What to Eat in Patna Today?

Litti chokha

Litti are balls of wheat dough stuffed with spiced sattu and roasted over a fire, then dipped in ghee. Chokha is the side: mashed roasted aubergine, tomato and potato with mustard oil, garlic and green chilli. It is Bihar's best-known dish and the one to try first. Street carts cook it over coals in the evening; Litti Chokha Corner on Ashok Rajpath is a reliable stop, and Basant Vihar serves it too.

Sattu sharbat

Sattu whisked into cold water with lemon, roasted cumin, black salt and sometimes green chilli and onion. It is savoury, not sweet, and very filling. You will see it sold from carts across the city from March to June, and it is the most sensible drink to have in the Patna heat.

Bihari kebab

Thin strips of meat, often beef or mutton, marinated with mustard oil, raw papaya and spices, then grilled or cooked over coals so they turn soft and smoky. The Nalanda restaurant at Hotel Maurya serves it in a sit-down setting.

Sweets

Silao khaja comes from Silao, a small town near Nalanda. It is a flaky pastry of many thin layers, fried and soaked in sugar syrup, and it has a GI tag. Malpua are small fried pancakes in syrup, eaten at festivals, especially around Holi. Bikaner Sweets on Boring Road has both. During Chhath you will also see thekua, a hard, crunchy wheat-and-jaggery biscuit made as an offering and shared afterwards.

Good to know

• Bihar is a dry state. There is no alcohol in restaurants or bars, so do not ask for it.
• Much of Patna eats vegetarian, and many sweet shops and thali places are pure veg. Non-veg is easy to find in the Gandhi Maidan and Boring Road areas.
• Street food is safest where it is cooked hot in front of you. Skip raw salads and cut fruit in the monsoon.
• Litti is heavy. Share a plate if you plan to eat anything else that day.