The custom of a personal box of a Bihari bride with sweets is now only symbolic but the sweets prepared by the women of the house were nutritious and kept fresh for months together
Sumitra Devi recalls the time when, as a bride, she left for her husband’s home in the remote village of Adauri in Sitamarhi district of Bihar. Along with her dowry, the now 80-year-old, who lives in Patna, kept a very special bridal box. traditionally called Kaleva, i.e. gifts, it included sweets along with his personal belongings.
Sumitra says, “These sweets are nutritious and can last for a long time without spoiling.
“Can a bride ask for food when she is hungry?” Nirala Bidesia, a social scientist who researches the folk and food habits of Bihar, says. “No, it was considered inappropriate behavior. A bride was supposed to be a cuckoo. So when she left for her new home, the women of her house – mother, aunt, grandmother, prepared things like that Khaza, Kasak, Neura And Bukini who were both nutritious and long-lasting and packed them in their bridal box,” Says Nirala, adding that the practice probably stems from mythology, “from the time of the wedding of Princess Sita.”
Sumitra laughs, as she remembers tasting the sweets. “I had tears in my eyes and the taste of these homemade foods made me even more nostalgic. The kids in my husband’s house were curious and used to crowd around my room. I will feed them sweets too.” She adds that even now her husband and family talk about some unique sweets.
a desi sweet from Gaza, Bihar
The sweet tradition of Bihar is closely linked to customs and rituals and hence, there are specific sweets for every occasion. The natives of the state mainly use roasted rice flour. Those made with paneer, flour and sugar syrup have an external influence, especially in Islamic cuisine. Another interesting feature that Wacky suggests is that sweets with the same ingredients get a new name when they are shaped differently.
What is in a name
NS scabies Turkey is similar to baklava and is made from self-rising flour, oil, ghee and sugar syrup. The palm-shaped rectangle is made with 12 to 15 layers of thin dough sheets, resembling puff pastry. The most famous version comes from Silao, a small village near Nalanda, which got GI status in 2018. The stories of its origin date back to the time of King Vikramaditya. Some people also say that when Buddha passed through the village on his way to Nalanda, he tasted sweets. Today the sweet has evolved and comes in smaller sizes and is made all over the state.
a condensed version is called Yardstick It is also made from the same ingredients except oil. “also called piav, it is different from scabiesBecause the dough is not folded many times. The flour is kneaded with ghee, cut into rectangles or squares, dipped in a wire syrup and removed. It goes on for two to three months,” says Nirala.
a desi sweet from Gaza, Bihar
Tarun Kumar, who runs Sawan Mistan Bhandar, one of the 15 sweet shops selling famous sweets opposite the old Patna museum, earns around 100 kilograms a day during the wedding season. “Although scabies It is made throughout the year and often as a snack, its most important use is as a dessert sent to accompany the bride when she goes to her husband’s house,” says Tarun, explaining that the dessert is more than two Doesn’t go bad for three weeks.
Neura Recipe
- Wash and dry the raw rice. Fry it on very low flame till it becomes golden. Grind finely. Make a thick syrup of sugar syrup. Mix the two slowly until it becomes a smooth mixture. Give them the shape of round balls. Add dry fruits if required. Do not add raisins and dates to make it last longer.
Asha Singh, a retired professor of economics at Magadha Women’s College with a keen interest in food history, says the tradition is now only symbolic. “There is no sweets in the personal box of the bride anymore, as the whole social scenario has changed. There are no joint families and there is no separation of men and women in homes. The tradition of sending sweets with the bride to be distributed among relatives and friends and distributed in the village continues. This is the reason why sweet shops have grown and developed.”
Among the sweets in the box, Asha misses the most Bukini. A thick mixture of wheat flour, powdered sugar, dry fruits and ghee, it lasted for months. “I used to see my mother-in-law eat a spoon every morning. She would wash it down with a glass of water. It used to come from her mother’s house,” says Asha, who has experimented with the old recipes with the pandemic.
also called Kokadour Bukini, the powder is made from rice flour that has been washed, dried and roasted. Powdered sugar and ghee are mixed in the flour. The trick is to continuously rub the dough with a small portion of ghee and sugar, taking utmost care that it stays dry.
Made from rice flour, jaggery, poppy seeds and ghee, Anarsa is a popular sweet from Gaya in Bihar.
old school
“kasaki It is also made in Nepal during festivals and weddings,” says Nirala. Mamta Rani, who made them during Chhath festival, says that the modern version uses branded rice flour. She cooks the rice in the old fashioned by soaking it overnight and drying it the next day, grinding it into flour. “We add jaggery syrup and stir till the mixture settles. Then we roll it into balls,” says Mamta, adding that it can be flavored with cardamom. To enhance it, chopped dry fruits can also be added.
Another sweet, valued for nutrition more than taste and had an important place in the bride’s box, was a A type of sweet Made from turmeric and dry ginger powder. “Coarsely ground black pepper and fennel are also added, depending on the manufacturer,” says Asha.
royal repast
- Most of the cuisines of North Bihar are inextricably linked with the marriage and life of Rama and Sita. Prince Ram of Ayodhya (today in UP) married Sita of Janakpur in Mithila, Bihar. It is said that when Lord Rama reached Mithila after his marriage, he lost his appetite due to fatigue. It was a dish made of chickpea flour Which rekindled his hunger.
- Called Ram Ruchi Or ‘Loved by Rama’ This dish is one of the main attractions of Bihari cuisine. to hit annual A frequently used term for a curry made from wheat flour dumplings. One of the foods mentioned in Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas is Poha (flattened rice flakes) or chivda.
Nirala says the bride’s personal box is no longer relevant, so these distinctive sweets have evolved into different versions, “usually in shape and size”. Rajesh Kumar, who runs Soni Mitthan Bhandar in Patna, says that there is a need to switch to sugar-rich sweets due to health, many sweets have jaggery instead of sugar. “Although the personal box has disappeared, sending sweet baskets to the groom’s family has increased,” he says. and so scabies, Yardstick, Neura And Bukini to depend.
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