Cooked in mustard oil and built on rice, fish, lentils and the fertile produce of a watery land, Maithil cuisine runs from the everyday dahi-chura to the festive thekua and the GI-tagged makhana. As the proverb has it: Maachh, Paan, Makhaan — fish, betel and fox-nut are the soul of Mithila.
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stapleMakhana
The fox-nut of Mithila's ponds — a GI-tagged superfood and one of the region's three treasures.
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sweetThekua
The crisp wheat-and-jaggery sweet that is the heart of Chhath's offering.
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stapleDahi-Chura
Beaten rice with fresh curd and jaggery — Mithila's everyday breakfast and the taste of Makar Sankranti.
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snackTarua
Seasonal vegetables in a light batter, fried in mustard oil — a staple of the Maithil thali.
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stapleLitti-Chokha
Roasted wheat balls stuffed with spiced sattu, served with a smoky vegetable mash.
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snackPittha
Steamed rice-flour dumplings with a spiced lentil filling — comfort food and Chhath fare.
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sweetKhaja
A crisp, many-layered pastry soaked in sugar syrup — the great sweet of weddings and feasts.
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beverageSattu
Roasted gram flour — the cooling "poor man's protein" drunk as sharbat and stuffed into litti.
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sweetTilkut
A pounded sesame-and-jaggery sweet, the taste of Makar Sankranti in the Mithila winter.
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curryGhughni
A spiced black-chickpea curry in mustard-oil gravy — everyday snack and light meal.
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sweetMalpua
A saffron-scented fried pancake soaked in syrup — the sweet of Holi.
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sweetKheer
Slow-simmered milk pudding — of rice, or of Mithila's own makhana — for every celebration.
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sweetAnarsa
A crisp, sesame-crusted rice-and-jaggery sweet, made for Diwali and Chhath.
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curryKadhi-Bari
Soft gram-flour dumplings in a tangy yogurt-and-besan gravy, ladled over rice.
- sweet
Bagiya (Pidukiya)
Steamed rice-flour dumplings stuffed with sweet jaggery and coconut — a winter and newborn-rite treat.
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curryMaach (Maithil fish curry)
The mustard-rich fish curry at the heart of the Maithil table — first of the proverbial "maachh-paan-makhaan".
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stapleKhichdi
The comforting one-pot of rice and lentils — eaten on Makar Sankranti and given to the convalescent.
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prasadKaddu-Bhaat
The sattvik rice, dal and bottle-gourd meal of Chhath's first day, cooked in bronze on a mango-wood fire.
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curryAloo Bhujia
The everyday mustard-oil potato stir-fry, sharp with fenugreek and chilli — the workhorse of the Maithil kitchen.
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Sattu Sharbat
The roasted-gram summer cooler — Bihar's "desi energy drink", taken salty or sweet.