Machh-bhaatNon-vegetarianMain
Freshwater fish — rohu, katla, mangur or small pond fish — cooked in a thin mustard-and-turmeric gravy and eaten with rice. In a Maithil household this is a ritually appropriate food, not a departure from one.
Mithilanchal · Middle & Lower Gangetic Plain
Dishes
Rice, fish and mustard oil, with a large repertoire of fried and steamed accompaniments and an unusually developed sweet tradition built on makhana and khoya. The everyday meal is bhaat, dal, tarkari, a fried item and pickle; the festival meal adds fish, pittha and a sweet made of what the ponds produce.
Makhana kheerVegetarianSweet
Popped foxnut simmered in reduced milk with cardamom until it swells and softens. The region's signature sweet and a fixture at weddings and fasts.
Dahi-chura with gurVegetarianBreakfast, and the Sankranti meal
Flattened rice with thick curd and jaggery, eaten in quantity at Makar Sankranti with a fried fish or a tilkut on the side. The most Maithil meal there is.
Tilkor ki sabziVegetarianMain
Ivy-gourd leaves fried in mustard oil until they crisp — a small dish that Maithils away from home ask for first.
Bagiya and pitthaVegetarian and non-vegetarianMain or snack
Rice-flour dumplings, steamed in leaf, filled with spiced chana dal, khoya or occasionally fish. Made in winter and at festivals.
Kadhi-bariVegetarianMain
Gram-flour dumplings in a sour curd gravy tempered with panch phoran — the standard festive vegetarian dish.
Aloo-bhanta chokha with sattuVegetarianEveryday
Mashed potato and roasted aubergine with raw mustard oil, green chilli and onion, eaten with rice or with a sattu-stuffed bread.
TaruaVegetarianAccompaniment
Sliced vegetables — brinjal, pumpkin, potato, colocasia leaf — dipped in gram-flour batter and shallow fried in mustard oil, served at every feast.
Maachh aur makhana ka jhorNon-vegetarianMain
A thin fish curry with popped makhana added at the end so it absorbs the gravy — a Darbhanga speciality.
Thekua and khajurVegetarianSweet
Wheat and jaggery dough pressed in a carved mould and deep fried in ghee. The principal offering at Chhath, made in enormous quantity over two days.
Anarsa and khajaVegetarianSweet
Rice-flour and jaggery discs rolled in sesame, and layered fried pastry in syrup — festival sweets across the region.
Sattu ka sharbat and littiVegetarianSummer
Roasted gram flour drunk cold with salt, lemon and black salt, or packed into a baked wheat ball. Shared with Magadh and Bhojpur, and eaten here through the hot months.
Kheer-makhana at weddings, and the fish in the ritualVegetarian and non-vegetarianCeremonial
A Maithil wedding requires both — makhana in the sweet and fish in the ritual gifts exchanged between the two households. Neither is optional.
Staples
Rice and churaArhar, masoor and khesari dalFreshwater fishPotato, brinjal, colocasia and gourdsMustard oil
Sweets
Makhana kheerThekuaAnarsaKhajaBalushahiLaktho and til sweets in winter
Street food
Litti-chokhaGhugni with churaSamosa and jalebiRoasted makhana with saltChana-bhuja in paper cones
Drinks
Sattu sharbatChhachTadi — fermented palm sap, in seasonBel sharbat
The food of Mithilanchal — signature dishes, staples, sweets, street food and where to eat them. (13)