The Land of Bihar and its Wholesome Food

The state of Bihar is situated in the eastern region of the Indian mainland. This landlocked region is famous for its ancient traditions and heritage sites including Bodh Gaya, where Buddha attained enlightenment, the ancient Nalanda University, for the sweet and lilting Bhojpuri language, and much more. While Bihari cuisine has many distinctive dishes, unfortunately, they are not widely known in the rest of the country.

This is partly because Bihari cuisine is often subsumed in the larger North Indian culinary practices, disallowing specific study of the Bihari spread. Moreover, certain Bihari dishes like Litti Chokha have received exceptional focus, ultimately leading to the outshining of other equally unique recipes of the state.

Geography, Staples and Unique Features

Bihari cuisine, however, is very varied and wholesome. Geographically, Bihar lies on the Indo-Gangetic plain which makes it suitable for intensive agriculture. It is one of the major producers of rice in India. More than 60 varieties of rice are cultivated here. It is both the commercial and the staple crop, and daal-bhaat (daal and rice) is the most commonly eaten food in Bihar.

Speaking of distinctive features, Bihari culinary techniques involve a great deal of deep-frying, roasting (bhoonna) and steaming. Mustard oil is the preferred cooking base, though vegetable oils are also used. One of the most distinctive cooking techniques of Biharis is the use of panch-phoran or an amalgamation of five spices which includes cumin seeds (zeera), fenugreek seeds (methi), nigella seeds (mangrael/kalonji), fennel (saunf) and carom seeds (ajwain). Another common feature is tempering (chounk) the food with smoked red chilli for enhanced flavour and aroma.

The Bihari Platter: Signature Dishes

Since the Bihari platter is so varied and offers a lot of options, different dishes are consumed for different meals throughout the day. Sattu is usually eaten for breakfast. This flour, made by grinding chickpeas, is one of the quintessential food items of Bihar. In most Bihari households, during summer mornings, sattu is served mixed in water, topped with chopped onion and green chillies, and seasoned with salt. This acts as a high-energy drink and is considered a full breakfast meal. It acts as an effective coolant to beat the summer heat.

Traditionally, this high-protein flour is tied up in cloth (potli) and carried by the daily wage workers and farmers. During mealtime, they just knead it into a dough with salt, green chillies and onion, make rough balls and consume it. Another way to consume it is to knead sattu with sugar and ghee. This variant is called ghenvada.

Other commonly eaten preparations for breakfast include ghugni, a savoury mixture of soaked Bengal gram (chana) cooked in onion and spices, with chooda or beaten rice flakes. In winters, chana is replaced with peas, mixed with chooda and enjoyed as matar ghugni. People also eat puri for breakfast which is fried and salted wheat flour bread. Most of the time, puri is stuffed with spicy sattu mix or dal to get lip-smacking sattu ki puri or dal puri respectively.

Lunch and Dinner in Bihar is usually daal, bhaat, roti which serves as the base, coupled with a range of sabzi which includes parwal ki sabzi, nenua ki sabzi, kaddu ki sabzi etc. People in Bihar eat a lot of spicy fried vegetables which are called bhujia. Aaloo (potato) and bhindi (okra) ki bhujia are popular dishes.

Lunch and dinner in Bihar are also rarely served without accessories that enhance the overall eating experience. These include papad, coriander (dhaniya) chutney, chokha, raita, pickles etc.

Snacks

Bihar also flaunts a distinguished spread of evening snacks. One can always find groups of people enjoying bhunja with tea in the evening, indulging in passionate debates and discussions in the nooks and corners of the state. Bhunjas are dried and fried grains, seasoned with salt, lemon and spices. There are a range of bhunjas like chooda ka bhunja (fried beaten rice flakes with chopped onions and green chillies), chana ka bhunja (similar preparation with Bengal gram) and jhaal murhi (puffed rice with onions, green chillies, peanuts and mustard oil seasoned with salt).

Non-vegetarian Fare

Bihar’s culinary culture is predominantly vegetarian. This is partly because Bihar is one of the largest vegetable-producing states in India and also partly due to its socio-religious history. However, there is a substantial population of non-vegetarian lovers in Bihar too. The state’s acquaintance with non-vegetarian dishes has most likely been due to the influence of the Muslim rulers in Bihar. It started with the Afghan ruler Bakhtiyar Khalji who led expeditions in the eastern region and established his control over both Bengal and Bihar. This venture subsequently paved the way for the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughals in this region.

The Muslims brought with them their own culinary culture which was predominantly non-vegetarian in nature. In contemporary times, one of the most celebrated meat dishes is Bihari Kabab in which boneless lamb is sliced into long strips, marinated with masala and raw papaya paste, and roasted over coal by applying ghee at sustained intervals. Other dishes include shami kabab, nargisi kofte, pulao gosht etc. The one-pot mutton curry called Champaran meat or Ahuna meat shines as a regional delicacy from the state of Bihar. To prepare this dish, the meat is marinated with desi ghee and mustard oil along with garlic, onions, ginger and select spices. An entire garlic bulb added to the meat gives a unique twist to the flavour. The marinated meat is placed in an earthen pot and the mouth of the vessel is sealed with kneaded flour. It usually takes 2-8 hours of cooking to bring this mouth-watering delicacy to perfection.

Although the Brahmins of the region are generally strictly vegetarian, the Brahmins of Mithilanchal (Northern-central Bihar, parts of Jharkhand and Nepal) don’t subscribe to this. Amongst non-vegetarian items, Maithilis predominantly patronize fish. Biharis in general consume a lot of fish. This is primarily because of the wide availability of fish in this region as the Ganga and its tributaries, Son, Gandak, Ghaghara and Kosi rivers flow across Bihar. Rohu, Catla, Patiya, Mangur and Tengda are widely available varieties of fish. Bihar also shares its borders with Bengal and seems to have drawn significant inspiration from its fish-loving neighbor. In fact, fish preparation techniques are more or less similar in both these regions. It is primarily cooked in a mustard paste. Maach-bhaat, Machak-jhor are commonly eaten fish dishes. Biharis also love fried prawns or jhinga.

Sweet Delicacies

This region also boasts of a distinguished range of sweet delicacies. Milk and other dairy products are the base ingredients for a lot of these preparations. Generally, Biharis consume a lot of dairy products and its importance gets best reflected in a Maithili saying: “Aadi Ghee aur Ant Dahi, oyi Bhojan ke Bhojan kahi,” (a good meal is one which starts with ghee and ends with yogurt).

Unlike Bengal, Bihari sweets are mostly dry. Some of the popular ones include Balushahi, (shaped like doughnuts and made with a mixture of maida and ghee and coated in sugar) and Khaja (also made using ghee, maida and sugar but crispy in nature and used a lot in Bihari weddings). The best khaja is said to be found in Silao, a town near Rajgir. Tilkut is a delicacy made from sesame seeds (til), using jaggery or sugar. Tilkut of Gaya district is considered best in quality.

Thekua is another very famous confectionery that is eaten primarily during Chhath Puja, where it is made as an offering to the Gods. It is prepared from dough made of wheat flour, ghee, sugar or jaggery and later fried and enjoyed as a snack. Other delectable sweet dishes like doodh pitha, lai, peda, shakarpara etc. are also enjoyed by Biharis.

Iconic Dishes: Dal-Pitha and Litti Chokha

A discussion on Bihari cuisine is incomplete without the mention of two of its most prominent dishes, which always represent this region, Dal-Pitha and Litti Chokha. Dal-Pitha is a unique food made using rice flour, kneaded into a dough using ghee or oil, rolled flat and stuffed with jaggery (for the sweet Pitha) or chana dal mixture (for the savoury version). It is then steamed in a steaming container.

Litti and Chokha is a popular delicacy of Bihar. It is also consumed in Jharkhand, parts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Litti is a dough ball made up of wheat flour. It is stuffed with a mixture of sattu with spices, onions, ginger, garlic, lime juice, carom seeds and herbs. Sometimes, pickles are also mixed to add to the flavor. Traditionally, this dough ball was roasted over cow dung cakes, wood or coal and tossed with ghee. In recent times, however, people choose to fry it for the sake of convenience. Litti is eaten with chokha which is a blend of eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes mixed with spices. It is not cooked like a regular sabzi. The vegetables are first roasted, mashed and mixed with finely chopped onions and spices.

It’s believed that litti emerged in Magadha, which was an ancient kingdom in southern Bihar. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas or kingdoms which existed in ancient India from the 6th to the 4th century BCE. For a long time, litti and chokha was also associated with the peasants as it does not require expensive ingredients and the sattu in it especially has cooling properties which kept them active throughout the day.

It has been said that during the Revolt of 1857, this meal was preferred because- it could be easily baked with minimal ingredients, was filling in nature and could last up to three days. It’s said that Tantia Tope and Rani Lakshmi Bai made it their travel meal. With the coming of the Mughals, this dish underwent some changes. Litti began to be served with shorba (meat’s gravy) and paya (curry made up of hoof of goat or sheep with spices and herbs). In contemporary times, litti and chokha transcend class boundaries and is eaten by every stratum of Bihari society.