The birthplace of Sikh's tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh...the land where Buddha and Mahavira attained enlightenment, and gave the message of peace to the world....the city Vaishali, where world's first democratically elected government took oath of office...and the residential Nalanda University of ancient learning...between 5th and 12th century ...that attracted 10000 students and 2000 teachers...at a time, from all over the world ...are all a part of my state Bihar.
This state with a glorious past also boasts of a rich cuisine.that has enthralled dynasties across ages. This cuisine has seen the Mauryas, the Guptas, the Turks, the Afghans, the Mughals, the Persians, the Bengal Newabs, the Europeans, and has evolved taking the best that each one had to offer, at the same time maintaining its authenticity and splendour!
Bihari people are generally very simple at heart...forget the politicians...they rarely have allegiances! Bihari people excel in Technical, and Administrative fields all over the globe. The women wear sarees, generally... though some have also switched to salwar kameez, and the men now wear the western outfits , though traditionally they used to wear dhoti and kurta.
The bihari cuisine is an amalgamation of simplicity of style and variations in colour. The style being handed down to the new generation by the older one, and the colours being provided by the seasonal vegetables and fruits. Bihar sees all different seasons. Fruits and vegetables are abundantly grown, consumed and also exported from Bihar, Litchi being noteworthy.
As the seasons change so does the Bihari thaali, in every 3-4 months. The constants are rice, thin round chapaatis made over tava and flame (called phulka or simply roti in Bihar), daals ( with seasonings changing with the seasons !) and milk products.
Certain basics of this cuisine are: use of mustard oil(some have now replaced it by the new generation oils...), use of panchforan ( meaning five seeds, namely saunf, sarson, methi, ajwain and mangraila) for "chhonkna" of some vegetables. There is a lot of light frying, called "bhoonjnaa" in bihari food. The food is generally spicy.
Every week, Bawarchi will present some delicious Bihari recipes by Mohita Prasad
I am Mohita Prasad, done my MBA in Information Technology and Finance from Mumbai. I am happily married to Ravi, a Computer Engineer.
Cooking happens to be my way of expressing the creative side of my scorpion personality. I like to paint, sense gratifying and aromatic pictures with my food. Our Indian cuisine, with its breathtaking range of spices, the colorful array of vegetables, fruits and lentils, the serenity and whiteness of milk products and rice, are the primary colors for my paintings. A well-cooked meal for me is one that appetites the eyes, creates hunger, gratifies taste, and is well balanced in its content.