In Cuttack, Dussehra is made special by the extravagant pandals crafted out of silver and by the crores of rupees spent every year during this 10-day festival. Lakhs of people throng to the pandals every evening to be part of this full-fledged, fair-style event with delicious food stalls on both sides of the road. Describing the scene, Chef Swayampurna Misra gets nostalgic about her childhood. 

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“As children, while visiting the pandals, we’d start with the classic dahi bara alu dum, a mouth-watering delicacy of spongy bara (vada) soaked in tangy curd and served with a super spicy thin alu dum. This is then topped with nylon sev, onions, and coriander, with a generous pour of meethi imli chutney and teekhi dhania chutney, and garnished with papdi. Then follows puchka and yes, no golgappa can ever come close to it. Once done, we’d head for Durga darshan, passing by stalls of chowmein, rolls, chenachur and mudhi. Sweets such as arisa, kakara, chhena poda, chhena jhili and pahala rasgulla would be our dessert. Mitha dahi is a big deal and so is the special lassi, rich and laden with malai.”

Dahi Bara Alu Dum

For Odias, as for Bengalis, Durga Pujo implies that the goddess visits her maternal home. “Our relationship with Durga is different from the rest of the nation,” says Misra. “While the nation is scared of Durga ma and her anger, we welcome Dugga as our daughter coming home. It is celebrated with much fanfare and non-vegetarian feasts of mutton, chicken and fish are a must. Today and tomorrow (the eighth and ninth day) are usually completely vegetarian, marked by bhog khichudi.” 

Chef Anusuya Banerjee, who curated the Navratri menu at Ishaara, tells us the story of machher kaliya, a Bengali fish favourite that traces its roots to Awadh when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was exiled to Metiaburuz in Kolkata. “The Nawab,” she says, “who settled there with his royal chefs and ministers, left his mark on Bengali cuisine. Kaliya, a light mutton curry cooked in Lucknow, transformed into machher kaliya prepared with river fish (especially rohu or katla) with large chunks of potatoes. The gravy is coarse and cooked with onion, ginger, cumin paste, turmeric, and green chillies in curd. 

Garlic is a big no-no for this dish as its pungency kills the sweetness of the fish. Earlier, this rich dish was served on special occasions including weddings  as meat preparations were not allowed. The Eastern territories of Bengal (now Bangladesh) have a very different way of preparing katla maccher kaliya. You could garnish the fish with slit green chillies and a teaspoon of hot mustard oil to add zing. It is best served with steamed rice. Macher Kalia is also called biye barir macher kalia as it is mostly served during Bengali weddings.”

Anusuya Banerjee and Ishijyot Surri

In the north, Dussehra signals the onset of winter. Chef Ishijyot Surri tells us of shakarkandi (sweet potato) tikki, an important food during the fasting period that finds a place on the Dussehra plate as well. Flavourful and packed with nutrients, this snack is high in fibre. Lightly spiced with cumin and chilli powder, and topped with lime to enhanced the flavours, it pairs perfectly with sweet walnut and date chutney as it adds multiple dimensions of flavour and activates the taste buds.

“This day of victory for good over evil has always been a joyful day of feasting for me,” says Surri. “I remember my grandmother making shakarkandi chats and tikkis, perfect for snacking. She made a range of chutneys— from a simple green chutney to tangy raw mango chunda and sweet date chutney—that went perfectly with the tikkis. The grand feast also had besan or motichoor ladoos, kheer, chole puri, jalebi and bhajias. We’d have them at home and sneak out some to carry  to watch Ramleela performances  while eagerly waiting for the fireworks that symbolised Ravan being killed. Then, we’d head home for refreshing buttermilk or a rose sharbat.”

In the northern states, rich vegetarian meals are often served with jalebi, kheer, gajar ka halwa, besan laddoo and makhani kheer. The Gujaratis start their day with jalebi-fafda, and it’s a staple for many regions around the state. In most South Indian communities, Dussehra is celebrated by decorating the home, buying new cars or electronic appliances, and  visiting temples to pay obeisance to gods. Preparations such as aloo palya (mashed potato sabzi, served with dosa or puri), baledindina palya (banana stem subzi), and puliyogare (tamarind rice) are served with kosambari (tempered salad). Huli tovve, a sweet and sour dish featuring ridge gourd or pumpkin sweet, is prepared with the addition of jaggery, toor dal, and tamarind.

Sweets include rava kesari enriched with saffron strands, cashews, clove, and pineapple chunks all fried in ghee; and Mysore pak—a must-have. Most homes serve pal payasam with milk and nuts, and  ambode, a savoury lentil fritter, paired with sakkare pongal, kesari bhath, puran poli or obattu, or moong dal payasam.

Kadakani

Ingredients
 1/2 cup fine rava 
 1/2 cup maida
 1/4 cup water or milk
 3 tbsp powdered sugar
 1 tsp oil
 Oil for frying

Method 
Dissolve powdered sugar in water or milk. In a bowl, mix rava, maida, salt, and oil. Add hot oil if required and the sugar water. Knead into a dough, brush oil, cover, and let rest for an hour. Later, knead it once more and make small balls to roll out thin puris. Poke holes with a fork. You can also pleat the discs into haircombs or roll out into payals, etc. Heat oil on medium heat. Drop kadakani into it and fry until it turns lightly golden on both sides.

Macher Kalia

Ingredients
 200 gm Rohu
 20 gm mustard oil
 5 gm ghee
 1 dried red chili
 1 bay leaf
 1 cardamom
 2 cloves
 1 tsp cumin seeds
 20 gm tomato
 20 gm yoghurt
 2 gm turmeric
 5 gm Kashmiri red chilli powder
 8 gm raisin
 10 gm sugar
 5 gm salt
 1 tsp garam masala
 2 green chillies 
 100 gm onion 
 10 gm ginger
 10 gm garlic

Method 
Wash and dry the fish thoroughly. Rub salt and turmeric, and let marinate in the fridge. Heat kadai, pour mustard oil, then add sliced onion and saute until light brown. Slip in the whole spices and fry until aromatic. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala and stir until masala cooks. Now comes the ginger-garlic paste, and finally the tomatoes, yoghurt and water.  Once fragrant, add the fish, cover with a lid and let cook on slow heat. Garnish with slit green chillies.