Puri experimenting with cooking tourism to teach Odia cooking to tourists

It is a new initiative by people of Puri and, dubbed as experiential 'cooking tourism', enthusiastic groups have embarked upon the novel concept of inviting tourists to engage with the local community and take lessons in making delicious Odia dishes.
In one such setup that runs an eco-friendly restaurant, tourists learn from local chefs the methods to prepare traditional Odia dishes.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 7 November 2016.

The participants visit the local market to buy the ingredients. Instead of going to shopping complexes or malls, they go to the local vendors and, thus, the participants meet and interact with the local traders. After procurement, they engage with the chefs in making the dishes. Each session starts at 9 in the morning and concludes at 2pm.
The process of learning begins with making masala chai with local herbs. This is followed by learning how to cook wholesome meal that includes five items. Some of these are - dahi baingan, dalma (lentils cooked with vegetables), saga mooga (leafy vegetable cooked with lentils), khata (chutney), dahi maccha (fish cooked with curd) and kankada jhola (crab curry).
The initiative had been launched six months ago and, so far, about 60 foreign tourists have participated till date.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Similipal National Park to offer traditional Odia cuisine to eco-tourists

Soon visitors to Similipal National Park can now enjoy traditional Odia cuisine at the restaurant opened at the Kumari eco-tourism complex. Tourists can enjoy lunch and dinner by paying Rs 200 for each meal and Rs 100 each for breakfast and afternoon snacks. The restaurant can seat 24 persons.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 4 November 2016.

There will be four eateries that will be made functional from this season - two of these at at Kumari and the other two at Muktapur. An amphitheatre has also been opened to visitors where cultural programs will be held every evening. The park had been closed since mid-June because of monsoon and has now reopened for tourists on November 1.
There are plans to promote home-stays at the forest by identifying suitable villages where tourists can stay as paying guests in the houses of the local tribal people and taste a sample of the local life. Drinking water facilities and toilets will be opened at various locations inside the forest within a month.
A maximum of 35 four-wheeled vehicles will be allowed to enter the Similipal National Park area from Kaliami check gate and another 25 vehicles from Pithabata entry point between 6am and 9am every day - one guide for every vehicle would be compulsory.
The park houses 1,076 species of plants belonging to 102 families, besides 96 species of orchids. There are a total of 42 species of mammals, 242 species of birds and 30 species of reptiles in the forest.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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