Dahi-chura — flattened rice (chura) soaked or topped with fresh curd (dahi) and sweetened with jaggery or sugar — is the most everyday of Maithil foods and one of the most beloved. Cooling, filling and needing no cooking, it is the classic breakfast and a portable travellers’ meal.
It comes into its own at Makar Sankranti (Tila Sakrait), when households gather over heaped plates of dahi-chura with jaggery, sesame sweets and seasonal vegetables. Served at feasts and Brahman-bhojan alike, it captures the plainness and generosity at the centre of Mithila’s table — a few simple ingredients raised, by custom and care, into something festive.