Bhubaneswar, May 25: A grand Indian food festival showcasing the rich flavours and cultural diversity of India was organised by the Indian Cultural Association in Ingolstadt, Germany, on Sunday. The festival featured a wide range of Indian delicacies, sweets and popular street foods, attracting a huge crowd of visitors throughout the day.

Food stalls representing Tamil, Telugu and Odia cuisines, along with several Indian sweet counters, were set up at the venue. Shree Jagannath Seva Germany and the Odia European Society jointly organised the Odia food stall.

Traditional Odia dishes including the vegetarian Annapurna Thali, Dahi Bara Aloo Dum, Chhena Poda, Jhal Mudi, Khaja, Ghuguni Chaat, Odia Paana and Dahi Sarbat were served at the stall and received an overwhelming response from visitors.

One of the major attractions of the festival was the installation of idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra at the entrance of the auditorium. Members of the Jagannath Seva organisation in Germany also educated visitors about Jagannath culture and the significance of the upcoming Rath Yatra festival.

The food exhibition began at 10 am and continued till 6 pm, with more than 3,000 visitors attending the event. Among all the dishes, Jhal Mudi, Chhena Poda and the vegetarian Annapurna Thali witnessed particularly high demand. Several local German visitors were also seen enquiring about the recipes and origins of the Odia sweets and dishes.

The preparation of the Odia cuisine was supported by Maheshwata Acharya, Sudhangshubala Rout, Dr Preeti Yadav and Ahalya Sahu.

Organisers stated that the primary objective of the festival was to promote authentic Odia cuisine and spread awareness about Jagannath culture among the international community.

The organisers further announced that the proceeds collected from the sale of food items during the festival would be utilised for the upcoming Rath Yatra celebrations scheduled to be held on July 16 in Munich by the Odia diaspora in Germany.