When one thinks of Bihari food, it’s usually Litti Chokha that comes to mind first. However, there are plenty of other sweet and savoury treats that are relished in the state. Since breakfast is an important meal of the day, you’ll find a diverse range of options, as you travel from one part of the country to another. While kachoris are usually associated with Rajasthan, Bihar has their own version of a kachori breakfast that you cannot miss.
What is it? Kachori with jalebi. For the unversed, kachori is a deep-fried bread that is made with flour and often stuffed with lentils like moong dal. The puffed up dish is a delightful snack in many regions, paired with things like Aloo Ki Sabzi. However, Biharis like to take the dish to the next level by adding a sweet touch to it with jalebis. A crispy sweet meat of India, jalebi is inspired by a Persian dessert called ‘zalebi’.
The entangled circles of this sweet are deep-fried in hot oil to be dipped in oodles of sugar syrup minutes later. While the most commonly known pairing of jalebi is with rabri, another creamy and thick Indian dessert, there are a few savouries that work well with it too. One of them is kachori. This quintessential Bihari combination is devoured for breakfast and is a favourite among kids.
The kachoris are either plain or stuffed with a sattu filling, which is an intrinsic part of Bihari cooking. The nutritious sattu flour is added to parathas, pooris and even littis are made with it. Similarly, sattu is filled inside kachoris too. Fry it until the kachori turns golden brown. Meanwhile, a spicy potato curry is prepared called Aloo Ki Sabzi. The potatoes are diced into cubes and spruced up with onions, tomatoes and spices like turmeric powder, chilli powder and more.
While the Sattu Kachori of Bihar has a huge fanfare, it is the hot jalebi that is served with it that makes things interesting. The delectable breakfast of the region has a mix of sweet and savoury flavours and creates a blast in the mouth early in the morning. Small shack shops and street stalls start preparing this Bihari nashta quite early in the day, so that people can grab a bite before going to school or office.
Moreover, this isn’t the only way in which jalebis are paired with savouries. In Bhopal too, you’ll find jalebi being served with poha, a dish made with beaten rice. The poha is spruced up with onions and potatoes, etc., and served hot with crispy jalebis in the region.