Odia Badi Chura

Odia Badi Chura is a famous side dish from Orissa. During summer months Badi Chura usually served with Pakhal or fermented rice.

A few months back, I was watching a movie on Netflix India, named  “House arrest“. A man doesn’t want to connect with the world, and for some reasons, he decided to go on self-isolation! 

I won’t tell you the whole story! But yes, if you love to watch movies and you are looking for a movie recommendation during the lockdown period,  then I would suggest you watch this movie.

He was correct! When you stay at home, spend some time alone, you learn many new skills! You discover many new interesting things about you that you never ever get a chance to think of or explore! If your basics are sorted then Self-isolation is not a bad idea at all!

Quarantine activities with kids – learn new skills!

But, when you are a Mom, you know every fifteen to twenty minutes interval you will hear” I am bored, what to do now?”. 

Sometimes, I feel pity for kids! They are stuck in the home, not getting the chance to meet their friends, teacher. They are not allowed for outside play! I think this the most challenging situation for them! 

May be Badi Making!

Cooking is a life skill and we all should learn. Baking together is one of our favourites activity during school holidays. 

But, this time as I was talking about cooking from the pantry and fridge, I thought let’s make Badi or sundried lentils together. Our first attempt was a flop show! Then, we learnt through our mistakes and the second batch was much better!

We are still in progress mode, but what we achieved is more than a skill! We created a lifetime memory. I was trying to sow the seeds in my daughter’s mind that it takes a lot of preparations and hard work to get a nutritious meal on our plate, and we should respect all we have on our plate.

As it was our trial phase, so we made two small batches of Badi! As I said the first batch was a flop, but I didn’t throw them in the waste bin; instead, I made Shoshar Ghonto with broken Badis. I will share the recipe soon!

The second batch was better than the first one, but due to Melbourne weather, I had to put them in the oven for drying!

Our kitchen story of Badi Chura

I didn’t have Eggplant or other veggies that I can pair with Badi to make Jhol. I was looking for ideas, and then I saw a post on Facebook.  Surojit Rout, the owner of Ekdlia express shared the picture of his homecooked meals, where he mentioned about Badi Chura and wrote if anyone is interested in the recipe, message me! I got a chance to meet him once during our last Kolkata trip, and I knew I was a message away to get the recipe. 

But coincidently, on the same day, one of my friends called me! A bengali born and brought up in Orissa. She is someone like me who enjoys simple homecooked meals daily basis! She knows about my knowledge-seeking mind regarding Indian regional cooking. I asked her if she knows about the dish Badi Chura! And gladly she shared some of Odia recipes where they use Badis and this Badi Chura Recipe.

This dish is absolutely pantry staple, cook from scratch kind of recipe, try it, and you will love it!

This quarantine time shall pass too, and our kids will go back to there regular outdoor life, school, activity classes! Instead of maintaining social distance, we will do social gathering again! But before that, we need to take care of each other, stay at home, stay safe, cook together and create happy memories!