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7 min
02/03/2026
Holi in India is as much about sweets as it is about colours. While the most famous Holi sweet, especially in the Northern parts of India, is gujiya, this article looks at a sweet that dominates the central and eastern parts of the country. Dudhari, which is made by rice, milk ad jaggery, is a staple for Holi in the state of Jharkhand and parts of Bihar. It is also called rice gulab jamun. Dive deeper to know more about this sweet, which might be a part of your Holi 2026 celebrations.
Every festive dish has a story, and Dudhauri’s begins in the agrarian kitchens of eastern India. The name of the dish comes from the Hindi word doodh (milk), which is the heart of this dish. In the eastern and central regions of India, where rice cultivation and dairy farming are central to everyday life, combining the two for a festive sweet is the most practical way.
Interestingly, Dudhauri is also sometimes described as a tale of milk penury. In many rural households, milk was often diluted or limited in quantity, and that is why, to make this dish, it was mixed with water. Instead of using expensive khoya (reduced milk solids) like in many North Indian sweets, this dish uses arva (white) rice and is boiled in the diluted milk until the grains absorb all the liquid and turn soft and mushy. This mixture is then transformed into a festive dessert. Dudhauri started as an affordable, pantry-staple sweet, but it slowly became a Holi tradition that has now become an unmissable part of the festival. Read this article to learn more about the sweet. This Holi 2026, try making it instead of the popular Holi sweets.
Dudhauri is a rice-and-milk-based sweet prepared especially during Holi in Jharkhand and parts of Bihar. Here’s how the dish is traditionally made:
Arva rice (or sometimes Basmati for a richer version) is boiled directly in milk. The rice is cooked slowly until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture becomes thick and mashable.
The cooked rice is mashed into a soft dough. Some households add a small amount of refined flour for binding. The dough is then shaped into small oval balls, similar to gulab jamuns.
These pieces are fried in ghee or oil over a medium flame until they turn golden brown.
Immediately after frying, the pieces are dropped into warm sugar or jaggery syrup flavoured with cardamom. They are left to soak anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours before serving.
If you follow the above steps, you will have a sweet, which has a golden and crispy exterior and a soft and juicy interior that will melt easily in the mouth.
Holi in eastern India is not just about colours; it is about food prepared with the available ingredients and sharing with the community. Dudhari highlights how rice forms an important part of the easter Indian food culture, how important local ingredients are while making sweets during festivals, how grains and dairy, which are the core produce of the regions, are blended for festivities, and how simple staples are turned into festive offerings.
What makes Dudhauri special is its simplicity. It does not rely on expensive ingredients or very elaborate cooking steps. Instead, it shows how rice and milk, which are two everyday ingredients, can become something festive. The preparation also highlights the zero-waste mindset, as leftover rice could be repurposed to make this sweet. And milk, which can be slightly diluted, becomes something celebratory. These practical and simple facts about Dudhauri make it a sweet with deep roots and meaning.
Today, when the festivities are filled with Instagram-famous and fusion sweets, many regional delicacies are slowly being forgotten. Dudhauri proves that India’s festivities are far more diverse that keept the regional and cultural spirit of the festivals alive, along with welcoming new delicacies from other parts of the world. This Holi 2026, let your Holi table represent the silent and culinary heritage of Jharkhand and Bihar through Dudhauri, along with the very famous Holi sweet gujiya and several other treats from different regions.