Dalma Delicious. Poem by Nabakishore Dash

While getting a kick from the cup
of morning tea to-day, my wife said
that two of her friends are
arriving soon after a long gap.
Requested me to prepare some
relishing dish for lunch,
she would be relaxing with them
in a variety of gossips,
wants a full day nap.

Happily and swiftly agreed,
opened the freeze,
found many different kinds of vegetables.
Decided to serve them boiled rice dalma, fried papad and sweets.


I took a cup of yellow split pigeon peas,
half cup of split green gram, half cup
of split Bengal gram,
mixed them by spoon,
soaked the mixture in a small bowl of water
for half an hour.
Lighted the gas stove,
took nine cups of water
in an open aluminium pot,
two bay leaves, a tea spoonful of
turmeric powder, salt to taste,
and the sieved dal mixture.
Simultaneously kept a big cup of
India gate rice in another bowl
to boil in enough water.

Peeled two potatoes, one carrot, two radishes,
four pieces of arum, a raw banana, two ridged
gourds and a big piece of pumpkin,
also brought four pieces of drum sticks and
a small raw papaya from our garden,
peeled them.
Chopped vegetables into medium pieces,
washed them,
dropped all pieces into the boiling dal,
except arum, drumsticks,
chopped tomatoes and brinjal,
which were added after all others were
half boiled,
covered the open pot for some time
till the vegetables were fully cooked.
Switched the stove off,
made a mixture of spicy seeds(around two tea spoonful) of cumin, mustard,
black cumin, fennel, fenugreek,
took a frying pan on the stove,
added two table spoonful of pure
cow ghee,
then added the mixture of spices
along with five red chillies.
When hot for few seconds
added to the boiled dal with vegetables
for seasoning.
Prepared a powder of red chillies, cumin seeds
and cinnamon by heating them
on another frying pan and grinding.
Two spoonful of this fresh power,
chopped coriander leaves
were ready for garnishing.
Rice, dalma, papad fry, sweets they brought
were served on pearl white dinner bowls.
The three old beauties and my self
took lunch together in the dinning hall.
Her two friends, one north Indian
one south Indian,
who never cooked pulses and
so many vegetables together
in their life so far,
licked their fingers,
asked for more and more,
relished the dish,
took to their fills,
so much so that they
postponed
their other objectives,
snored in the bed
for one hour,
did not intend to go any where,
asked for the recipe,
to prepare in their respective quarters.
They had a very good experience
of my extremely delicious dalma,
a very familiar cuisine in
every Odiya home.
My dear poet friends,
if interested,
can take an attempt
for this protein-rich item.