Prep10 min
Cook5 min
Total15 min
Serves2
Difficultyeasy
Contains: dairy
Ingredients
Quantities for 2.
- 2 cups cooked, cooled Riceday-old rice is traditional and better
- 1 cup, whisked Yogurt
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tsp, grated Gingeroptional
- 1, minced Green Chillioptional
- 1 sprig Curry Leaves
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 Dried Red Chillioptional
- a pinch Asafoetidaoptional
- 1/2 Lemonoptional
- to finish Coriander Leavesoptional
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil
- to taste Salt
Equipment
stovetop
Before you start
- Real pakhala is rice left in water overnight to ferment lightly, which gives it a faint sourness and, in the Odia summer, a cooling effect. The quick version below skips the overnight step.
- For the traditional version, cover the cooked rice with water and leave it at room temperature 8-12 hours, then proceed from step 2.
- Serve cold. This is a hot-weather dish and warm pakhala misses the point.
Method
- Put the cooled rice in a bowl, add the water and lightly crush some of the grains with your fingers to cloud the liquid. For the traditional version, this is where you leave it overnight.
- Whisk the yogurt smooth and stir it through with salt, the ginger and green chilli. It should be soupy, not thick; add more water if needed.
- Heat the oil in a small pan. Splutter the mustard seeds, then add the dried chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida.
- Pour the tempering over the pakhala, add a squeeze of lemon and scatter with coriander.
- Chill at least 30 minutes before eating. Serve with something fried and salty alongside; fried fish, badi chura or a simple potato bharta are the usual partners.
Storage
Eat the same day. The fermentation continues in the fridge and it turns increasingly sour after about 24 hours. Do not freeze.
Recipe v1.0.0, last updated 2026-07-31. Curated for Khaana and kept under version control.