Cuisine of Bihar

Introduction

Predominantly, the food of Bihar is vegetarian. However, unlike Gujarat or some communities of south, non-vegetarian is food has been quite acceptable even in traditional homes of Bihar. Some sects of Brahmins like the Maithil Brahmins have traditionally eaten some varieties of fish. Mutton or Goat meat is even used as Prasad in some type of pujas, like devi puja. Oddly, many Kayastha families in Bihar, who are generally considered great lovers of non-vegetarian food, are vegetarian in Bihar.

Traditional Bihar society did not quite eat eggs and chicken, though other types of birds and fowls were highly acceptable. However, such distinctions are no longer current.

Staple Food

As stated earlier, much of the food consumed by people in Bihar is vegetarian. The staple food is “bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar”, prepared basically from rice, lentils, wheat flour, vegetables, and pickle. Traditionally, mustard oil has been the popular cooking medium. “Kichdi”, the broth of rice and lentils, seasoned with spices, and served with several accompanying items like curd, chutney, pickles, papads, ghee (clarified butter) and chokha (boiled mashed potatoes, seasoned with finely cut onions, green chilies) constitutes the lunch for most people of Bihar on Saturdays.

Other dishes which are predominantly used in bihar is Sattu(flour of fried grams). There are many other dishes which is made with sattu like litti,Sattu ki Roti etc. In rural areas of bihar, doughed sattu is being consumed with some salt and pickels.

Sweet Delicacies

There is large variety of sweet delicacies. Unlike the Bengali sweets which are soaked in syrup of sugar and are therefore wet, sweets of Bihar are mostly dry. Some of them are Laktho, Khurma, Anarasa, Khaja, Motichoor ka Ladoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Parwal ka Mithai, Khubi ka Lai, Belgrami, Tilkut, Thekua and Chena Murki.

Some of them owe their origin to towns in the vicinity of Patna: Khaja from Silao Nalanda, Ladoo from Maner, Kala Jamun from Vikram, Khubi ka Lai from Bakhtiarpur, Tilkut and Kesaria Peda from Gaya and Chena Murki from Koelwar.

Descendants of the original family members of the cooks, called halwais in the local language, have migrated to urban Patna and authentic sweet delicacies are now available in the city itself.

Other Traditional snacks and savouries

There are several other traditional snacks and savouries:
Pua, prepared from a mixture of powdered rice, milk, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and honey and its variant Malpua
Pittha, steam cooked, mixture of powdered rice
Chiwra, beaten rice, served with a coat of creamy curd and sugar or jaggery
Makhana (a kind of water fruit) is prepared from lotus seeds and is taken puffed or as kheer, prepared with milk and sugar
Sattu, powdered baked gram, is a high energy giving food. It is taken mixed with water or with milk. Sometimes, sattu mixed with spices are used to prepare stuffed ‘chapattis’, locally called as ‘makuni roti’
Litti/Choka, a fast food item that can be prepared with minimum of utensils by people who away on tour. It is prepared with Sattu and Wheat flour and taken with mashed potato and brinjals.
Dhuska, a deep fried item prepared from a mixture of powdered rice and ghee but is salted

Non Vegetarian Food

The distinctive Bihari flavor of the non-vegetarian cooking finds mention in the memoirs of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who found it quite tasteful. Forms of Kebabs, Mutton preparations and dishes prepared from the various fowls and birds have a very distinctive flavor. Roll Bihari is another typical Bihari non vegetarian dish.

Some muslim families moved from Bihar to Karachi in Pakistan during partition in 1947, and then on to the US, taking with them their culture and cuisine. They sell various vegetarian and non vegetarian rolls and are rather popular by the generic name Roll Bihari in and around Lexington Avenue (South) in New York.