Pakhala

Pakhaḷa (Odia: ପଖାଳ) is an Odia term for an Indian food consisting of cooked rice washed or little fermented in water. The liquid part is known as Toraṇi. It is popular in Odisha, Bengal, Assam and Chhattisgarh. The Bengali name for this dish is Panta Bhat, in Chhattisgarh it's called Bore Bhat and in Assam it's called Poita Bhat. Eating pakhal has been recommended to prevent heat stroke in hot weather. A traditional Odia dish, it is also prepared with rice, curd, cucumber, cumin seeds, fried onions and mint leaves. It is popularly served with roasted vegetables—such as potato, brinjal, badi or saga bhaja—or fried fish.

Etymology

The term "Pakhala" is derived from Pali word "pakhaliba" (Odia: ପଖାଳିବା) as well as Sanskrit word "Prakshāḷaṇa" (Sanskrit:प्रक्षाळन) which means "washed/to wash" and it is made by cooling the rice by adding water and keeping the cooked rice in water and curd. The word Pakhaḷa was used in the poems of Arjuna Das in his literary work Kaḷpalata (1520-1530 AD).