Bhakka- Eastern Rajbanshi Delicacy

Steaming bhakka

 

 Bhakka, simple fluffy rice flour steamed cake, is a traditional delicacy of the community living in eastern plains of Nepal especially of Rajbansi community. It is typically eaten as breakfast or as a snack with freshly prepared tomato pickle. Although it looks very simple, the process of making it amazingly soft and fluffy is very creative. The one prepared with freshly harvested rice flour has some sweetness. If you happen to visit villages or other cities and towns in eastern plains, you are likely to see women steaming and selling bhakka early morning in the chowks. It has become popular street breakfast!

 

Too many bhakka to eat

The rice flour prepared from milling soaked rice is first sprinkled with some water to make lightly moist and then massaged with palms to form moist sand like texture. It is then sieved through the sieve, which helps in forming small round sand-size grits. It is then lightly compacted in a small bowl and then steamed. Traditionally clay pot with the narrow opening is used for steaming. The opening is covered by muslin cloth where the rice cake is placed and steamed with lid-on.

Rajbanshi women in production unit

Rajbanshi women collect fern, yam, rhizome, knolkhol and aurum as well as leafy vegetables from marshland and canal areas. Women are involved in fishing in local ditches and small fishes there along with nadiali fishes in local steams are converted into dried fishes by just leaving the fish pieces in dry sun beam without using salt or turmeric. They have invented various  techniques for fishing of pond fishes, river fishes and fishes with extra respiratory organ. Activity of fishes, fish eating birds, frogs, snakes and ants are natural indicator of weather to them.

Rajbanshi women are good with poultry and goat raring, whereas cattle management is mostly managed by male elders of the family. Duck, goose and swans control the population of snails in the pond and actually help in fish cultivation; their stool is a good source of fodder for the fishes. They know about the shrubs like bichhilara controlling infectious diseases in poultry. They know about the grasses and herbs that increase the milk productivity of cows. Women are really good will kitchen garden in uchu or danga or upland places where they propagate vegetables and spices. Turmeric, zinger, peppercorn, chilly, cardamom, cabbage and broccoli, cauliflower, mustard, rapeseeds, sunflower, bitter gourd, gourd, potato, sweet potato, carrot, beat, chal kumra or pani kumra (Pumpkin), lady finger, brinjal, snake gourd, cane and bamboo, jack fruit and guava, kaon, marua and maize are the basic items of highland. visit www.voiceofrajbanshi.blogspot.com

Bhakka

Bhakka

Bhakka is a traditional indigenous food of Rajbanshi community of Nepal and is popular in the eastern part of Nepal especially Morang district, Jhapa district and Sunsari district where there is superfluity of tharu community.Nowdays the popularity of bhakka has been spread throug out Nepal. This bhakka has been taken as breakfast or as fast food item in most of the areas.

Bhakka:The 500 km journey of a popular Jhapali dish to Kathmandu

On a chilly December morning, there is quite a buzz near Anamnagar bus station, east of Singhadarbar. A crowd has gathered around a stall, which is selling a popular dish of eastern Nepal, bhakka.

“We come to this didi’s place every morning for this. This food reminds us of our teen years, when we used to eat bhakka every day while going to the high school,” shares Rabin Khatiwada, a native of Birtamod in Jhapa district.

Made famous by members of the ethnic group called Rajbanshi, who live in Jhapa and Morang districts, bhakka is a popular dish made from fresh rice flour. It is normally eaten during winters in the areas.

However, this dish has recently travelled to Kathmandu. Whereas other street foods are popular among roadside crowds during afternoons and evenings, bhakka has been a favourite for morning folks.