Til barfi is a delicious dessert that is prepared using a combination of jaggery and sesame seeds. This sweet is mostly eaten during the Makar Sankranti Festival.

Rugra is one of the most popular food items in Jharkhand. Similar to mushroom in taste and equally delicious, rugra is an indigenous vegetable that is used is used in sabzis.

Khaja is a popular sweet of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, which is usually prepared during religious festivals. To make khaja, refined wheat flour is mixed with sugar and oil to form a layered dough. The dough is then stuffed with dry fruits and lightly fried in oil until crisp. The crisp layered croissants are then dipped in a sugar syrup until they absorb it completely.

\The delicious sweet is one of the most important delicacies of the Chhatt Puja Festival in Bihar. Khaja is also enjoyed in various parts of Nepal, Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

Made from diced potatoes and lamb curry, which is spiced with garam masala, mirchi-ka-salan is delectable.

A trip to Ranchi would be incomplete without relishing the freshly cooked litti chokha, the trademark dish of Bihar and Jharkhand. One of the most popular food items of the state, litti (dough ball made of whole wheat flour and stuffed with sattu [roasted chickpea flour]) is eaten with chokha (roasted and mashed vegetables), aloo bharta, papad and yoghurt.

Rice beer prepared by locals, handia is made from ranu tablet – a combination of around 20-25 herbs. These are combined with boiled rice. The mix is then left to ferment. Ready to be consumed in a week’s time, handia has a low alcoholic content.

Dhuska is a popular deep fried snack of Jharkhand and its main ingredients include powdered rice, powdered chana dal and boiled potatoes. These ingredients are mixed together and moulded into the shape of pancakes and deep fried. The crispy snack is best served with gram curry and chutney. Dhuska is a popular street food item.

Bamboo shoots, also known as bamboo sprouts are edible shoots of various species of bamboo like Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. Bamboo shoots find their use in a number of dishes made in Jharkhand and are available in fresh, dried and canned versions. A popular food of Jharkhand, the shoots have a tough exterior with a sweet flavour. Some of the most common varieties of bamboo shoots used in the cuisine of Jharkhand are young shoots and stored shoots, which are known as karil and shandhna, respectively.