Bihar’s culinary delights missed by expats

Patna: Yummy and irresistible winter delicacies that are specialties of Bihar are missed and yearned for by those who have ventured out of the state in search of jobs or to pursue higher studies. Many say that some of these food items are so exclusive that they cannot even be ordered online, as the local cuisines, with their unmatched tastes and qualities, are simply irreplaceable.
Ashu Mishra, a PhD scholar from Manipal Institute of Technology in Manipal (Karnataka), shared how she always misses her favorite ‘tilkut', ‘dal pitthi', and ‘ghewar' (a sweet made from flour, ghee and sugar), as she cannot find these items anywhere else."And the ‘litti-chokha' prepared on smouldering dried cow dung cakes (goetha), especially in winter, is just awesome, but I don't get the opportunity to have them here," Ashu said from Karnataka, expressing her cravings for some of her favourite foods she misses immensely.
Suraj Karan, a navigation officer in the merchant navy, posted in Mumbai, echoed similar sentiments when describing his yearning for the food items he enjoyed during his childhood but cannot find at his workplace. "The delicacies we enjoyed growing up are definitely missed in Mumbai. Even if we manage to procure a few items online, some others cannot be found at all. For example, ‘hara chana' (green gram) and the mouth-watering items made from it are impossible to find in Mumbai," Karan said.
Kumar Avanish, who has been settled in Chennai for the last four years and runs his own business in Tamil Nadu, shared his experience about missing his favourite winter foods. "Oh, there are many, but to name a few, ‘gaajar ka halwa' (a sweet dish made from carrots) and ‘matar paneer' (a vegetable dish made with peas and cheese) are things we can only get in Bihar," said Avanish. He added that even ‘gond ke laddo', ‘tilkut', and ‘lai' are badly missed.
Naina Navya, a third-year Food Tech student at Dehradun (Uttarakhand), also got excited at the very mention of some of her favourite winter delicacies. She said that traditional ‘tilkuts', ‘lai', and ‘ghewar' are unavailable in her area, and even if some others were available, the taste wouldn't be the same. "Ghughni made from green gram cannot be found at all, and as for my other favourites, they can be bought from stores, but the taste is very different and not the one I grew up with," said Navya.