Bihari Food Festival at Holiday Inn, Mayur Vihar

Bihari food is probably one of the most underrated cuisines of India. Very close to Bengali food, the warm, rustic flavours of Bihari food are something that you wouldn’t be able to experience anywhere else. So when fellow blogger Maneesh Srivastava tied up with Chef Sanjay Mishra for a Bihari Food Festival at Café on 3, Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar.

What we tried out at the Bihari Food Festival?

We start off with a selection of starters that includes the quintessential Liththi Chokha. But the Chokha’s not the only things that you can combine the Liththi too. There’s a mashed Potato and spicy Tomato chutney that you can try it out with. There’s also a line up of Indian breads that I absolutely fall in love with. The Daalpoori and the Pea Parantha I have tried out endless number of times at my own home but trying out these two with a Sweet Tomato Chutney is something that I experience for the first time.

The Chaat counter at the restaurant has been transformed into one which has flavours from all over Bihar. There’s a Jhalmoori which although differs quite a bit from the Bengali one due to the presence of quite a few Pakoras in it, but tastes quite a mouthful. Another one of the Chaat that I tried out includes the Gup Chup which is the tangy, spicy form of the Gol Gappa and the Matar Ghoogni which is served on a bed of Tikki.

The mains include a litany of rustic Bihari dishes, including a Mutton curry along with an Egg Curry and a Colocasia Leaves Curry that I absolutely fall for. Combined with some hot steamed rice, the sumptuous meal is something that will stay on my palate for quite some time. But the ending of every meal has to have something sweet and the festival serves quite aplenty.