Bhubaneshwar

Gourmet Feasts

Bhubaneswar's cuisine has a distinctive blend of Bengali and Oriya foods, though locals opine that the two states offer absolutely different tastes! Their staple food includes rice cooked with potatoes and accompanied by aaloo-bharta and saag. The chatu tarkari made of mushrooms is a local specialty here. The food cooked is mostly seasoned with the five-spices and cooked in mustard oil. Fish is obviously a favourite and its proximity to the sea makes it a fresh fish paradise. Try the shorsen maach (fish cooked in mustard paste), chingdi (prawns) and the all-time favourite of maach bhaaja (fried fish).

Lamb, fried or with curry, is also quite popular. The restaurant at Hotel Siddartha serves a wide variety of multi-cuisine non-veg and veg dishes and is a great place for eating out. For real local cuisine, head out to restaurant Sangam located in Gautam Nagar. Other restaurants serving true Oriya cuisine are Dalma, Odissi, Swastik Plaza, Mayfair Lagoon and Hotel Crown. Pushpanjali, the restaurant at Hotel Trident is expensive, but well worth the money spent. Vegetarians can head out to Hotel Harekrishna, Prachi Garden for veg-thalis and Madhuban Restaurant. A delight for sweet-lovers, the famous Kalinga Sweet Market is located almost 12 kms from Bhubaneswar on the way to Cuttack. Made up of a row of small shacks, this is the best place to savour the softest and melt-in-the-mouth variety of rosogolla. Other delicacies include the chennapoda, the chennagaja and pithas.