IITF 2011 - Focus State

Bihar

is a state in eastern India.[3][4] It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq mi (94,163 km²) and 3rd largest by population. Close to 85% of the population lives in villages. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25,[5] which is the highest proportion in India.

Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state (recently Maithili is also included as one of the official languages of the state, although the usage of the language for official purposes is negligible), while the majority of the people speak one of the Bihari languages - Bhojpuri or Magadhi. Presently Bihari languages are considered one of the five subgroups of Hindi; however, Maithili was declared a separate language. However, these are considered to be derived from the language of the erstwhile Magadha state - Magadhi Prakrit, along with Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya. Bihari Hindi, a slang form of Standard Hindi, is used as a lingua franca and many speak it as their first language throughout the state. A small minority also speak Bengali, mainly in big districts or along the border area with West Bengal. Many Bengali speakers are people from West Bengal or Hindu people from erstwhile East Pakistan who immigrated during the Partition of India in 1947. Though Urdu and Bihari languages may relate to each other, however they are different in many ways. Few words in Bihari language sounds same as they are spoken in Urdu; e.g. Sulf-nazuk in Bihari is Sinf-e-Nazuk in Urdu. Also, masculine and feminine words are often not clear in Bihari language as these are in Urdu.

There is some vegetarian community but Bihari society is not much rigid over vegetarianism and eating of meat is also popular. However, people discourage eating meat daily and many Hindus don't eat meat on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The main meat items preferred are fish, chicken and goat meat. Many Hindus and Muslims consider Lamb's Mutton as offensive. In Bihar people generally have boiled rice and daal for lunch. Roti is usually served for dinner as against lunch. The traditional cooking medium is mustard oil. Khichdi, a broth of rice and lentils seasoned with spices and served with several accompanying items, constitutes the mid-day meal for most Hindu Biharis on Saturdays. The favourite dish among Biharis is litti-chokha. Litti is made up of dough stuffed with sattu (ground powder coming from roasted brown chickpeas) then boiled in water. It is then fried in oil, but little oil is used since it has been pre-boiled. The other way of cooking Litti is grilling it on red hot coal. Chokha is made of mashed potatoes, fried onions, salt, cilantro, and carrom seeds. Litti is also accompanied with ghee and channa (small brown chickpeas with onions and masala).

Chitba and Pitthow which are prepared basically from rice are special foods of the Anga region. Tilba and Chewda of Katarni rice are also special preparations of Anga. Kadhi bari is a popular favorite and consists of fried soft dumplings made of besan (gram flour) that are cooked in a spicy gravy of yoghurt and besan. This dish goes very well with plain rice.

Orissa

Odisha (Odia: ଓଡ଼ିଶା, IPA: [oˑɽisaˑ]), also known as Orissa, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Odisha was established on 1 April 1936 at Kanika Palace, Cuttack, as a province in India,[1] and consists predominantly of Odia speakers.[2] 1 April is therefore celebrated as Utkal Divas (Odisha Day).

The language spoken by the majority of the people is Odia. English is widely used for official purpose and Odia is used as regional language. Odia belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, and is closely related to Bengali and Assamese. A few tribal languages belonging to the Dravidian and Munda language families are spoken by the Adivasis (original inhabitants) of the state. The state has a very opulent cultural heritage, one of the richest in India. The capital city of Bhubaneshwar is known for the exquisite temples that dot its landscape. The famous classical dance form, Odissi originated in Odisha. Contemporary Odisha has a proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three great religious traditions – Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The culture of the Adivasis is an integral part of modern Odia heritage.

The famous Indian sweet "rasogolla" has its origin from this state. Salepur Rasogolla is famous and it is mainly prepared by Kar and Brothers (Bikalananda Kar) of salepur. Its branches are also present in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Pahala, located on the Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar road, is famous for its variety of Rasgullas. The well-known rice pudding, kheeri (kheer) that is relished all over India, also originated in Puri two thousand years ago. Chhenapoda is also a major Odisha sweet cuisine originated in Nayagarh, it is made by caramelizing cottage cheese with sugar, cardamom and other ingredients and then burning it over a chula (wood-burning clay hearths). Chenna Jheeli and malpua are other famous sweet deserts. One of the most famous delicacies of Odisha is Kakara Peetha (made of sooji or finely grained wheat) especially with coconut filling sauteed with pepper, cardamom, sugar and ghee and sometimes cottage cheese (chena). It’s one of the major delicacies during the festival occasions. Arisha is another delicacy. The sweet aroma of powdered rice and Gud being deep fried in Ghee is mesmerizing. Poda Pitha, Haladi Patra Pitha, Manda Pitha, Chitou Pitha are more examples of Odia specialitites. Mudhi (puffed rice) is an integral part of every Odia household. Bariapada is famous for its Mudhi. Mudhi serves the purpose of an instant snack. It perfectly blends with anything. Be it Chenachur (mix salty fried snacks), milk, tea, curries, peanuts or mango pulp.