Makkai ke Roti

Breads:

A range of grains and cereals are cultivated in Mithilanchal region which is ground to flour and derived to various types of breads. Other than whole meal flour(AATTA) that is prepared out of wheat, flours obtained from other grains are considered to be less in Gluten(water insoluble Protein ) and hence can not be stretched with a rolling pin. Therefore people always flatten it by patting the dough between their palm, this procedure is known as “Thokko” . one of the popular bread preparation in Mithila is “Makkai K Roti”

Makkai Ke Roti ( A thick bread preparation made out of Maize Flour )

Maize Flour: 300gms
Moisture: 150-170 ml
Ghee: 20 ml

Procedure:

Make a semi soft dough with flour and moisture. Devide it into four equal portions.
Thokko it to 0.5 cms thick and 10-12 cms in diameter.
Dry bake it on a Tawa on both the sides.
Smear with Ghee and serve along with Roasted whole chilly and salt.

Variation: a paste of 15-20 gms of onion and ginger could be added along with fennel (Ajwain) and little salt while making the dough. This will not only taste but smell also very mouth watering.

Chiraiyak Maus

Chiraiyak Maus: ( Squails with skin cooked in thick brown gravy)

“Chirai” aren’t the part of poultry birds like chicken, goose or duck but could be kept in the category of wild birds those are obtained by hunting and hence they are also known as Game Birds. Usually in India, the poultry or game bird preparations are made after fabricating the bird in Indian style which is removing the upper skin and then cooking it up in the gravy, but in Mithilanchal people prefer enjoying the meat with its skin only as it makes the meat to retain its own juice. Now here is the similarity in the fabrication style of bird with English dressing (Continental Preparation), as they also coincide on the same notion. In English dressing, poultry or birds are roasted for a short time on a high flame in order to burn their extra feathers, procedure is known as “SINGING” and the same method is followed in Mithila too. Here I’ve mentioned the preparation style of Chirai and the same could be followed up with other game birds too.

Ingredients:

Squail: 01 nos
Onion: 500gms
Ginger : 30gms
Garlic 30gms
Turmuric: 15gms
Red chilly Pd: 10gms
Coriander Pd: 30gms
Cumin pd: 30gms
Mustard oil: 60ml
Whole hot spices: large & small cardamom, cinnamon, clove, bay leaves.
Heeng ( optional) : 4-5 gms
Chopped coriander leaves : for garnish

Preparation:

• Wash and clean the bird and singe it over high heat.
• Make a paste of 100 gms of onion with ginger / garlic and slice rest of the onion.
• Cut the bird into Indian curry cut and marinate with salt, turmeric and little of mustard oil.

Cooking:

• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan and add the tempering of whole hot spices, when start crackling add onion slice. Sauté and sweat with a pinch of salt. Add ginger/garlic & onion paste .
• Fry till light brown in colour.
• Add powdered masalas and cook for 8-10 minutes, till the raw flavour goes off. Add marinated meat and fry it along with the masala mixture. Add water just sufficient to cover up the meat.
• Let it simmer for 10 minutes till the flesh is tender. Top it with a spoon of Ghee and serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Variation:

• After singing cut the bird into little large pieces. Marinate it with salt, pepper, ginger paste , roasted gram flour, hung curd, heeng and turmeric. Roast it in Chulha (earthen oven) or sigri till the marinade is cooked well. Make a good quality brown gravy with rest of the ingredients, rest the roasted pieces in the gravy now.
• The dish will have a very smoky taste.

One can try out the same procedure with other game birds too like Titar, Bater, Ban Murgi etc.

Kankorak Chokha

• Kankorak Chokha:A Mashed preparation of Crab (Kankor) after roasting the crab.
  Ingredients:
  
  Crab( medium size): 8 pcs
  Green chillies: 2-3 in nos
  Mustard oil : 10-15 ml
  Onion: 20gms
  Salt: as per taste
  Lemon juice: few drops.
  
  Preparation:
  
  Wash and fabricate the crab, chop onions and slit green chillies fine.
  
  Cooking:
  
  • Roast crabs in Chulha(earthern oven) or Sigri till outer surface is burnt black. Detach the shell from the flesh
  • Mash the body part, add green chillies, salt, onion lemon juice etc. and mix them well.
  • Serve it as side dish with Rice or Makai ke Roti.
  
  Note: one can also use this mixture as a filling for Patties or savoury Tarts.
  
  

Maara Sairso ke Jhor

Maara Sairso ke Jhor:(A gravy preparation of Maara fish with mustard seed)

Maara is a small sweet water fish having a size of 4-5 cms. They belong to the same family of Pomfret, having no scales on their body and a very shiny silver skin. They are so easy to cook that no deep frying is required while preparing it.

Ingredients:

Maara Fish: 300gms
Mustard seed: 50gms
Mustard oil: 50ml
Turmeric: 5gms
Salt: as per taste
Onion: 35gms
Garlic:10gms
Tomato: 50gms


Preparation:

• Wash and marinate the fish in salt and turmeric.
  
• make a paste of onion, garlic and chop tomatoes and keep it ready.
  

Cooking:

• Heat oil in a kadai, add a tempering of mustard seed, add onion,garlic paste and stir fry.
• Add mustard seed paste and cook it over a moderate heat. Add tomatoes once masalas are cooked.
• Finally add marinated fish and mix it well with other ingredients. Add water and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
• Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves.
  

Innovation: Latpat Maara (small Maara fish cooked in dry mustard gravy)

Ingredients:
Maara fish: 400gms
Mustard paste: 100gms
Green chilly paste: 25gms
Salt: As required
Turmuric: 5gms
Onion Paste: 30gms
Mustard oil: 100ml


Preparation:

• Wash and marinate the fish in salt, turmeric and onion paste, make a paste of green chilly and mustard.

Cooking:

• Heat oil in a frying pan add marinated Maara fish, toss and stir fry for 5-7 minutes.
• Add the mixture of mustard and Green chilly paste and cook it well with fish for 8-10 minutes.
• Take out of flame, sprinkle raw mustard oil.
• Serve hot garnished with whole slit green chilies

Dokak Jhor

Dokak Jhor: (Oysters stew cooked with Onion and brown gravy)

Doka or Oysters are bivalve mussels. They belong to the same family of snails. Their body is made out of two kind of flesh soft and tough. The earlier one is the part of their body that always rests inside the shell while the later one is the front part which is outside the shell. Both the parts can be segregated and brought in different use, like the soft flesh can just be fried with onion and taken up as a good starter or accompaniment with cocktails.

One can also make very good broth or stew with Doka (the variation recipe I’ve advised below this authentic recipes that one can try out) In mithilanchal people consume Doka during rainy season as during that time they are found in abundance in paddy fields making them the best food for farmers.

Ingredients:
Oysters: 400gms
Onion: 150gms
Garlic: 20gms
Ginger: 20gms
Mustard oil: 75 ml
Coriander Pd: 25gms
Cumin Pd: 25gms
Red Chilly Pd: 15gms
Salt: A/R
Whole hot spices: Cardamom large & small, Cinamon, Bayleaf, clove
Chopped Tomato: 75gms Optional.

Preparation:

• Detach oysters from the shell, make a paste of Ginger, Garlic and slice onion
• Parboil the oysters and take it aside.

Cooking:

• Deep fry Parboiled oysters with a pinch of salt and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan , add the tempering of Whole hot spices, when they start crackle, put Onion ginger, garlic and fry till golden brown in colour with a pinch of salt..
• Add powdered masalas now and fry till the raw flavor goes off, then add tomatoes cook it for a minute or two
• Add the fried oysters now and mix it well with the masala paste. Finally add water and simmer for 7-10 minutes. Serve hot finally garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Variation: Fresh Doka Stew

Oysters: 250gms
Onion: 50gms
Garlic: 20gms
Ginger: 20gms
Turmuric: 4-5gms
Salt: as required
Rice: 30 gms
Brandy(optional): 60ml
Coriander Leaf for garnish
Refined Oil: 20ml

Preparation:

• Detach oysters and parboil and chop it . Finally chop onion, garlic & ginger. Soak rice for 30 minutes

Cooking:

• Heat oil in a pan, put a tempering of Whole hot spices,
  
• Add onion, garlic,ginger chops. Sauté and sweat with a pinch of salt and turmeric,
  
• When translucent in colour add boiled chopped oysters and fry it over a moderate heat, add brandy and reduce.
  
• Add soaked rice and mix it well. Finally add water and simmer till the rice is cooked.

Serve piping hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

Chaaur Ke Roti

The Chaaur Ke Roti (rice-roti or the roti made with rice flour) is very common food in villages of Bihar (especially Mithila). We people from Bihar (also known as Bihari) eat rice-roti to change our taste. Our normal food consists of roti as one or two meal in a day. Rice-Roti even though it tastes good, but does not have wider recognition like Wheat Roti, Naan Bread etc in the western world. But take my word, it tastes really-really good :)

Ingredients

• Rice Flour (2 Cups)
• Maize Flour (1/2 Cup) to avoid roti being broken while baking.
• Little bit of Ghee to apply during cooking.

Cooking:

1. Mix Rice flour with Maize flour dry.
2. Kneed the flour with a small amount of luke Warm water. It should not be boiling water.
3. When the Rice Flour is mixed. Keep it aside for sometime (2-5 minutes) and let the mix become soft.
4. Put Tava on Stove and allow it to heat properly till it is ready to bake the Rotis.
5. Take Small amount of the mix (wet) and then roll it as thin as possible on rolling plate to give it round shape (at least try for a round shape :)).
6. Bake the Roti one side on Tava (pan) and turn it.
7. While other side is being baked apply little bit of Ghee on the side which is baked already.
8. Turn it and apply ghee on other side while the first side with ghee is already being baked again.
9. Bake the other side properly.

The Roti is ready to be served.

Precautions:

1. The Water must be luke warm.
2. Do not Turn Roti many times. This will spoil the taste.
3. Do not apply mustard oil. Use Ghee if possible, if not then you can use Dalda (Vegetable Oil) as well.

For Best taste eat with Pickles and spicy curry :).

Maachh

Maachh: (Round fish, fried and cooked in Mustard gravy)



Ingredients:

Round Fish (Rohu/ Katla) 8 pcs. (on and across the bone)
Mustard seed 50 gms
Mustard oil 200 ml
Onion 200 gms
Garlic 50 gms
Tomato 75 gms
Fresh Coriander Leaves
Salt As required
Red chilly Pd 10 gms
Turmuric 5-7 gms
Lemon Juice Optional


Preparation:

Wash Fish and marinate it with salt, turmeric 50 gms of onion paste and lemon juice
Chop tomatoes, mince garlic, slice onion and make a smooth paste of mustard



Cooking:

Heat oil in a pan(Kadai), deep fry marinated fish and take it aside.Heat oil again and add the tempering of mustard followed by garlic paste and onion slice. Fry till light brown in color.Add mustard paste and fry till 7-10 minutes over moderate heat, later add tomatoes, stir fry for two more minutes. Add water as much as you require for the gravy.Let the gravy come to a boiling stage and finally put fried fish pcs, reduce the flame and allow it to simmer for 10-12 minutes
Eventually take it out and serve hot, garnished chopped coriander leaves


Variation: The excellent variation of Maach could be obtainedby adding 75 gms of additional mustard paste deriving a thick pouring gravy, topped with 20 ml of raw mustard oil.

About the Cuisine

:Mithila Cuisine:

India is a vast country, geographically division of the republic is done in five parts, but Gastronomically the same could not be possible as each parts are further divided in subparts and they have a great diversity in their food habits, culinary style and quality & quantity of ingredients.

One of the sub region of India is Mithilanchal. The region is dominated by a clan of Maithil Brahmins, who take a great pride in their Vedic culture and consider their Customs to be guided by Shastras. Infact in ancient and medieval history the region was known as “Videh” and it had its spread in erstwhile south Nepal and Bihar as it’s boundary defined in Brihat Vishnu Puran, “River Gandaki in West, Kaushiki (Koshi) in East, Himalayas in North and Ganga in south.

The region is already much popular for its art , literature, culture , and now cuisine. Infact maithil cuisine is such a practice that serves all kind of need of all group of people for different kind of consumptions. The service style of the cuisine has little similarity with that of “Tabal d’ hote” ( Table of the Host) of French , yet different being all preparations served together in a platter and consumed at once . Since there is no course wise meal practice therefore there is no well defined Gastronomique practice too, and hence people give equal importance to all kind of preparations and take pleasure in enjoying each n every delicacies to the fullest. Unlike others Maithils enjoy both the quality and quantity of the food and this is the characteristics that differentiates the cuisine and people from others. The best manifestation of this seen in any Traditional Maithil wedding ( considered to be a very classical marriage ceremony ever in any culture.) The rituals of the marriage continues for four consecutive days and small- big family activities happening for an year almost. The hospitality offered and marriage ceremony is an untold story in its own. The dinning activity continues for 3-4 hrs with a group of domestic women performing their folk songs.

Maithils always give immense priority to milk products in their food which could perfectly be measured with this old saying “ Aadi Ghee aur Ant Dahi, oyi Bhojan k Bhojan kahi” ( A meal is the Meal that starts with Ghee and ends with Yogurt)

The meal practice in mithilanchal is as common as the normal food habit of people which is Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner. People also like enjoying some tit bits during evening with a cup of tea. The best breakfast time favorite is “Chura – Dahi” (beaten rice with a thick coating of creamy curd) the table condiments used is salt, green chillies and home made pickles , a spicy mixed vegetable item could also be served along with this item as a side dish. During summer the same Chura is consumed with best quality mango pulp, and the dish is called “Chura Aam” . “Poori – Aloo dum” is an another breakfast item that people like having along with a sweet dish “Jalebi” ( roundels of deep fried fermented flour batter dipped in sugar syrup). Apart from that there are several other items like Chini wala Roti, Chilha ( pan cake made out of flour batter) , Suzi ke halwa ( porridge prepared from semolina), etc which is preferred for the breakfast.

For evening snacks a range of Bhujas are consumed like Chura ka Bhuja ( beaten rice shallow fried with sliced onion , chopped green chillies and green peas), Makai ke Lawa ( Pop corns), Masalgar Murhi ( Rice pops mixed with chopped green chillies, Onion, coriander leaf, salt and few drops of mustard oil) etc.

Maithils are also a big time sweet lovers. Varities of Kheer and other sweet item is prepared as a dessert course.one of the famous among them is Makhana ka Kheer ( a sweet dish prepared with Lotus seed , Milk and Dry nuts). Malpua is another popular sweet item, which is much different from the malpua prepared in north India, both are prepared from the flour batter only but in north India after deep frying malpua is dipped in sugar syrup while in Mithilanchal the batter it self is sweetened and it is a dry preparation which could be stored for 2-3 days. There are also sweet preservatives made out of fruit pulps like Ammath ( layered mango pulp sundried and cut into small chunks), Kumhar ke murabba, Papita ke murabba, Dhatrikak murabba etc.

The introduction about Mithila Cuisine would remain incomplete without a reference on Paan ( betel leaves). According to an old saying Paan , Maach and Makhan ( betel leaves, fish and lotus seed) is not found even in the paradise, so one should enjoy these things on earth only so not to regret later. A sweet betel leaf is flavoured with Sweet fennel, cardamom, clove, rose petals, sugar crystal etc.which is taken after completion of the meal in order to make it complete.

Khajuri (Thekua)

Introduction:
Thekua or Khajur as it is known in mithla is one of the traditional sweet items in our homes. Be Teej or Jitiya this is a mandatory item cooked at home. While there are many variations of this is found in homes, like crispy, soft, big, small etc. But the cooking method is more or less same wherever we go. Mithila is known for sweet items and maithils are sweet lovers so the first dish on this site is sweet item.


Ingredients:
Maida 500gms.
Suji 500gms.
Sugar 500gms.
Milk 250gms.
Ghee 100gms.
Chuhara 50gms.
Elaichi powder 20gms.
Dry coconut 50gms.
Raisins (kismis) 50gms.
Saunf 20gms.
Ghee for deep frying 500gms


Procedure:

1. Cut all the dry fruits into very small pieces.
2. Mix all the items including milk and ghee in a bowl and spray water in small Amount. Mixture should be a little hard. (mixture should not stick to your hands.)
3. Make pieces off the size off cookies with your hand.
4. Put a pan on the gas stove. Put ghee in it. Let it be heated for some time.
5. Deep fry the cookies until they turn brownish in color.
6. Take out the cookies from the pan. Now your snack is ready.

It can be preserved for about fifteen days if you keep it in an airtight container.

Introducing Mithila Cuisine Blog

It was one of the discussion on orkut which was started by a fellow maithil Nandan who happens to be passionate about cooking. One fine day I also jumped into that discussion and then few more people followed into the discussion. After exchanging ideas and our knowledge about mithila cuisine we felt that it is the time when we take it to the world.

If we travel outside Bihar we don't hear about Mithila and its cuisine. In abroad nobody even knows where Mithila is and its rich culture. Today when we go outside India we get Punjabi and South Indian dishes in the name of Indian Dishes. But nowhere Mithila comes in picture. Its a bitter truth we are forced to accept.

It is our attempt to provide sufficient information to the readers so that they can try these recipes at home and get the taste of what Mithila has to offer to the world. We also felt that it will be good to have the traditional method of cooking and a variation of the traditional cooking to make it little innovative in nature.

If you want to read the complete discussion then you will have to read the Orkut Thread. You can read it at leisure as how this idea of creating blog evolved. There are occasional teasing also involved but that's just to keep the discussion going :)

Through this blog we want our readers to be familiar with the taste Mithila has to offer. We hope that you will love the taste of dishes mentioned here. We are eager to hear from you after you try these recipes and your experience while cooking and eating. If you come up with some nice variations in any of the recipes mentioned here, do feel free to drop a comment on the recipe so that other readers can also get benefited with your experience.