Parsauna Village Food Experience
Parsauna is a beautiful village situated in the Saran district of Bihar showcasing some lovely rural Indian elements from houses constructed using traditional architectural wisdom to climbing tall palm trees to extract sap. Fascinatingly, cow dung cakes are also used here, which come in different shapes and sizes, as an inexpensive source of fuel for cooking, enhancing the flavours of food giving them a smoky and earthy flavour.
Explore some of these local traditional flavours along with some splendid festive specials as we take you through the culinary trail of the Village Parsauna, from various kinds of veggie preparations to local classics and a lovely dessert.
Malpua- A thin, crisp and circular-shaped traditional sweet made with a batter of khoya, all purpose flour, a dash of wheat flour, cardamom powder and banana and then poured in oil, deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup.
Matar Kachori- It is a small disc-shaped deep fried pastry stuffed with a mixture of coarsely-ground cooked sweet peas. The pastry crust is made with maida (all purpose flour).
Puri- A deep fried, puffy, traditional Indian bread that is made with an unleavened maida based dough.
Dahi Bada- A zesty snack consisting of soft water-soaked lentil fritters topped with some luscious beaten curd, sweet tamarind chutney, red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and rock salt. The fritters are made with a thick paste of moong and urad dal, ginger, chillies, salt, pepper and hing (asafoetida).
Aloo Matar- It is a rich and flavourful peas and potato curry most often eaten with Puris. The curry is made with whole spices like cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cumin, pepper, bay leaves, onions and some pounded green chilies, ginger and garlic.
Neera- It is the freshly extracted sap of palm trees which haven’t undergone fermentation. It has a refreshingly sweet taste and is considered to have many health benefits.
When stored or exposed to the sun, it undergoes fermentation and turns into palm wine called Taadi. The sap is extracted from two types of palm trees - Khajur and Taad.
Aloo Gobhi Bhujia- A popular side dish made of stir fried potatoes and cauliflower cooked in mustard oil along with whole red chillies, green chillies, turmeric, salt and a couple of spice powders.
Kohre Ke Patte Ke Pakode- Crispy fritters made with kohra or tender pumpkin leaves dipped in a thick batter of rice flour, besan, red chilli powder, turmeric, pepper powder, garlic, carom seeds and salt and then deep fried.
Dal- A lentil preparation made with a combination of Arhar and Masoor dal that is first pressure cooked with turmeric, salt, mustard oil and some garlic and then tempered with ghee and cumin seeds.
Stuffed Gatte Ki Sabzi- A unique curry consisting of posta-stuffed gattas cooked in a spicy and flavourful masala of mustard paste, garlic, chillies, spices and seasonings. Gattas are spicy posta dana (poppy seeds) paste filled dough sheets which are folded like empanadas, boiled, diced up and deep fried.
Baingan Ka Chokha- A spicy mash made of dung-fire grilled brinjals and tomatoes mixed along with green chilies, chopped garlic, fresh coriander, salt and mustard oil. It is eaten with the littis.
Litti- Litti a whole wheat flour based baked dough ball that is stuffed with a spicy sattu (gram flour) mixture. The stuffing contains sattu, mustard oil, onion, garlic, fresh coriander, green chilies, carom seeds, nigella seeds, lime juice etc.
Thekua- This crispy, leaf-shaped deep fried sweet snack is made with whole wheat flour, green cardamom powder, grated coconut, ghee (shortening) and jaggery based dough.
Ghugni- A spicy and flavourful curry made with boiled kala chana cooked in mustard oil along with onion, ginger, garlic and some aromatic spices and seasonings.
Usna Chawal- Usna Chawal refers to parboiled or converted rice. It is obtained by partially boiling the native rice variants with their husks intact, boosting their nutritional value.
Tilauri- These are small and crispy deep fried badis that are eaten along with a meal of rice and dal. The sun dried badis are made with a paste of urad dal and sesame. One of its variants, made with rice flour and sesame, has a wafer-like appearance.
Dudh Pua- A traditional dessert consisting of a rice flour pancake that is dunked in luscious cardamom flavoured milk. Traditionally, the pancake is prepared with a batter of coarsely pounded rice flour poured over an earthenware placed on a wood fire.
Parsauna filled us with not just an elaborate meal packed with several rustic yet intricate and unique flavours but also with a one of a kind experience that many of us miss out in our busy urban lives filling us with awe, intrigue and fascination leaving us wanting to explore more.
Catch a glimpse of these beautiful cuisines and some other interesting insights of the village by visiting the link below-
