Veg Mahura: A must-have from the Lord Jagannath Mahaprasad

Mahura is a mix veg curry with mustard, cumin and fennel seed base. This is a very popular and mandatory dish as part of Mahaprasad served to Lord Jagannath in temples.

This is a very healthy preparation as it doesn't need any oil or spices. So it's a perfect dish if you are craving for some comfort food . Just have it with some plain rice and it's a bliss. 

Generally, Mahaprasad consists of 56 dishes which are served across the day in different meals to the Lord. It includes varieties of rice preparations, dals, curries, sweets and pithas which are very typical to Odisha's food culture.

Our family loves to have a meal in temples whenever possible . Though the food is simple, having it sitting on the floor can give you a satisfaction which you might not get having a decent lunch in a restaurant. So whichever part of the country we visit, if we are planning to visit any temple , we make sure to at least have a little prasad being there.

Coming  back to this humble curry, you can add various kind of vegetables to this like brinjal , pumpkin, potatoes, raw bananas, colocasia, sweet potato, beans etc.  So this is definitely very nutritious. 

Quick Recipe

• Soak some black chana dal overnight. If you don't have it , you can use split chana dal as well. Just soak it for 15 mins before you start cooking. 
• Soak a spoon each of mustard, fennel and cumin seeds for 15mins and grind to a smooth paste.
• Add the veggies and some green chillies to the cooker with black Chana , salt and turmeric and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles till the chana gets cooked. I generally use potato, brinjal, pumpkin , raw banana and bottlegourd chopped into small pieces.
• Add the seeds paste to the cooked vegetables and boil for 5-10 mins. 
• Add coconut pieces and 1/2spoon sugar.
• Finally temper some mustard seeds, some asafoetida and dried chilly in ghee and add it to the curry.

Serve it with some hot plain rice. 

Give it a try and share your experiences.

May Lord Jagannath bless you with good health and happiness. 😊

Happy cooking!!!