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| Ghugni & Dusaka ~Bihari Cuisine |
Today on day 4 we are at Bihar ...
Bihar is a north Indian state. The Bihar plain is divided into two parts by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east.
According to
Wikipedia
The name Bihar is
derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word,
Vihara (Devanagari: विहार),
which means "abode". It could also mean College as there was a town
close to Bodh Gaya called Bihar Sharif which was destroyed in the medieval
period.
In A typical
Hindu Brahmin household you will hear conch shell being blown at
dawn. Not surprising that in rural Bihar, religion is the main component of
popular culture. Shrines are located everywhere foot of trees, roadsides, and
the dashboard of a dilapidated taxi to the plush office of a top executive,
holy symbols or idols have their place.
There are many
variations on the festivals too. While
some are celebrated all over the state, others are observed only in certain
areas. As Bihar is diverse so festivals take place round the year. Many of
these are officially recognised so are proclaimed as government holidays.
But what is Bihari
cuisine like?
Again according to Wikipedia,” Bihari cuisine is
eaten mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar
Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji, and 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.
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). 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.
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 kaa halwaa. As the seasons
change so does the Bihari thaali, every 3–4 months. The constants are rice,
roti, achar, chatni, dals and milk products with some
variation.
People use
both vegetable oil or mustard oil and jeera or panch foran (literally
"five seeds", namely saunf or fennel, rai or mustard, methi or
fenugreek, ajwain or caraway seeds and
mangraeel (Kalaunji) or onion seeds for
"chhounkna"/"Tadka"(tempering) of some vegetables. There is
a lot of light frying, called bhoonjnaa, in Bihari food.
One of the most
remarkable things about this cuisine is "smoked food". It refers to
using smoked red chilli 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.”
So why did I choose Ghugni & Dusaka? It so happened that
