Kai Chutney (red-ant chutney) and black carpenter ant chutney or chicken kichdi may soon find its way into the buffet menu of star hotels as chefs of various star hotels tasted some of the native tribal foods cooked in traditional style at the 'Prajatiya Khadyotsav' (Indigenous food festival) held in Jajapur district in Bhubaneshwar.

The food festival was organized by Sukinda Chromite Mines of Tata Steel and more than 80 varieties of ethnic and age-old traditional food were displayed in the exhibition by people of different tribal communities residing around Sukinda.

Ankit Khachi, executive chef of Trident Hotel, Bhubaneswar said that the aroma and taste of these ethnic foods are unique. The traditional cuisines are tasty, nutritious and most people in cities don't know about the food value and flavour of these ethnic foods. He is confident that his customers will definitely love the tribal dishes.

Exotic preparations like Kanti, a sweet dish made of black gram cakes coated with sugar syrup, Lauki ka paratha and lauki pitha (rice based flatbread flavoured with bottle gourd), Mischi ka Saag (a kind of spinach), pani kakharu (water gourd) halua and muga kakara (moong dal cakes) and mansa pitha (Chicken and rice flatbread cooked between sal leaves), bamboo shoot pickle and cakes made of Mahul flower are some of the ethnic foods they have selected for their menus.

The main objective of organising the food festival was to encourage conservation and promotion of biodiversity and ethnic and tribal food. It also gave an opportunity to the local tribal women to showcase their traditional culinary skills.