Purvaiya--- the aromatic breeze from Bihar
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Litti Chokha |
A long, long
time ago, there were jute mills in West Bengal. And, in those mills, the
labourers were the migrated communities from Bihar, the neighbouring state.
They brought a bit of their culture and a lot of their food in their own
‘promised land’. As they worked and lived in Bengal, they adopted the food
habits of their new settlement and adapted to its living as well. But they did
not forget the food of their motherland. They ate the simple meals at home and
spread the flavours around. The merge and the mix were somewhat inevitable.
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With the man of the moment, Maneesh Srivastava, and other pretty ladies at the festival |
This
simplistic deconstruction doesn’t really shed light on the plight of the jute
mills workers when gradually the mills shut down one by one but it does one
thing… point out how, with time, the food of the two cultures grew close. Yes,
the foods of Bihar and Bengal have much more similarities than one
might be aware of, but as I tucked into the Litti and Baingan ka chokha at the
Bihari Food Festival called Purvaiya in Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar two days ago, I
realised how the aubergine mash was reminiscent of the Begun Pora we have
regularly when the winter breeze starts blowing.
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Chana Dal Pitha |
Here’s how. We
buy big fat bringals from the market and dry roast them. Then we finely chop
onions, ginger, green chillies and coriander leaves. After peeling the
bringals, we mash the pulp with mustard oil and add the other condiments. Then
we have it with warm home-made rotis. The Bihari bringal mash, or chokha is
hardly different. Maybe it does have diced onions at times. As Maneesh
Srivastav, the foodie who conceptualised the food festival with Chef Sanjay Mishra at the hotel to give us a taste of the food from his homeland, says,
“Litti Chokha is a typical rainy evening kind of dinner at our homes in Bihar.
And it’s a meal in itself. Sometimes we make the mash with potatoes also. We
might have a mushy diced tomato chokha with it. Sometimes Motihari mutton
curry. It’s simple.” (The Motihari mutton we had at the festival was deadly.
Succulent mutton in a dry gravy of onions, garlic and black pepper amongst
other spices, one will find it difficult to stop at one piece).
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Motihari mutton curry |
For the
uninitiated, litti are little mounds
of roasted wheat flour sold with a pulpy mash on thelas or stalls on the roadside (Kolkata and Delhi have them in
abundance). Break open the litti to find a filling of spiced sattu. Sattu is a predominant feature
amongst Biharis because it leads to one feeling full. So, the powder is made
into sherbets as well that is downed by tall glasses. My understanding is that
the workers ate littis and drank this sherbet before they went out to work
because it made them strong! Back in Kolkata my mother has it daily to keep her
irritable intestines from revolting.
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Laal Saag with kala chana |
So, while we
did enjoy a spicy and salty sattu sherbet to whet our appetites (Maneesh
concocted an interesting Sattu cocktail spiked with Old Monk), there is more to
Bihari food than this humble staple as we discovered with happiness at the
festival. Simple robust flavours and fresh spices ground on the seel batta that are rustled up with love
and care, this was food from Bihar’s kitchens. Where a mother cooks for the
family with much attention to details. I listened to all the stories that
Maneesh and Chef Sanjay narrated at the table, how in the mornings breakfasts
comprise thin crispy atta paranthas with aloo bhaji (the Bengali aloo bhaja is
thinner and crisp. The one served at the festival was thick and soft. But it
indeed was a great partner to the paranthas), that Bihari curries will never
have tomato in them, how for the festival his mother made thekuas just like the way the Biharis have for bhog during
religious ceremonies, and how no matter what, the food has to be cooked in
pungent mustard oil. That used to be the case in Bengali homes, too. Till the
Bangali bhodrolok’s tummy took a beating and he switched, in certain cases, to
the insipid vegetable oil.
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Kala Chana with chivda |
There was
too much food on the table. And you can try all of them for the whole of next
week (the festival ends on September 8) when the dishes will be part of the
buffet station and live kitchen. You might also discover latent similarities
between the Bengali and Bihari food like I did. For instance, their Chandrakala
is quite similar to our kheerer lobongolotika,
our khajas are the same and the daal pitha also resemble. We have our laal saag with onions (sometimes with garlic, too) while Biharis have theirs with kala chana thrown in. You might also learn
about the food from various regions of Bihar according to the demography,
topography, climate and culture. If have a thing for spicy snacks, try the
jhalmuri (the Bihari version has broken portions of chana dal pakodas thrown
in), kala chana ghugni with chivda (what you know as poha maybe) and litti
chokha. The chana dal pitha with a tasty tomato, garlic and green chilly
chutney is mild yet flavourful.
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Rohu Fish curry |
For mains
you must have the rohu fish curry. We Bengalis cook carp in a host of curries.
It all depends on the mood and time of the year. The runny fish curry we had at
the festival was spiced with mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds,
garlic, ginger and red chillies. The cardinal rule for enjoying fish curries of
this sort is to have them with steamed rice. No rotis, no chapatis, no phulkas,
no bread of any kind whatsoever.
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Aloo Bhujia |
The bhuna
kaleji was delicious. But it came a close second to the Motihari mutton. Try
the Dal Puri (atta puris stuffed with chana dal mash) with the sweet and tangy
tomato chutney. The Bengali tomato chutney is sweeter and a bit mushier. There
was a great spread for vegetarians as well. The colocasia leaves curry and the
mock meat bhuna were distinctly different. Eventually, it was time for the
desserts to arrive.
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Sweet platter |
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Makhana Kheer |
There were
the Bihari usuals such as Khaja, Chandrakala, parwal mithai and thekua. Mostly
fried sweets. But my meal felt complete with the subtle makhana kheer. It was
seriously mellow and comforting. Like Purvaiya, the soft breeze that is known
to blow from Bihar. This time it carried the aromas of food, froth and laughter
that I’m sure, many have memories of…
At: Café on
3, Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar. On till September 8.
Meal per
person: Rs 1,850 plus taxes
Ph: (011)
41105555
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For the festival I wore a Madhubani sari, depicting an indigenous art of Bihar |
Awesome read ! I am sure an indian wine/beer paired bihari food menu can add another intresting dimension to the whole experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you ! Yes, i am sure. When it comes to food, the possibilities are endless!
DeleteYou make my heart tempting dear
ReplyDelete