Bhojpuri cuisine


Bhojpuri cuisine is a style of food preparation common among the Bhojpuri people of Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, and also the Terai region of Nepal. Bhojpuri foods are mostly mild and tend to be less hot in terms of spices used. The cuisine consists of both vegetable and non-vegetarian dishes.

Breads

Various kinds of breads are consumed in Bhojpuri cuisine. Roti or is prepared almost every day and eaten in all three meals. Millet breads are also cooked occasionally, depending upon the season.
Paraothhas are prepared for breakfast. Paraothhas are usually stuffed with vegetables,,, or. Sometimes, layered paranthas with spices like are also prepared.
Occasionally, deep-fried breads like puri, dalpuri, lichui,, and kachauri are also prepared. Puas are also commonly cooked in monsoon season or on religious occasions.
Special breads exclusive to the region include:
  • / – puffed wheat bread which is stuffed with and spices and then fried
  • – a hard, unleavened wheat bread which is eaten along with chokha. Comes in many different kinds. is a kind of litti which is stuffed with sattu and spices.
  • / / – dal-stuffed bread which is either steamed or fried. The dough can be made using wheat flour or rice flour or semolina.
  • / – a soft, thin and double-layered roti
  • – a thin batter spread over a skillet or tava like a dosa or
  • – these are fermented sweet fritters, usually made in bulk to be given to married daughters. Flour is mixed with jaggery and water, then left to ferment. After fermentation, the batter is beaten and balls of it are fried in ghee.
  • – -flavoured bread
  • Dhuska – made by frying a batter of rice and lentil flour and served with aloo ghugni / chhole and eaten for breakfast
  • – considered a dessert or a biscuit-like snack, usually prepared during
On special occasions, breads like, stuffed naan, and rumali roti are also prepared.

Rice dishes

Rice is one of the staple foods of the Bhojpur region. Plain-boiled rice is eaten almost every day with dal, bean gravies, and curries.
At ceremonies or on special occasions, Polao is commonly prepared in the region, which is a aromatic rice dish cooked in oil or ghee. Polao, along with Kadahi gos or Kadahi murg, is a complete meal which is called Polao gos.
Other common rice dishes include:
  • – rice cooked with salt and spices. Vegetables, chhena, and dal badis are also added. Served with raita.
  • – rice cooked with jaggery or sugar, and dry fruit and saffron are added.
  • – partially cooked rice is mixed with beaten curd or yoghurt. Spices are added to enhance the taste and flavour.
  • – rice is cooked in milk with ghee, dry fruits, sugar, and spices like cardamom. This dish resembles kheer, with a thinner consistency.
  • – often consumed as a convalescent food, but also prepared on Makar Sankranti and in Magh month. is mostly consumed with pickle,, papadam, and yoghurt. is a variant of flavoured with lemon juice.

Lentils and pulses

Dal – lentils are mostly cooked into soups and consumed with rice and rotis. Various kinds of lentils are used in Bhojpuri cuisine, like,,,, and . However, is most commonly cooked. It is often flavoured with dry mango,, and jaggery.Dal pitthi / pithori – small wheat dumplings are made and cooked along with, giving it a thicker consistency. Dal pitthi is a combo in itself, like or.
  • – prepared from fermented. is soaked in water and left to ferment, after which it is husked and ground into a paste. Salt, spices, and pulp of are added. Small dumplings are made out of the batter and dried in the sun before frying in hot oil. are added in vegetable preparations or rice dishes.Phulvara – fritters made using flour powder. Known as locally. batter is prepared with spices like black pepper and asafoetida. Small dumplings from batter are fried in hot oil. A hole is made in their centre using a wooden stick. It is served with chutney or dipped in yoghurt.

Peas and beans

Ghughni – a curry made of soaked and boiled peas or chickpeas. Variations of the dish use different types of peas or chickpeas, such as black gram, green peas, or white peas.
  • – a spicy curry made by mincing peas or beans and sometimes even vegetables. Matar ka nimona is the most common variant. Nimonas are also made with and. It is a popular winter dish.

Vegetable preparations

Preparation methods

  • – chopped vegetables stir-fried in vegetable oil with spices and condiments.Rasiya / rassewali bhaaji or jhol – vegetables cooked with soup or gravy. For example, or. Sometimes peas or pieces are added to make aloo matar jhol or aloo chhena jhol.Bhariya / kalauji – vegetables like,,,, or capsicum are stuffed with a special spice-mix and then cooked.
  • – vegetables like aubergines, tomatoes, and tubers are charred or barbecued and then mashed. They are then cooked with spices. Different variations of chokha include baingan chokha, aloo chokha and tamatar chokha.'' Aloo chokha is stuffed in flatbreads like paranthas to make aloo paranthas''.

Common vegetable dishes

  • – a local variety of pumpkin called is cooked using aromatic spice blend called panch phodan. This dish is specially prepared for the festival Chhath Puja.Baigan adauri – aubergines are cooked in mustard oil with onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, greens, spices, and Bhojpuri, a special kind of urad dal badis. It is served with rotis, makuni, or paranthas.
  • – sponge gourd variety called is cooked with chickpeas. This dish is a balanced meal and consumed as a light meal for lunch or dinner.

Leafy vegetable preparations

  • – refers to leafy green vegetable preparations. Leaves of various plants are used for preparing include chaana, bathua, methi, palak, sarson, matar, karmi, and noni. Chaana ke saag is most commonly prepared. It is often mixed with leaves to enhance the flavour. mixed with is seasoned with. It is often prepared in marriages. Karmi ke saag is prepared on Rishi Panchmi festival. Sometimes, tubers and are also added to.Girvanchh / rikvanchh – leaves of are coated with a batter of gram flour and spices. Coated leaves are then folded and deep-fried in hot oil like fritters. They are commonly consumed in monsoon season in the months of Shraavan.

Yoghurt-based dishes

Kadhi badi – a yoghurt-based curry cooked with gram flour. Fritters called are added to it. It is eaten with rice.
  • – yoghurt is mixed with flattened rice and eaten with jaggery or fruits. It is specially prepared for Makar Sankranti festival or as breakfast option.Dahi phulvari – lentil flour fritters called are prepared and soaked in flavoured yoghurt. It is specially cooked during marriages and Pitru Paksha.Dahi phulki – miniature crisp puris / phulkis soaked in flavoured yoghurt and stuffed with mashed potatoes or chickpeas.Raita – these are prepared using adding crushed or minced vegetable to flavoured yoghurt. Vegetables used to make raita include lauki, kakkdi, onion, and. Often boondis are also added to make boondi raita. Sometimes sweet raita is also prepared using bananas.

Staple diet

Wheat and rice are the staple cereal. Maize, barley, and pearl millet are also often consumed in Bhojpuri cuisine.
Lentils, beans, green vegetables, leafy vegetables, paneer, fish, and meat are major constituents of the average diet. Mutton, lamb and chicken are eaten; beef and pork are avoided.

Breakfast

A heavy breakfast or a brunch is traditionally called while a light breakfast is called. Breakfast in the region is bread-based and includes a variety made up of whole wheat or refined wheat flour such as roti, puri, parathas, especially sattu paranthas, chhena paranthas, and vegetable-stuffed parathas. These are served with saag-bhaaji, dahi, or raita. Breakfast is often accompanied with yoghurt-based drinks like mattha, chhachh, or banarasi lassi.
– this is a sattu-stuffed wheat bread somewhat between kachori and litti. Typically eaten for brunch.
– a fried bread made from fermented batter of rice and lentils. It is accompanied with chickpea-based dish like or.
or / – another typical breakfast of Bhojpur region. This dish is prepared on a big makeshift stove locally called a. There is also a Bhojpuri song that mentions this dish:
or matar ka bhuja – a popular winter breakfast in Bhojpur region and is prepared by frying and separately and then mixed.
with – flattened rice eaten with thick yoghurt. tops the dish. It is specifically prepared on Makar Sankranti.
On special occasions lapsi-puri, kheer/sevai-puri, pua-dahi, or chhola-puri are commonly served as breakfast. A more common breakfast served as street food includes puri bhaaji, chana, kachori, and jalebi.

Lunch

Lunch is rice-based and includes dal, sabzi korma, chokha, chutney, bhujia, pickles, and maybe roti instead of rice. On special occasions, several rice dishes like pulao or biryani are served.

Snacks

Generally served with tea in the evening. Most snacks are deep fried and salted. A common substitute is a handful and generous amount of dry fruits like kishmish, badam, khajur / chohara, zameeni badam / chinia badam, akharot, chillgooza, kaju, pista, and anjeer soaked in milk.

Dinner

Dinner is also roti-based and is eaten with different vegetable preparations, such as:
  • – stir-fried vegetables sauteed with spices and tubers. These are generally dry vegetable preparations, cooked without any gravy. Variations include parore aloo ki bhujia, bhindi aloo ki bhujiya, karele aloo ki bhujiya, kundru ki bhujiya, and chathail / kantola ki bhujiya.Rasili bhaaji – wet vegetable preparations which include some gravy or soup. Examples include aloo gobhi ki rasili bhaaji, kathal ki rasili bhaaji, and aloo parwal ki rasili bhaaji.
Sometimes, roti is broken into a bowl of hot milk and then eaten; this is called doodh-roti. Sometimes, litti is grilled over charcoal or is baked in a clay oven and then eaten with chokha or murga. Dinner may change at special occasions and can be replaced by meat dishes like korma, kebab, or kofta and is served with tandoori roti or naan and salaad.

Satvik khana

There is a tradition of eating satvik khana in the holy city of Banaras. It is a lacto-vegetarian diet and excludes the uses of garlic and onion.

Non-vegetarianism

Since ancient times, peoples of this region have consumed non-vegetarian dishes along with vegetarian diets. Non-vegetarian dishes are seen as delicacies and are eaten with great relish. It has always been a custom to serve guests a non-vegetarian dish at least once during their stay.
After the arrival of British, poultry became popular and now has become one of the largest contributor in meat-yielding animals. Still, mutton is regarded as the superior meat over poultry and fish.
Fish have also been popular since ancient times due to a large number of big and small rivers flowing through the region. Freshwater fish and small freshwater prawns also form a good proportion in total meat consumption.
Some non-vegetarian dishes popular in Bhojpuri cuisine include:

Essentials

Spices and condiments

Spices are common but are used in moderation; sometimes dishes just contain two or three kinds of spices. This imparts a balanced aroma and taste without overloading the spices and making the dish very spicy and hot.
Panch phoran is a mix of five spices commonly used in Bhojpuri cuisine. The five spices are,, methi-dana,, and . This spice mix is the essence of the Bhojpuri dish panch phoran kohra, a sweet and spicy pumpkin-based curry flavoured using these five spices.
Other spices used in Bhojpuri cuisine include:

Herbs, oils, and nuts

  • Green coriander leaves
  • Mint leaves
  • Parsley
  • Holy basil
  • Dill
  • Ginger
  • Dried ginger
  • Garlic
  • Onion
  • Fenugreek leaves
  • Tamarind
  • Date
  • Lime
  • Lemon
  • Mustard oil
  • Olive oil
  • Ghee
  • Butter
  • Hydrolysed vegetable oil
  • Almond
  • Peanut
  • Walnut
  • Cashew
  • Dried fig
  • Date
  • Dried apricot
  • Dried plum
  • Pistachios
  • Raisin
  • Black raisin

Tools and techniques

Common vegetables

Festival foods

Regional festivals are celebrated by preparing particular dishes to be shared with all communities irrespective of religion or caste.

Khichdi/Sekraat

Also called Makar Sankranti or Tilkut Sankranti, it is the first festival of the year. On this day, at morning, people eat til ke laddu, tilwa, tilkut, and laai. At lunchtime, the combo of chura, dahi, and gud is eaten. In the evening, special khichdi is served along with melted ghee, pickles, papar, chokha, chutney, and dahi.

Vasant Panchmi

This festival celebrates the last day of the winter season and welcomes the spring season. On this day, lapsi is made of semolina and is eaten with puri.

Holi/Hori/Paguwa

Holi is one of the largest festivals of the Bhojpuri region. On this day, meat dishes and intoxicating drinks and sweets are the main attraction. In large families, a bakra or khasi is bought a few days before the festival and is slaughtered on the day of festival. The backstrap and shoulder parts are cut into small pieces and marinated in garlic, onion, and few spices and then skewered over charcoal to make bihari seekh kebab. Liver is cut into small pieces and is pan fried with a little salt and pepper. This is a delicacy for children. The remainder of the meat is cooked as korma and eaten with pua. Meat dishes are eaten all day and shared with neighbours and relatives. In addition, a very sweet halwa made of dry fruits, condensed milk, and bhang is prepared.
In the evenings, people enjoy pakora, gulab jamun, chhole, dahi-baras, and kadhi-bari served with boiled rice.

Shivraatri

On this day, people who were fasting eat phalahar.

Ramnavami

Another major festival of the region. A night before this festival, women cook kheer, puri, dal-puri, and gulgula. After worshipping the next morning, these are eaten as offerings throughout the whole day.

Sattuani / Sattua Sankranti

This festival falls on Mesh Sankranti. A is prepared on this day, which includes foods with cooling properties like sattu ka panna, aam ka tikora, with roasted powder and rock salt, and alsi ki chutney. A cup of also accompanies the.

Janmashtami

This occasion is linked with special laapsi of singhara and khas-khas.

Hartalika Teej

A day before the festival, women dedicate their whole day in preparing perukia. On the day of the festival, they offer this dessert and fruits to the god and after worshiping, it is eaten as an offering. It can be eaten for several days as it does not require preservation or refrigeration.

Navami / Navraatar and Dassahara

Satvik khana is eaten on all the nine days of Puja. On the tenth day, special dishes like puri, kachori, dum-aloo, chhole, jalebi pua, bari-kadhi, and dahi-bara are cooked. The evening after "Ravan-Dahan", there is a tradition of eating meat.

Diwali

Diwali is one of the largest festivals of the region and people enjoy eating numerous kinds of sweets and savouries, including gujia, anarsa, and ladoo. One sweet always associated with Diwali is cheeni ke khilone.

Godhan

There is a tradition of preparing Pitha on the occasion of Godhan in Bhojpuri region. It is prepared with soaked and then ground rice and pulses.

Chhath Puja

This is the largest festival of the region. It is celebrated for four consecutive days. On first day, after the holy bath in river, lauka-bhaat and chana ke dal is eaten. On second day, people dip in holy Ganges and take the water home to cook rasiyaao and roti, which is eaten as Prasad at night. The next day, thekua, kasar, belgrami, and poori are prepared by the women who are fasting. After both the "Arghyas", on the fourth day, these sweets along with several fruits and dry fruits are served as Prasad and eaten for several days.

Dishes

Some dishes popular in Bhojpuri cuisine include:
  • Channa and chhole – chickpeas cooked in spicy gravy
  • Rajma – red kidney beans cooked in mildly spicy and creamy gravy
  • Lobiya – black eyed bean cooked in lightly spicy gravy
  • Dal makhani
  • Dal maharani
  • Dum aloo – potatoes cooked in spicy gravy with Benarasi Dum technique
  • Pitha
  • Urad ka daal
  • Chokha – roasted tomatoes, roasted aubergine, roasted potatoes, roasted brinjals mixed with garlic chilli and raw mustard oil
  • Raita – yoghurt dips
  • Kofta – meat, vegetable, or paneer balls cooked in spicy gravy
  • Maakuni – paratha stuffed with cooked potatoes or yellow/green peas or sattu
  • Aloo mutter
  • Kadhi-bari – fried chickpea flour dumplings cooked in spicy yoghurt
  • Shami kebab
  • Bihari kebab – pieces of meat marinated in onion, garlic, and salt then skewered in seekh and then grilled over charcoal
  • Gulab jamun
  • Pua – sweetened wheat flour batter with nuts and raisins poured in a karahi of hot oil and fried
  • Petha – a sweet white flavoured candy made up of ash gourd
  • Murabba – pickled fruits
  • Mardua and thekua – fried biscuits of wheat flour flavoured with aniseed
  • Anarsa
  • Dalpoori – poori stuffed with boiled and mashed dal
  • Litti chokha – bati stuffed with sattu
  • Nimona – made of green peas
  • Ghugni – pan fried and seasoned green peas or sprouted black gram
  • Dahi chooda – curd and chooda
  • Daal pithouri – wheat flour stiffly kneaded, rolled thick, and cut into different shapes, though a flower shape is common. It is then cooked with dal and seasoned with salt and pepper.
  • Gojha – stuffed with daal and cooked in steam
  • Gujhiya
  • Mal Pua
  • Padukiya
  • Laktho
  • Bharwa
  • Nimki
  • Kachauri
  • Sev
  • Dalmot
  • Chana ke saag
  • Sarson ke saag
  • Bathua ke saag
  • Palak saag
  • ''Khesari ke saag''

Desserts

Drinks

  • Banarasi lassi – a Varanasi variation of lassi. The curd for banarasi lassi is made with reduced milk, which gives it a creamy and thick texture. It is then sweetened, churned, and served with rabdi in earthen pots called kulhads.
  • – a mango-based drink prepared during summer. Raw mango is first charred or barbecued in embers, then peeled and pitted. The mango pulp is then flavoured using cumin powder, rock salt, mint, and jaggery, then mixed with chilled water to make a drink.
  • – a sweet and cold milk-based drink prepared with a mixture of almonds, fennel seeds, watermelon kernels, rose petals, pepper, poppy seeds, cardamom, saffron, milk, and sugar. It can be prepared in many variations. It is usually prepared for Maha Shivaratri and Holi festivals.
  • Kachras / ookh ke ras – a sugarcane juice flavoured with ginger, mint, lemon. It is commonly drunk in bright afternoon period during winters. Sometimes it is mixed with citrus juice to reduce sweetness.
  • Sattu ke ghor – a drink prepared with sattu and served chilled. Sattu products are specially linked with Bhojpuri culinary tradition.
  • Falooda – a drink prepared from vermicelli, rose syrup, and sweet basil seeds.
  • Maathaa – a curd-based drink that can be served plain, seasoned with spices, or sweetened.
  • Khas paanak
  • Hajmola Chah
  • Other drinks like milk, chah, coffee, nemu paani, and rose syrup are also common.

Snacks

  • – a spicy and crispy fried fritter made using besan, onions, green gram, and green peas. It is usually accompanied with tea or coffee.
  • Pakaudi – many varieties available
  • Tarua / bajka – sliced vegetables like potatoes, plantain,, brinjal,, and are coated with a batter of besan,, or rice flour to make crunchy fritters.
  • Banarasi Chhena Dahi Vada—Crumbled Chhena is mixed with spices & some binding agent to prepare Chhena Vadas. These Chhena Vadas are then added to flavoured yogurt. Chhena Dahi Vada is a popular Phalaahari dish prepared in Banarasi households during Navratri festival.
  • Pholourie
  • Baingani
  • Kachori
  • Saheena
  • Bara
  • Chaat
  • Aloo tikki
  • Phuchka
  • Singhada
  • Tamatar Chaat
  • Samosa Chaat
  • Nimki
  • Ghugni
  • Bhoonja
  • Thekua
  • Tikri
  • ''Mathri''

Dips

Dips like raita and chutney are important part of Bhojpuri cuisine. Dips are served as a side dish to enhance the taste of a main dish.

Raita

Raitas are prepared by mixing thick dahi with several vegetable, herbs, and seasonings.
  • Lauki raita – bottle gourd raita
  • Kheera-gajar raita – cucumber-carrot raita
  • Pudina raita – mint raita
  • Bundi raita – bundi are rain drop size fried balls of chickpea flour batter
  • Sarson raita – mustard raita
  • Zeera raita – roasted cumin raita

Chutney

  • Dhaniya ke chutney – coriander leaves along with green chillies, garlic, salt, and a little lemon juice are ground to a thick, liquid paste.
  • Tamatar ke chutney – This chutney is either sweet or salted. The salted one is prepared by mixing roasted tomatoes, chopped onion, garlic, green chilli, green coriander, and salt. The sweet chutney has same procedure as with khajur and imli chutney.
  • Podina ke chutney – mint leaves along with raw mango, green chillies, sugar and salt are ground to same consistency like dhaniye ka chutney.
  • Khajur ke chutney – dates are boiled or soaked overnight and mashed, then mixed with jaggery and cooked and tempered with a few spices.
  • Imli ke chutney – tamarinds are boiled or soaked overnight and then skinned, deseeded, and mashed, then mixed with jaggery and cooked and tempered with a few spices.
  • Dry fruit chutney – a chutney made of raisins with the additions of other nuts and dry fruits.