Bihari food is unfussy, vegetarian-leaning, and based on local grains: gram flour, mustard oil, and the prized aromatic rice of the Ganges plain. The signature dish is litti chokha -- balls of wheat flour stuffed with roasted gram, cooked over coals, and served with mashed aubergine and tomato. Eat it at a roadside stall around Boring Road or in the bazaars of Patna City; it should arrive smoky and brittle.
Beyond litti, look for sattu paratha (flatbread stuffed with roasted chickpea flour), dal pitha (steamed dumplings), and the river fish curries cooked in mustard. Maurya Lok complex in the centre has reliable mid-range restaurants; the bigger hotels along Fraser Road serve Mughlai and continental food. For sweets, khaja -- crisp layered pastry soaked in syrup -- is the Bihari speciality.