Indian Breakfasts - Bihar & Jharkhand

One Page Cookbooks Bihar & Jharkhand Breakfast – A Primer All recipes copyrighted. No reproduction / commercial use without permission. Siramki@Gmail.com
1.: Sattu .(Roast and powdered gram ) Take a handful of roasted gram. Blend to a powder. This is the much loved Sattu, eaten in numerous ways. Sattu Drink::Take half a handful of sattu. Mix in a cup of water with a finely chopped onion, green chili and two pinches of salt. Or mix half a handful of sattu in a cup of chilled water, the juice of a lemon and two pinches of black salt / sugar. Sattu Meal : Take a handful of sattu. Gradually mix in water to make a stiff dough. Pinch off small balls, dip in curry and eat.	Sattu : Probably the simplest breakfast in the world. It is eaten in numerous ways across Bihar. Choora Dahi : Indians have been eating breakfast cereals for overt 2000 years. Beaten rice / rice flakes can be eaten raw / mixed with cream / yogurt / milk / mango puree. Thin rice flakes are usually eaten raw and thick ones are soaked and cooked. Choora ka Bhuja. Roasted rice flakes make a great crunchy snack and can double as a filling breakfast. Khichidi Rice and lentils are cooked together into a one pot meal across India. Various lentils or combinations of lentils can be used here. Roti / Phulkha / Missi Roti : Bihari roti is no different from a typical north Indian unleavened flatbread. Like Rajasthan, a mix of gram flour and wholewheat flours are kneaded with spices to make the missi roti. Sattu Paratha : The regular stuffed paratha of Punjab gets a Bihari twist with a stuffing of spiced gram flour. Litti : Like the Bati of Rajasthan, thick dough rounds stuffed with spiced gram flour are roasted or deep fried to make this unique Bihari bread. Dal poori : Wholewheat dough is stuffed with spiced dal and deep fried. A wholesome meal with carbohydrate, protein and fat. Kachouri : A popular snack in the north, it is a consumed for breakfast in Bihar. Dal Pitha : The closest we get to stuffed pasta in India. Shopping List: 500 gms (Roasted gram flour, rice flakes, whole wheat flour, rice, mung dal, chana dal, mustard oil). 100 gms (Onion, green chili, salt, sugar, ginger, ghee) 50 gms (Chili powder, turmeric powder, amchoor, cumin, dry red chili, garam masala, ajwain, asafetida, curry leaves) www.ramkicooks.blogspot.com
2.: Choora Dahi .( Rice flakes and yogurt) Take a handful of thin rice flakes. Mix with half a cup of yogurt and three pinches of jaggery / sugar. Eat with a spicy pickle. Replace yogurt with mango puree and it becomes Chura Aam
3.: Choora Ka Bhuja .( Toasted Rice flakes) Heat a spoon of mustard oil. Add half a handful of chopped onion and a finely chopped green chili. Add two handfuls of thin pressed rice ( chura) and two pinches of salt. Stir and cook till rice is crisp.
4.: Khichidi (Rice and lentil porridge) Basic Recipe : Mung dal Khichidi In a pressure cooker with lid open, heat a spoon of ghee. Add a pinch of cumin, a bit of cinnamon, a clove, a pinch of chopped ginger, a bay leaf, a slit green chili, a pinch of turmeric & three pinches of salt. Add half a cup of mung dal and a half a cup of rice. Add four cups of water. Close and pressure cook for three whistles. Let cool and open cooker. Mix well and serve with its companions yogurt, papad, ghee or pickles. (khichdi ke chaar yaar - dahi, papad, ghee aur achaar). Use tuvar / masoor / chana dal or a combo of all.
5.: Roti .(Unleavened flatbread ) Take a cup of whole-wheat flour. Mix in three pinches of salt. Gradually add water ( around ½ cup) and knead to a soft dough. Pinch off lemon sized balls, roll them into thin rounds and cook both sides on a hot skillet till brown spots appear. (Toast both sides over naked flame and you have a phulkha). Mix in gram flour, chili powder and turmeric powder and it becomes a missi roti. Serve with dal / curry.
6.: Sattu Paratha.( Unleavened flatbread stuffed with spiced gram flour) ) 1.Take a handful of sattu flour. Mix in half a spoon of mustard oil, a grated onion, a pinch of grated ginger, amchoor, two pinches of salt and chili powder. 2. Mix well and shape into lemon sized balls. Roll a tomato sized ball of whole-wheat dough into a thin disc. place the sattu ball in the center, gather the edges of the dough and pinch, sealing in the sattu. 3. Press gently into a thick disc. 4. Roll into a thin sheet. Cook both sides on a hot skillet.
7.: Litti .( Roasted buns stuffed with spiced gram flour) Follow steps 1 to 4 in the recipe for Sattu Paratha. Make half a dozen discs and place all on a hot skillet. Cook both sides on medium flame till the surface browns. Or bake in an oven till surface browns. Or deep fry both sides till golden. Serve with Chokha / Bhartha.
8.:. Dal Poori (Deep fried stuffed flatbread) Basic Recipe : 1. Take half a cup of channa dal. Add a cup of water and pressure cook for three whistles. Drain water. 2. Add dal to a blender with a pinch of cumin, a dry red chili, a pinch of turmeric powder, two pinches of garam masala and salt. 3. Blend to a coarse paste. 4. Shape into tight lemon sized balls. 5. Roll a tomato sized ball of whole-wheat dough into a thin disc. Place the channa ball in the center, gather the edges of the dough and pinch, sealing in the dal. 6. Press gently into a thick disc. 7. Roll into a thin sheet. Deep fry both sides.
9.: Kachouri (Deep fried dumplings) Basic Recipe : Take a handful of whole wheat flour. Mix in a handful of gram flour ( besan), four spoons of oil, a pinch of ajwain and two pinches of salt. Gradually add water and knead into a soft dough. Pinch off lemon sized balls. Roll into palm sized discs and deep fry both sides in oil. Serve with Ghughni / chutney. ( Replace flours with Suji for Suji Kachori)
10.: Dal Pitha (Boiled & Stir fried dumplings ) Follow steps 1 to 6 exactly in above recipe for Dal Poori. Bring six cups of water to a boil. Add the discs and cook for 10 minutes. Drain water. Let cool and cut into pieces. Heat a spoon of ghee. Add two pinches of mustard seeds, a pinch of curry leaves and asafetida. Add chopped pithas and stir fry for a minute. Serve with chutney.