Dahibara Aludum (; ) is a popular street food originating from

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

of the state

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. It is a variant of Dahi vada. The dish is prepared by soaking vadas (fried flour balls) in light dahi (yogurt) water which is tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then adding Aludum (potato curry) and Ghuguni (pea curry) to it, topped with an assortment of spices, onions, and coriander. The dish is widely enjoyed across the state, particularly in the cities of

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

Rourkela Rourkela () is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of the state capital Bhubaneswar and is ...

and

Berhampur Berhampur (; also known as Brahmapur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Odisha, India. Known as the "Silk City" it is the headquarter of Ganjam district, Ganjam district and home to Odisha's one of the major and the oldest railway station ...

History and Origin

Dahibara has been a part of Odia cuisine for centuries, traditionally consumed as a light, fermented dish with probiotic benefits. The combination of Dahibara and Aloodum is believed to have originated in Bidanasi (Old Cuttack), where street vendors near Barabati Fort first introduced the pairing of yogurt-soaked lentil dumplings with the spicy, flavorful Aloodum. This unique pairing quickly gained popularity, spreading across

and later throughout

. Over time, it became a staple of Odia street food culture, with numerous vendors specializing in its preparation. Today, Dahibara Aloodum is widely enjoyed across India, recognized for its unique blend of tangy and spicy flavors. It also got an award at the National Street Food Festival held at

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in the year 2020.

Preparation

Washed urad

lentils The lentil (''Vicia lens'' or ''Lens culinaris'') is an annual plant, annual legume grown for its Lens (geometry), lens-shaped edible seeds or ''pulses'', also called ''lentils''. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in Legume, pods, usually w ...

are soaked in normal water overnight and ground into a batter for the bara, then deep fried in hot oil. The deep-fried baras are first put in water and then again transferred to light yogurt water for soaking for 3–5 hrs. Then the Baras are added with Aloodum (spicy potato curry) and Ghuguni (pea curry). Later chopped

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

References

Odia cuisine Yogurt-based dishes Indian fast food {{India-cuisine-stub