Bihari cuisine is mainly eaten in Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji, some cities of Pakistan, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago as these are they places where Bihari people are present.
Bihar shows how the cuisine of the state has evolved over centuries under the influence of various cultures and regimes which controlled it from time to time.
Lord Buddha attained enlightenment in Bihar and hence the impact of Buddhism is significant of the state.People are largely vegetarian though many are fond of chicken and meat dishes.
Bihar has also been under the reign of mighty Moghuls and naturally the exotic Mughal cuisine affected the Bihar style of cooking and the taste of the inhabitants of the state.
Remarkable factor of the Bihari cuisine is that the state has imbibed the best and most suitable aspects of the Gupta, Maurayan, Turk, Afghan, Persion and European style of cooking and at the same time retained a food culture that bears a distinct hallmark of Bihar.
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 are especially common due to the number of rivers in Bihar such as the Sone, Gandak and the Ganges. There are also numerous Bihari meat dishes with chicken and mutton being the most common.
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.
Wheat and rice are the staple food of Bihar and Jharkhand. Vegetables are grown in abundance and cooked in a variety. A regular Bihari meal consists of dal, bhat (rice), phulka (roti), tarkari (sabzi) and achar (pickles). But as the seasons change so does the Bihari thali. It is said that just as the seasons change four times in a year, so does the contents of the Bihari meals.
One of the most remarkable thing 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.
