Jharkhandi cuisine

Jharkhandi cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Staple foods are rice, dal, roti, and vegetables.^[1] Common meals often consist of vegetables that are cooked in various ways, such as curried, fried, roasted and boiled.^[2] Many traditional dishes of Jharkhand may not be available at restaurants.^[3]

A Jharkhandi rice plate

Location map of the Indian state of Jharkhand

Foods and dishes

• Malpua: It is a dish in Jharkhand which is usually prepared during the Holi festival.
• Arsa Roti: It is a sweet dish prepared during festivals. Rice flour and sugar or jaggery are used in preparation.^[4]
• Chhilka Roti: It is bread prepared by using rice flour and dal. It is served with chutney, vegetables and meat.^[5][6]

Chhilka Roti

• Dhooska: Also spelled dhuska, it is a common food in Jharkhand. They are deep fried rice flour pancakes that may be served with gram curry and potatoes.^[7]

A platter of Dhuska

• Aaru ki sabzi: It is made with a root vegetable found in Jharkhand only.^[8]
• Chakor Jhol:^[9] It is a wild edible leafy vegetable, cooked in red rice soup.
• Sanai ka phool ka bharta: It is a recipe from rural Jharkhand made of Sanai (Crotalaria juncea) flowers.
• Moonj Ada:^[10] It is a spicy dal, cooked over a low flame with a dash of lemon and chilli for flavour.
• Dumbu:^[11] Dumbu is a rice dessert.
• Tilkut: Tilkut is a sweet prepared with pounded sesame-seed cookies made with jaggery batter or melted sugar.^[7]
• Meat salaan: It is a popular meat dish consisting of lamb curry and diced potatoes which is spiced with garam masala.^[2]
• Maduwa khassi: It is smoked skin intact mutton served with rice.^[8]
• Spicy chicken: It is yet another common meat dish.^[12]
• Rohad Haku:^[10] It is a dish of fried fish. The fish is dried in the sun and then stir fried in oil. Lemon and vinegar are added to spice it up.
• Mushroom: Rugra^[13] or Puttu is a type of edible mushroom which grows during the monsoon season and is used for vegetable.
• Bamboo shoot: Bamboo shoots are used as vegetables in Jharkhand.
• Red Ant Chutney: It is a dish made of mashed red ants and their eggs.^[14]
• Koinar Saag: The leaf of Koinar tree (Bauhinia variegata) is used as a vegetable.^[15]
• Putkal (Ficus geniculata) ka saag:^[16] It is a sautéed leafy vegetable.
• Pitha: Authentic Jharkhandi Dish made up of rice flour with Urad or Chana Dal.^[17]

Alcoholic beverages

• Handia: Handia or Handi is a common rice beer in Jharkhand. People drink it during festivals and marriage feast.
• Mahua daru: It is an alcoholic beverage in Jharkhand which is prepared using the flowers of Mahua tree (Madhuca longifolia).^[18]

Food security

The twenty-four districts of Jharkhand receive supplemental food security supplies as per the National Food Security Act, 2013 of India.^[19] In the past, food supplies were distributed to the districts in phases, which some have criticized as problematic.^[19] In June 2015, Ram Vilas Paswan, the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution for the government of India stated a preference toward the Food Security Act to be implemented all at once, rather than in phases.^[19] In this manner, Paswan stated a preference for distributions to be completed in entirety by September 1, 2015.^[19]