For a state whose food carries centuries of temple rituals, regional customs, agricultural practices and stories of travel, Odisha has had surprisingly little room on India’s culinary bookshelf. 'The Orissan', a new 376-page coffee table book from Penguin Random House India, sets out to fill some of that space. Published in June 2026, the book traces around 2,500 years of Odisha’s culinary and cultural history through more than 120 recipes, archival material, photography, illustrations and stories about the people and places that have kept these dishes going.  

A large part of the book looks at the food of the Jagannath Temple in Puri and its enormous Rosha Ghara, where thousands of meals are cooked every day in earthen pots over firewood. Among the preparations documented from the Chhappan Bhog are kanika, sweetened rice cooked with ghee and raisins; khechudi, a simple rice-and-dal preparation; dahi pakhala, fermented rice served with yoghurt; ghee anna; and rasabali, fried chhena patties soaked in reduced, spiced milk. The book also looks beyond Puri, following food traditions through coastal fishing communities, tribal kitchens and old royal households.

The recipes published from the book give a better sense of this range. Ambila, associated with Nuakhai in Western Odisha, combines seasonal vegetables and tender bamboo shoots with a tangy yoghurt-based gravy. Chuna machha chadchadi is a small-fish preparation cooked with potatoes, mustard oil and spices, then served with rice. Rasabali, closely associated with the Baladevjew Temple in Kendrapara, uses flattened chhena patties that are fried until lightly crisp around the edges before being soaked in thickened milk. 

Another chapter looks at pakhala, the fermented rice dish eaten widely across Odisha, particularly in the warmer months. The book connects the dish with yoghurt, raw mango, vegetables, lentils, ghee and fermented accompaniments, showing how a pakhala meal can bring together several textures and sources of nourishment on one plate. It also pays attention to the resourcefulness built into Odia cooking: fish heads find their way into vegetable curries, banana stems become a part of a curry, pumpkin flowers are fried, and orange peels are turned into chutney. 

Food writer, researcher and photographer Alka Jena spent three years travelling through more than 200 kitchens across Odisha, from the Jagannath Temple and tribal kitchens in Koraput to royal kitchens and homes in Cuttack, documenting recipes that had often been passed down without written measurements or instructions. She had already spent years bringing Odia food into contemporary spaces through her CulinaryXpress work, food pop-ups and 'A Feast from the East' at The Bombay Canteen, which featured 30 dishes from Odisha. Sandip Das approaches the book through his own inheritance of Odia food and history, including stories of his grandfather and the everyday rituals through which he learnt to understand food, such as choosing fish by the redness of its gills. Pallavi Das, who grew up between Mumbai, Malaysia and New York, began the project by questioning why Odisha’s cuisine had received so little serious documentation. Her research and cultural inquiry eventually developed into a three-year exploration with her father and Jena. 

Together, their work is a mix of research, personal history and the kitchens where these traditions are still practised, with the book asking, "Kana Khaibu?" — “What would you like to eat?”) — which according to Pallavi really means: “I’m thinking of you. I made this for you. I’m emotionally here.”

Follow Sandeep here, Alka here, Pallavi here and buy the book here.

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