa, which is like making a rice and pandan dumpling, which is steamed between leaves. And that is what the dish is made of in that dish.
Also Read: Chef Ranveer Brar Visits Puri Jagganath Temple; Tries Classic Odia Dishes
How did the Temple Cuisine of Odisha make an impact on your concept of the food?
We spoke to the main pujari of the Jagannath Temple. And there's a lot that you get to know from different people. We got to see the royal cuisine. We got to see the vegetarian part of the cuisine. We got to see the street food part of the cuisine. And all of these are completely unknown. In the temple cuisine, they make something called the Dala Kichdi, which is a prasad for Lord Jagannath. And they make it, especially for him. And he gave us so much information that he told us the quantity of the rice that is used along with the dal. And that's like a very heavily guarded recipe because they've made it for generations now, like maybe hundreds, hundreds of years. I realised they have a very different relationship with the Almighty. Lord Jagannath is everything for them. And they were regaling us with stories over there where they said ‘He's not a God for us. He's actually like a son to someone. He's like a friend to someone. He's just like a family member. And we treat Him as so’. And that's why you know, He'd have meals at different times of the day, just as we would. His bed gets made and you know, He has different snacks that we'd offer Him. But the way they spoke about Him it was just beautiful.
Address: 1st Floor, Kitab Mahal, D Sukhadwala Rd, Azad Maidan, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001
Dates: 18th & 19th October 2024 | Two seatings, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm and 9:30 pm to midnight
Cost per person: INR 5500++ for a 8-course meal; cocktails priced at INR 1125++ (additional drinks charges as per actuals)
Reservations: Limited to 25 guests per seating