As the five-day Durga Puja festival draws to a close in Odisha, the unique tradition of offering ‘dahi pakhala’ to the Goddess on Vijaya Dashami attracted a large number of devotees to different pandals on Wednesday.
While fruits, ladoos and other offerings are made to Maa Durga as ‘bhog’ till Navami, special delicacies like ‘dahi pakhala ‘ – water rice with curd – and a dish prepared from green vegetables are offered to the Goddess at different puja venues, particularly in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, on the concluding day as per an age-old tradition.

‘Dahi pakhala’ is not merely a mix of curd, water and rice. Ginger slices, jeera (cumin) powder, lemon juice, pieces of curry leaves and coriander leaves along with several other ingredients also spice up the dish to make it a gourmet’s delight, said a cook at another puja pandal in the state capital.