The Monsoons in India are always much awaited as they provide relief from a hot summer. It is the time to enjoy the climate which is neither hot like summer nor cold like winter.

It is the perfect season to enjoy nature and water droplets with a favourite food.
Monsoon is not liked by the people of Patna because of the water logging and interrupted transport services, but it is a season of delicious street foods. Tea, Samosa, Pakora, chaat and Panipuri are high in demand.
Litti Choka, is one of the famous traditional street foods of Bihar. A litti is a ball of flour, stuffed with spicy gram-flour (sattu), baked over coals or cowdung cakes. It is eaten with a spicy mashed brinjal sauce called  ‘chokha’ and  a spoonful of ghee. Litti brings water in the mouth of the true Bihari. It can be eaten in breakfast, lunch, as well as in dinner combined with spicy gravies, even chicken and mutton curry!

Food and romance are two life universal pleasure with the droplets of rain, sharing one umbrella with your partner and have a litti Choka in  hand with background humming Bollywood rain songs ” Pyaar hua ikrar hua hai, pyaar se kyu darta hai dil ” a great idea to make mix in a bit of romance, cherished with Litti Choka.

Rainy season without Tea and Pakora ?
One can’t imagine the rainy season without steaming fragrant tea and piping hot pakoras!
Vinod, a street food seller near Peshawari restaurant in Boring Road Patna,  will tell you that tea and pakoras were famous even before Modi became the Prime minister! 

Vinod , who is around 50 years of age, has been selling foodstuff for 24 years. He operates his stall from 8 in the morning and it goes off at 9 in the night. He saysthat ‘pakora’ and ‘samosa’ are the most desired food for rainy season in every house. ‘Garma-garam’ (piping hot) samosa with chutney is a famous combination and people stop by to buy varieties of pakoras such as paneer (cottage cheese) , onion; bread, and. potato as per their taste. In the rainy season we love crisp and spicy food!

‘Bhelpuri’ and ‘Jhal Muri’ reminds me of a 90’s Hindi film song ‘’ Mai to Raste se jaa raha tha, bhel puri kha raha tha”…

Deepak Kumar ‘jhal muri and bhel puri wala’ from Rajendra nagar Patna said “ I am selling jhal muri , bhel puri and bhunja for more than 8 years. It is a popular street food demanded by all age groups from school children to old people.” He opens his shop from 11 am to 10 pm. “I earn Rs 800 to Rs 1000 every day in the rainy season. spicy jhal muri are demanded we make it using puffed rice and different Indian masalas; this is the perfect snack and easy available at almost all the corners of the city.”

He also says “it is a not adapted version of bhel puri of Bombay but we made it differently”.

Stuffing the mouth with Panipuri, for many Patna couples is another a way of expressing their love for each other.  As we all know panipuri or ‘sour- water filled dough balloons’  is the first love of all girls. Clever Boys use this ‘panipoori attraction’ as a chance to go on a pocket friendly romantic date. 

Mouthwatering Panipuri (also called phochka and golgappa)
Sanjay a panipuri wallah is selling Panipuri from 20 years on the streets of Danpur. He says monsoon season are a good season for our selling but we have to be more careful about our food stuffs. Generally, girls and ladies and children are most attracted towards it. In the monsoon season, they demand generally more sour and spicy so the masalas are specially made with onion, chickpeas chaat, sprouts, and mint and tamarind sauces.

Long walks with and your friend  and taste of ‘bhutta’ can make your friendship  bond stronger and  when its raining just carry  a umbrella; the more heavier it rains the more closer you will get. The aroma of bhutta will increase the level of friendship.

Bhutta (corn-on-the-cob) is the another most popular street food and the snacks. The joy of biting into bhutta with lemon and masalas are amazing in taste. This is easily available in all street of Patna.

Aahha Hot Tea!!

Khan tea shop at Digha Bata Factory is locally famous for chai. Khan, the owner, says hot tea and masala tea in this cold and rainy weather is the best thing one could drink. This popular chai beats all the other drinks in this season. No fruit juice and no lassi, no soft drink, but one cup of hot tea is enough to make you feel good and comfortable in this season.

These are some foods which are really popular in this season, street food which is on the top of the charts!

Nihal Kumar Dutta, Newsnet Intern 

  Bihar, food, monsoon season, Patna, rainy season, street food