Cuisines of Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur is mostly inhabited by the tribal people. In this lush region of Chhattisgarh one can relish the taste of variety of traditional and tribal cuisnes. Most of the dishes are made using rice. The food here can be divided in two variants one tribal food and the other non tribal. The tribal people food is derived from the surrounding forests, also these people include a number of non vegetarian food items in their daily diet like fish, flying ants and meat. The vegetarian food items include rice, which is the staple food of these people and a number of vegetables, fruits, lentils derived from the forests and fields. The non tribal people of Jagdalpur are mostly vegetarian. Green leafy vegetables and fruits are also liked by the people. The food preparation in Jagdalpur is very traditional and influenced by tribal culture.Ingredients Used in Jagdalpur Cuisine
Jagdalpur is mostly inhabited by the tribal people, and hence the food habits of the people in Jagdalpur are much effected by the food likings of the tribal people. The main ingredients of the food these people eat are derived from the natural forest produce. The staple food of these people is rice. Other cereals consumed by them are Kodon, Kutki and Mandia. Non-tribal people of Jagdalpur widely uses maize and jowar .The main source where these cereals are derived are fields on hillslopes and valleys. These people eat a lot of healthy food constituting pulses, vegetables and fruits. The common pulses used by these people include urid, kulthi and moong.
They grow these pulses in their fields or kitchen gardens. Grains of bamboo and other grasses are used as their supplements. A lot of vegetables are also eaten by these people, which they get from the forest. The vegetables they eat are in the form of leafy vegetables, non – leafy or tuberous vegetables. There are many other edibles which are directly eaten in the form as they are collected from the forests. These mainly include the fruits and a number of palatable seeds which are eaten raw or are roasted. Mostly all non-tribal people are vegetarian and tribal people prefer a lot of non-veg in their daily food.
Local Dishes of Jagdalpur
Jagdalpur cusine is very delicious. Some of the famous dishes made of rice or using rice flour are Pakhal Bhat, Kosra, Angakar Roti and Rice Flour Chapati. Pakhal Bhat is cooked by soaking rice in water for an overnight. Later some water, yogurt, salt and green chilies are added to it. This dish is very good to prevent heat strokes. Angakar Roti is the common breakfast of Jagdalpur people. It is a hand flatten roti made of rice flour, salt , water ,boiled rice (not necessarily),oil. Some of the other important dishes include rakhia badi , bafauri, chila, rice varieties, khadhi, khurmi, jalebis ,khichdi and petha. Sweet delicacies include moong dal ka halwa, cashew burfi, and bafauri, made during festivals and celebrations.
The bafauri which is a traditional sweet is prepared using the channa dal. Rakhia badi is a curry made of rakhia phal or fruit, ginger, coriander, seeds of slitted black gram and green chillies. Petha is a common sweet dish made by people of tribes of Jagdalpur. Bafauri is the main diet of the people of Jagdalpur, and is prepared using lentil such as chana dal. Jalebis are the most liked sweet dish of the people of Jagdalpur. Mahuwa is a local drink used by the people of jagdalpur made from local tree called Mahuwa.