World Pakhala Divas or Pakhala Dibasa is a day to promote a popular Odia food 'Pakhala'. Universal Pakhala Day which celebrated on March 20 tries to highlight the food which is a part of the daily diet of Eastern India. Pakhala is s food consisting of cooked rice washed or fermented in water. As the day celebrates Pakhala, Odias living across the world took to social media sharing their love for the food item. People also wrote how the food brings memories of their hometown and childhood. The dish is also eaten in West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Chattisgarh. Pakhala is made as a dish to welcome the spring season.

Pakhala recipe

Pakhala is prepared by putting cooked rice in water known as Torani. It is seasoned with curd and lemon. To add flavours, some add cumin seeds, mint leaves and fried onions are put into it. Depending on one's food preferences, vegetarian or non-vegetarian food items are added to stir up the taste. Fried fish, saga bhaja, badi chura are often eaten with it. World popular sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik on Wednesday shared one of his sand arts on Twitter to mark 'Pakhala Dibasa'. Lucky Foods For 2019: Eat These Food Items For Good Luck and Prosperity

Check out Sudarsan Pattnaik's sand art on 'Pakhala Dibasa' here:

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik wishes Pakhala Diwas with a photo from the archives

Twitterati also shared photos of Pakhala they cooked at home marking the day:

Happy Pakhala Day!

Pakhala with fish and prawns

Vegetables like potato, brinjal are also eaten alongside Pakhala. Celebrating World Pakhala Divas, many restaurants in India serve different varieties of Pakhala. Some of the popular Pakhala variations include Dahi Pakhala, Masala Pakhala, Basi Pakhala, Saja Pakhala and Lemon Pakhala.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2019 02:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).