BIHARI CUISINE
The cuisine of Bihar for the Hindu upper and middle classes is predominantly vegetarian, although some of the Hindu classes do eat meat. The Muslims in Bihar however do generally eat meat as well as vegetables.
Islamic culture and food with Bihari flavor are also part of Bihar unique existence of mixed culture.
The staple food is bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar. It is prepared from rice, lentils, wheat flour, vegetables, and pickle. The traditional cooking medium is mustard oil. Khichdi, a broth of rice and lentils seasoned with spices and served with several accompanying items, constitutes lthe mid-day meal for most Hindu Biharis on Saturdays.
The favourite dish among Biharis is litti-chokha. Litti is made up of sattu and chokha is of smashed potato, tomato, and brinjal.
Chitba and Pitthow which are prepared basically from rice, are special foods of the Anga region. Tilba and Chewda of Katarni rice also are special preparations of Anga.
Kadhi bari is a popular favorite and consists of fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour) that are cooked in a spicy gravy of yogurt and besan. This dish goes very well over plain rice.
Bihar offers a large variety of sweet delicacies which, unlike those from Bengal, are mostly dry. These include Anarasa, Belgrami, Chena Murki, Motichoor ka Ladoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Khaja, Khurma, Khubi ka Lai, Laktho, Parwal ka Mithai, Pua & Mal Pua, Thekua, Murabba and Tilkut. Many of these originate in towns in the vicinity of Patna.
Several other traditional salted snacks and savouries popular in Bihar are Chiwra, Dhuska, Litti, Makhana and Sattu.
There are numerous Bihari meat dishes prepared with Chicken and Mutton. Diary products are consumed frequently throughout the year, with common foods including Yoghurt known as Dahi and Buttermilk known as Mattha, ghee, lassi and butter.
The staple food of Bihari food are the Bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar. Traditionally Mustard oil has been the main cooking medium. “Khichdi”, the broth of rice and lentils, seasoned with spices served with several accompaniments like curd, chutney, pickles, papads, ghee and chokha (boiled mashed potatoes & seasoned with chopped onions, green chillies) constitutes the lunch for most people of Bihar on Saturdays.
Sweet delicacies - Unlike Oriya and Bengali sweets which are soaked in syrups made of sugar and are therefore wet, sweets of Bihar are mostly dry. Some of them are Laktho, Khurma, Balushahi.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 Barh, Tilkut arid Kesaria Peda from Gaya .balushahi from Harnaut 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 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 is used to prepare stuffed "chapattis", locally called as "makuni roti"
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. Biharians are quite famous for their Behari Kebabs another typical Bihari non vegetarian dish. This dish was traditionally made from mutton and is eaten with Roti, Paratha (sort of pita) or boiled rice.
The Bihari culture and their cuisines can be seen quite distinctively in Karachi where they are in quite a large number Later on few of them immigrated to US and Canada, taking with them their culture and cuisine.
The cuisine of Bihar for the Hindu upper and middle classes is predominantly vegetarian, although some of the Hindu classes do eat meat. The Muslims in Bihar however do generally eat meat as well as vegetables.
Islamic culture and food with Bihari flavor are also part of Bihar unique existence of mixed culture.
The staple food is bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar. It is prepared from rice, lentils, wheat flour, vegetables, and pickle. The traditional cooking medium is mustard oil. Khichdi, a broth of rice and lentils seasoned with spices and served with several accompanying items, constitutes lthe mid-day meal for most Hindu Biharis on Saturdays.
The favourite dish among Biharis is litti-chokha. Litti is made up of sattu and chokha is of smashed potato, tomato, and brinjal.
Chitba and Pitthow which are prepared basically from rice, are special foods of the Anga region. Tilba and Chewda of Katarni rice also are special preparations of Anga.
Kadhi bari is a popular favorite and consists of fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour) that are cooked in a spicy gravy of yogurt and besan. This dish goes very well over plain rice.
Bihar offers a large variety of sweet delicacies which, unlike those from Bengal, are mostly dry. These include Anarasa, Belgrami, Chena Murki, Motichoor ka Ladoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Khaja, Khurma, Khubi ka Lai, Laktho, Parwal ka Mithai, Pua & Mal Pua, Thekua, Murabba and Tilkut. Many of these originate in towns in the vicinity of Patna.
Several other traditional salted snacks and savouries popular in Bihar are Chiwra, Dhuska, Litti, Makhana and Sattu.
There are numerous Bihari meat dishes prepared with Chicken and Mutton. Diary products are consumed frequently throughout the year, with common foods including Yoghurt known as Dahi and Buttermilk known as Mattha, ghee, lassi and butter.
The staple food of Bihari food are the Bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar. Traditionally Mustard oil has been the main cooking medium. “Khichdi”, the broth of rice and lentils, seasoned with spices served with several accompaniments like curd, chutney, pickles, papads, ghee and chokha (boiled mashed potatoes & seasoned with chopped onions, green chillies) constitutes the lunch for most people of Bihar on Saturdays.
Sweet delicacies - Unlike Oriya and Bengali sweets which are soaked in syrups made of sugar and are therefore wet, sweets of Bihar are mostly dry. Some of them are Laktho, Khurma, Balushahi.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 Barh, Tilkut arid Kesaria Peda from Gaya .balushahi from Harnaut 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 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 is used to prepare stuffed "chapattis", locally called as "makuni roti"
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. Biharians are quite famous for their Behari Kebabs another typical Bihari non vegetarian dish. This dish was traditionally made from mutton and is eaten with Roti, Paratha (sort of pita) or boiled rice.
The Bihari culture and their cuisines can be seen quite distinctively in Karachi where they are in quite a large number Later on few of them immigrated to US and Canada, taking with them their culture and cuisine.
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