CUISINE OF BIHAR

Here is my RCI-Bihar entry which is hosted by Sangeeta of "Ghar ka khana" this month. Thanks for hosting Sangeeta!:)

About the state of Bihar:


Picture of Bodhgaya of Bihar, a place where Buddha had achieved enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhisattva tree. Photo from here.
The name Bihar derived from Sanskrit word "Vihar" meaning abode, is a land of monasteries. Called as "Magadh" in ancient times, Bihar boasts of many Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Muslim and Sikh shrines.The state capital of Bihar is Patna and the language is Hindi with Bihari dialect.More about Bihar is here.
"The land of the enlightened Buddha, Bihar boasts of a rich culinary heritage that has been passed down through generations. The authentic cuisine of Bihar reflects the styles of the Mauryas, the Guptas, the Turks, the Afghans, the Mughals, the Persians, the Bengal Nawabs, and the Europeans. Bihari cuisine is known for its simplicity and elegance.The staple diet of Bihari people are rice, wheat chapatis, dals and milk products with the generous use of mustard oil and panch phoran." This Info is from here.


About Bihari dishes:
Bihar cuisine is one of the those which stumped again like state of Odiya! I just couldn't find any cookbooks exclusively devoted to Bihari cuisine although you do find Bihari Kababs, Litti recipes here and there in other cookbooks. Sattu, a yellow gram flour is used commonly in various dishes in Bihar. For some of the following delicious and authentic vegetarian Bihar recipes, I had to refer to these two websites making my own changes to simplify the recipes. They are here and here. Thanks to both sites!:)

Bihari Litti, Kothmir chutney and Achari Baingan Bharta:
Littis, made of plain flour crust stuffed with Sattu flour make a great snack with coriander chutney, and mashed grilled Eggplants, spiced with pickle juice. I baked these Littis but I think deep frying them gives the crust much better texture! Try it.

To make Litti:

For the Litti dough, you need:
1 1/2 cups Plain flour, 1/2 to 3/4 cup Yogurt, 1 tsp baking powder, salt. Mix and knead all these without using any water and using as much as yogurt you need to make a pliable dough. Make 6-8 balls.Cover and keep it aside. Make the filling.
For Sattu Filling:
1 cup Sattu (powdered yellow chana gram flour or chutney dal flour), ground 2 garlic, 1" fresh ginger, 2 green chillies or chilli pd, 2 tbsp minced cilantro, 1/2 tsp Nigella (black onion seeds), 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp Ajwain seeds, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tbsp Lemon pickle juice from the readymade jar and salt.
Mix all these, add just enough water to make a moist thick dough for filling.DO NOT make it soft! Make 6-8 balls.

How to make the Littis:
Preheat the oven or heat the oil to deep fry.
1. Dust each dough ball with dry flour lightly and press it out on your oiled left palm about 3" diameter in size with your right palm.
2. Put a ball of sattu filling in the center of the patty and close it from all sides and seal the edges.
3. When all the littis are stuffed, either bake in the oven till one side is brown spots come on the littis or you can deep fry them which will have a crisp outer layer.
4. Take them out, dip in ghee if baked and serve with cilantro chutney and Baigan ka bhurta (mashed and spiced egg-plant).

To make Kothmir Chutney:
Kothmir is a Hindi word for Cilantro or Coriander leaves. This spicy chutney is a great accompaniment for Littis.
1. Mix all these and grind; 2 cups chopped fresh Cilantro, 3-4 garlic, 2 green chillies, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt.
2. Take it out into a bowl and add 2 tbsp warm Mustard oil and mix with it to be authentic Bihari chutney or heat 2 tbsp oil and add 2 tsp mustard seeds until they splutter. Add it to chutney and mix.

Achari Baingan Bhartha:
Achari means pickled in Hindi. Baingan Bhartha is grilled mashed spicy Eggplants. Here in this recipe, it is spiced with a tbsp of juice of any jar of pickle which give a wonderful taste!
1. Wash, wipe, brush some oil on top and bake 1 large purple Eggplant in 350F oven for 50 mins until it cooks inside out.
2. Take out, hold it under the cold water until the skin shrivels. Peel the skin and scoop the soft pulp with a spoon into a bowl.
3. Discard the skin and any seeds inside. Mash the pulp with a fork until coarse and let it cool.
4. When cooled, add 1 onion minced, ground 2 garlic and 1" ginger, 4 tbsp minced cilantro, salt, 1 tbsp lemon or mango pickle juice from the pickle jar, 1 tbsp Mustard oil and mix well.
Alternately; if you don't like raw taste of ginger-garlic paste in Bharta, heat 1 tbsp oil and add 2 tsp mustard seeds, then ginger-garlic paste, saute quickly and add to the Bharta along with other spices shown above.

A Bihari Thali; Kichdi with it's Chaar yaars and Kesar Kheer!!
Chaar Yaar means "four friends". Bihari Kichdi is usually served with it's four friends ie Raita, Papad, ghee and Pickle!! I loved this Kichdi, which almost tastes like our own Bisibele Bhath but cooked with Moong dal and Masoor dal. YUM!:)


To make Kichdi:

Season first:
Heat 4 tbsp ghee or butter in pressure pan , add 1 dry red chilly, 2 Bay leaves, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp Ginger -Garlic paste, Fry or a minute.
Then add:
1/2 cup Masoor dal, 1/2 cup Moong dal, fry until slightly golden. Then add 1 cup Basmati or long grain rice, stir to mix. Add about 3 cups of water, 1 cup cubed mixed vegetables ( I used Green Peas and Cauliflower), salt and cook on a gentle heat for 3 mins or until they are cooked.
While it's cooking....Roast the whole spices lightly and powder with others:
Seeds from 1 Cardamom, 3 cloves, 1 Black Cardamom seeded, 1" Cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp chilli pd, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 2 tsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp turmeric.
And then....
When the pressure releases, open and add the ground powder. Heat thru' once more and adjust the spices. serve with Chaar yaars!:))

Palak Raita:
This yogurt relish is mixed with cooked Spinach gives the Raita a great texture and taste as well to make Kichidi even more tasty and nutritious.




1. Take 1 frozen bag of Spinach, thawed and squeeze out the water or chop about 2 cups o fresh Spinach. Cook these, drain as much water as possible, cool and chop it finely.
2. Beat 2 cups o plain Yogurt, add black salt (Kala namak) or plain salt, 1 tsp Cumin seeds powder, 1/4 tsp Prpper powder, 1-2 minced green chillies.
3. Add cooled Spinach and chill for 1/2 an hr before serving.



Saffrony Kheer:
Kheer or pudding is cooked with Chawal/rice, Saffron, sugar and flavored with Cardamom, raisins and Cahews rounds up a beautiful meal! Enjoy!:)



To make Kheer: 1. Take 1/2 cup Basmati or any rice - 1/2 cup, wash and drain. In a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp Butter, rice, 3 cups of full cream milk, 1/2 cup sugar, few strands of Saffron and 1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds powder. Cook all these on medium with frequent stirring until rice is soft and milk has thickened like thin porridge.
2. Heat 2 tsp ghee or butter, add 6 Cashew nuts, 10-15 Raisins, fry until golden and add to the rice Kheer, mix. Serve warm or chilled.




Bihari Kababs:
Bihari Kababs are usually made with Beef strips or Lamb strips depending on which community non-vegetarians people of Bihar belong to. Meat is marinated with very flavorful mix of spices overnight and grilled, served with lots of salad on the side.
Vegetarians, you can use the same masala on big chunks of Tofu or Paneer to make Kababs.

To grill Bihari Kababs: 1. Slice 2 Beef fillets (or Lamb fillets) into about 12 1/2" thick, about 4 or 5" long, 2" wide strips. Place them in a Zip-lock bag.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1 large onion sliced and fry until golden. Put in the blender along with 2 tsp oil, 1" ginger, 3 garlic, 2 tsp Fennel seeds, 1 black cardamom, 2 green cardamom both seeded, small piece of Mace, 2 cloves, 1" cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp peppercorn and salt blend all these into smooth paste with 2 tbsp lemon juice or yogurt.
3. Pour into the Zip-lock bag, lock and mix the meat and spice well. Keep it in the fridge to marinate for 4-6hrs or overnight.
4. Turn on the grill. Skewer the Kababs lengthwise and grill it about 10" away from grill turning frequently for about 15mins or so until you get brown spots on the Kababs. Do not let it burn.
5. Serve with yogurt sauce and salads.
Yogurt Sauce: Blend 1/2 cup plain yogurt, few strands of Cilantro,1 green chilly, 1 garlic, salt and pepper until well mixed and serve on the side.

That's about it for RCI-Bihar, loved all these dishes! Enjoy and see you all next week with what else but my Thanksgiving post!!:)