Bihar Food

Bihar food or Bihar cuisine, as it can be said, has a long history that can be traced back to the cultures that flourished in this region or to the kingdoms that rose in this territory.

The main Bihar food is rice that forms the main course of food. Since the days of the Buddha the staple food of the people of Bihar has been rice. In fact, rice is consumed by all classes and stratas of the people; the only difference is that the rich consumes superior quality of rice than the poor or the mediocre.

It is said that rice was served to Huien Tsang at Nalanda. Even, Abul Fazal sings the praise of the rice as a staple Bihar food.

The main constituent of Bihar food are:

• bhat (rice)
• dal (lentil)
• tarkari (vegetables)
• achar (pickle)

Moreover, some of the sweets that form a vital part of Bihar food are:

• Pua (prepared from powdered rice, milk, sugar, ghee and honey)
• Pitta (rice cake)
• Khajjaka (preapred from flour and sugar)
• Palala or Tilkuta (sesame seeds)
• Lai (beaten rice and sugar)
• Peras (sweatmeat made from sugar and milk)

For the non-vegetarian people, Bihar food offers the meat of goat, pig, deer, peacock, etc. and fish. In fact, it was believed that offering of meat to the guests was a holy act which was equal to performing the dvadasah (the 12th day) sacrifice. Thus, in spite of being the genesis for Jainism and Buddhism which celebrates ahimsa, slaughter houses thrive in Bihar.

Some of the other famous Bihar food

• Litti
• Paratha
• Sattu
• Seekh kabab
• Sawai
• Kheer
• Keema
• Curries
• Khichdi
• Halwa

This was a short estimate of Bihar food.



Last Updated on 14 june 2013