3. Introduction
• Bihari cuisine is eaten mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand,
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji,
some cities of Pakistan, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago as
these are they places where Bihari people are present.
• Bihari cuisine is predominantly vegetarian because traditional
Bihar society influenced by Buddhist and Hindu values of
non-violence did not eat eggs, chicken, fish and other animal
products.
• However there is also a tradition of meat-eating
and fish dishes are especially common due to the number of
rivers in Bihar such as the Sone, Gandak and the Ganges.
There are also numerous Bihari meat dishes
with chicken and mutton being the most common.
4. • Dairy products are consumed frequently throughout the
year, with common foods including yogurt known
as dahi and also buttermilk known as mattha,
ghee, lassi and butter.
• The cuisine of Bihar is similar to a great extent to North
Indian cuisine but has an influence from other East
Indian Cuisine (for example like Bengali cuisine, Mustard
oil is used in cooking). It is highly seasonal, with watery
foods such as watermelon and Sherbet made of pulp of
the wood-apple fruit being consumed mainly in the
summer months and dry foods, preparations made of
sesame seeds, poppy seeds in the winter months.
5. • A regular meal in Bihar consists of
minimum two types of vegetables,
with one of them being green leafy
vegetable.
• Most Biharis start their day with
Sattu drink which is a high energy
drink.
• They restrain themselves from non-
vegetarian food during “Shravan”
month.
6. • The Biharis offer part of their food to their
deity before starting the meal.
• In Bihar offering meet to the guest is
considered as a sacred task.
7. • Some dishes which Bihar is famous for,
include Sattu Paratha, which
are parathas stuffed with fried chickpea
flour, Chokha (spicy mashed
potatoes),Fish curry and Bihari Kebab,
Postaa-dana ka halwa.
9. • As the seasons change so does the Bihari
thali.
• The constants
are rice, roti, achar, chatni, dals and milk
products with some variation.
• People use both vegetable oil or mustard
oil
• Zeera or panchforan (literally "five
seeds", namely saunf, sarson, methi,
ajwain and mangraeel (Kalaunji) for
"chhounkna"/"Tadka"(tempering) of some
vegetables.
• There is a lot of light frying,
called bhoonjnaa, in Bihari food.
One of the most remarkable thing about this cuisine is "smoked
food". It refers to using smoked red chilly to infuse a strong aroma in
food. It is used in preparing "chokhaa", i.e. mashed
brinjals/potatoes/tomatoes, either single or combined. Smoked chilli
is also used in preparing kadam (a common fruit sweet sour in taste,
technical name Anthocephalus morindaefolia) chutney.
10. Health Benefits
Includes a variety of vegetables in the diet making
food healthy and nutritious.
Dals of various types, rich in protein are used in
most dishes.
Dairy products like milk and buttermilk along with
other seasonal beverages help to keep the body cool
during summers.
11. Traditional cuisine
• Kadhi Bari - fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour)
are cooked in a spicy gravy of yogurt and besan. It goes well
over plain rice.
• Khichdi - Mix of Rice, Dal and several Vegetables; steamed
together to give a distinctive taste of different ingredients
combined in one dish. It is often topped up with ghee.
12. • Ghugni - It is a preparation made of
grams soaked (either
lightly/overnight)in water and then
sauted in mustard oil .
• Pittha - It is something like momos.
It could be either salty or sweet. It is
either a semi circular/ball shaped
preparation made of crust made of
soft rice flour and filled with
preparations made of Channa
Dal lentil paste, or Poppy seeds
& Gur (Jaggey). and then steamed in
water/ milk (allowed to thicken).
13. • Choora - Beaten rice, served
with a coat of creamy curd
and sugar or jaggery. In
winters, this is mildly baked
and accompanied with a thick
spicy preparation made of
peas and onions.
• Sattu - Powdered baked
gram, a high energy giving
food usually mixed with water
or with milk. Sometimes, sattu
mixed with spices is used to
prepare stuffed 'chapattis',
locally called as 'makuni roti'.
14. • Dhuska - A deep fried item
prepared from a mixture of
powdered rice and ghee but is
salted.
• Litti - Powdered baked gram
is mixed with chopped onions,
green chillies, lemon juice,
coriander leaves. This mixture
is filled inside atta and either
barbecued over coal or deep
fried with oil. Best
accompanied with Ghee, Curd
and Chokha and baigan bharta.
18. Non-vegetarian cuisine
Forms of kebabs, mutton preparations and dishes prepared
from various fowl and birds have a distinctive
flavor. Biharis are quite famous for their Bihari Kebabs, a
typical Bihari non-vegetarian dish. This dish was traditionally
made from mutton and is eaten with roti, paratha or
boiled rice. Recently, in fast food restaurants, these Kebabs are
also sold as Bihari Kebab Rolls, which are essentially kebabs
wrapped up in a paratha.
19. Chicken tandoori
Shaahi Jhinga
Masaledaar
Jhor Waali
Machhli – gravy is
made in mustard
paste
Prawns- fried
with garlic paste,
turmeric and salt
Mutton BiryaniBihari Kebabs
Some Specific
Non-
Vegetarian
foods
Chicken curry
25. Sweets
• There is large variety of sweet delicacies.
• Sweets of Bihar are mostly dry.
• Khaja- This may be compared to patties,
with a difference that this is generally sweet,
sometimes found in a salty form and has no
fillings.
• Tilkut- This is made of sesame seed and is
available only in winters. A thick hard base of
sugar of the size of a tennis ball is rolled in
copious amount of sesame seed and then
hammered to roll out in round shape. The
more the seed, the softer, better and
amorphous it is.
• Malpua
26. Rabri/Basundi
Khajur
Thekua
Kheer - A special
form of kheer
called Rasia is
prepared during
the Chhath festival
Laktho-
besan, gur &
ghee
Churma
Balushahi
SWEETS
27. Parwal ki Mithai - It is made of pointed
gourd (botanical name-Trichosanthes
dioica). The fruit is scrapped to
remove the skin,sliced longitudinally,
deseeded and boiled to make it tender
and then filled with Khoyya- a
preparation made of condensed milk
and dry fruits. It is then imbibed with
warm sugar syrup. Silver foil may be
added after it cools off.
Khurma - found
only in
southwest bihar.
Anarasa
SWEETS
29. Pirikya - Made
from flour and
khoya etc.
Postaa-dana kaa Halwa -a sweet
pudding made of poppy seeds soaked
overnight in water and then ground to
a paste and sauted in ghee(clarified
butter)in a wok. This is generally
prepared in winter season.
Khurchan - This made of layers
of scrapped condensed milk.
Available in Patna city (old town).
SWEETS
