Palami Mallick winnows niger seeds on a bamboo tray called kula. The niger plant is a significant commercial crop among the tribal communities in Odisha.
Hand-pounded niger seeds are collected from the dhinki, a traditional grain-threshing method followed in rural Odisha.
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Palami gathers pounded niger seed flour in a bamboo bowl.
Arhar dal is also hand-pounded on the dhinki to prepare flour.
Then the flour mix of arhar dal, niger seeds and finger millet or ragi, the main ingredient for mandia pitha, is prepared.
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Liquid jaggery and water are added to the flour to make a dough.
The dough is mixed well and left to rest in the shade for about half an hour.
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Small portions of the dough are placed on fresh green sal leaves, and covered on both sides.
An earthen pot is heated on a chullah (small brick stove) and the dough wrapped in sal leaves is placed on a low flame.
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The uncovered earthen pot is cooked on the fire for about 15 minutes.
Once properly baked, the mandia pitha emits a smoky aroma and gets a coffee colour.
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Palami enjoys the delicious mandia pitha with her grandchildren and a fellow village woman.
The lead image shows Palami Mallick sitting outside her house with other women from the neighbourhood.
Reporting and photography by Abhijit Mohanty, a Bhubaneswar-based journalist.
