In the first episode of our Bihar Food Series, we bring you an amusing food exploration from the capital city of Bihar. It is a busy city with an amazing heritage and culture and also full of genial people. So let's see what the journey holds for you. We are so glad to have been joined by Mayank who is a young and passionate food blogger from the city.
We began our journey quite early in the morning from the premises of the Patna railway station as we wanted to start with some amazing local breakfast. Before heading to the most crowded eatery in the area we went to the very famous Mahavir Mandir to pay our reverence to Lord Hanuman. We partook some prasad and set out for Bhola ji's Nashte Ki Dukaan. It was an insanely crowded place stuffed with people jostling to catch a quick breakfast. The affordable breakfast thali available here consisted of fresh hot puris, jalebi, potato, and chana sabzi, dahi vada and raita. Just for 30 rupees, the quantity of food was good. It was home styled and filling as well.
From there we went to the iconic Puraani Litti Ki Dukan, very close to the previous place, for the taste of Bihar's legendary litti and chokha. The place was abuzz with locals and visitors. We interacted with the genial owner who introduced us to the nuances of this dish. The freshly made litti and chokha tasted heavenly. Especially the interplay of the flavours coming from mustard oil and ghee. At the same eatery we also tried some crisp hot chandrakala which is a traditional deep-fried sweet pastry filled with khoya and dry fruits.
Next was the turn of another famous street-side snack called sev buniya and our destination was Bhanu sweets. Before trying a delicious plate of sev dahi buniya, we paid a quick visit to the factory where sev and buniya were being prepared. The combination was super hearty. We finished it with a cup of tea and some light-hearted conversation.
Our following destination was a Fuchka shop. It is a much-loved street food here in Patna and being Fuchka lovers ourselves we couldn't escape the urge of trying some. First, we tried the aloo cut and then the ubiquitous Fuchka.
From there we arrived at a humble cart with a hot wok on fire. We were there to try a pocket-friendly wholesome snack called Bhunja. It is a mixture made of a preferred amount of various grains, cereals, and legumes. You can choose your preference and get them dry roasted right in front of your eyes and get them mixed with or without onions, chillies, etc. Just pop it and keep munching.
Next was the turn for some sweets and what could be better than trying the famous ladoos from Maner. They are a special variant of the Motichoor ladoos where the deep-fried pearls are super tiny. It was soft, luscious and they just vanished inside the mouth. It was followed by Bergami, another traditional sweet that was made out of paneer chunks.
We finally ended the tour with a brilliantly fragrant paan.