Mudhi Mansa
Mudhi Mansa is not just a food but an emotion of the Mayurbhanj people. Mixed with mutton gravy, and served with onion, green chilly and fresh coriander, Mudhi reaches to its zenith of taste. Only imagination of the food itself brings water to the mouth of people.
Mudhi – also known as Murmura or Bhel in some places and termed as “puffed rice” in English. It is the traditional food of Mayurbhanj. The home made mudhi of this region especially Baripada is very famous all over India. Though Murmura is seen and consumed as a snack in the other region of India, for Mayurbhanjias this is a staple food.
Only the curry in the plate is changed based on whether it is consumed as breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Blend it with some namkeen mixtures, onion, a bit of chilli and lemon – and it becomes jhal mudhi ( a very famous street food in West Bengal ) and ready to be consumed as evening snack too.
In modern homes murmura is not prepared now a days. But in villages it is still made/cooked and stored in very large containers.
Learn how to make murmura at home : https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/how-to-make-murmura-puffed-rice-from-plain-rice-2265921
Mutton gravy – the mutton itself is very famous and loved by everyone here, but they are picky with their taste. It is said that the mountain goats which are bred on Sal leaves and grasses only – have the best meat. For the mutton gravy, the local onions are used which are sweeter and more aromatic compared to other onions which are common in market. The blend of different spices like Cinnamon, Cloves, GG paste with mustard oil gives it a different taste altogether.
In recent years Mudhi Mansa has gone outside of Odisha and has attracted many food bloggers and outsiders too. I think most of the credit behind it goes to ‘Garma Garam’ restaurant in Baripada which is probably one of the oldest restaurant of the town. It is over 35 years old and with time it has modernised itself with modern facilities and cooking styles, without compromising the taste of food. The thali served by Garma garam restaurant has a special chatni accompanied with it. This chatni is hand prepared with Curd base and Greenchilli with sweet mango achar with it.
When I was there, I loved it the most but not able to figure out the base on which it was made of. Later when I talked to restaurant owner and showed my curiosity, he revealed it.
Checkout a vlog from Rohit, where he covered lot of foods of Baripada while he was here.
Other than famous masha mudhi plate – do try the liver thali and last but not the least my favourite Mutton tadka with roti – where they cook tadka and mutton separately and mix it to serve you. Do try that once.
