Anushka Sharma enjoyed this famous dish from eastern part of India; can you guess what it was?

Indian dishes are no longer restricted to regions and social echelons. Once referred to as a ‘poor man’s breakfast’, the humble panta bhat has found takers in many parts of the country, with people slowly learning about this delectable food item.
Anushka Sharma shared a photograph of her lunch plate recently, which had many delicious foods items native to West Bengal in particular, but also consumed in other states in the eastern part of the country.

For lunch, her plate consed of panta bhat, which is prepared overnight. The fermented rice dish is made first preparing the rice, then adding some water and leaving it to ferment overnight for at least 12 hours. It continues to be a staple in many households, especially those whose livelihoods depend on physical labour. Consumed as a breakfast item, the dish also requires mustard oil, a pinch of salt, and lemon to be sprinkled on it.
The actor’s plate of rice was accompanied two pieces of chopped onions, a green chilli, eggplant sliced and fried, locally known as begun bhaja, boiled and mashed potato, known as aloo sheddo or aloo bhaate, and a fried assortment, which seemed like a vegetable pakora.
Photo: Instagram/@anushkasharma
Sharma ate what is typically the staple food of West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and even Bihar. In Assam, it is called ‘poita bhat‘, in Bihar, ‘geel bhat‘, and in Odisha, people call it ‘pakhala‘.

Dolly Singh, a media professional and a food enthusiast who “loves trying cuisines from eastern India”, told that the dish is particularly celebrated in Odisha. “I am from Bihar, but I have seen pakhala bhat being sold in Odiya restaurants. You can have the fermented rice with water, with a little bit of yoghurt and fried red chillies, and with an assortment of things to eat along, like fish fry and aloo sheddo.”
She also said that in Bihar, it is eaten with “achar ka masala“. “Fermented rice has cooling properties, it is probiotic, and is taken in the morning before people leave the house and walk in the sun. While it is seen as a poor man’s food, I would say that in Odisha, it is really eaten like a rich man’s food,” she said.
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