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| A typical Assamese thali |
Assamese
cuisine is very distinct from other Indian foods, which is what makes it
exotic. It centers around rice, which is the staple crop of the state,fresh-water
fish and local fruits,herbs and vegetables. It is characterised by the natural sharp
tastes of the local fruits and vegetables used. The original tastes of the ingredients
are preserved since very little spices are used
in the cooking. For example, bitter gourd, in the other parts of the country,
is prepared with a lot of spices in such a way that it loses its bitterness.
But in Assam, it is simply cut into small pieces and fried in mustard oil with
just salt and a little turmeric to preserve the bitterness. Also, Assamese folk
prefer sourness of the many sour fruits which are abundantly available in the state like scented lemon,kordoi or
star fruit,ou tenga or elephant apple,bogori which is a type of berry etc in their meals. Sweets are not very
popular except as snacks.
Few non-Assamese
people have tried the cuisine since the Assamese people weren’t very
peripatetic till late and there are practically no hotels or restaurants
outside Assam which serve Assamese dishes. But with more tourists visiting the
state in recent times it is beginning to get noticed.
A typical Assamese
meal starts with Khar, a bland alkaline dish that is clubbed with rice to serve
as an appetizer, and ends with tenga, which is sour and acidic. These two signature
dishes are in stark contrast with each other.
The process
of making khar is an extremely unique one. It is made from a special type of
banana, Musa bulbisiana. The Assamese call it ‘Bheem kol’ (owing to its big
size and girth) or ‘Aathiya kol’(owing to its stickiness). This particular type
of banana is endemic to Assam and has lots of seeds along its center. The peel
is thick and fibrous, unlike other types of banana and dries naturally when
kept for about 3-4 days. The dried banana skins are burnt over a slow fire and
the cinders are then immersed in a bowl
of water and kept overnight. This alkaline
solution is sieved to get the clear khar solution, which is the basic
ingredient of the khar dish. There are various types of khar dishes that can be
made, but my favourite one which my grandmother used to make often for me is the
papaya-khar, which uses chopped raw papaya. It is a very simple and quick dish
to make. You just need to boil the raw papaya pieces in some water, add some
salt (and sprouts if you want) and pour a generous amount of khar solution
before covering with a lid. Then you just need to let it simmer till it becomes
soft and mix everything together. A dash of mustard oil is added to the dish
after its cooked.The mustard oil adds a pungent flavour to it, since khar in
itself is bland to taste. The Assamese eat khar by mixing it with plain boiled
rice, at the start of the meal. Also, in
the villages, the farmers often have some rice with just some of the plain khar solution mixed
with a little mustard oil, chopped onions and green chillies without cooking
with any vegetable early in the morning before setting off for the fields.
Tenga, is a
light, sour dish which is more soup-like rather than a curry. It is usually
prepared with fish or gram flour fritters. The Assamese make a number of
different types of tenga, using a sour fruit like Elephant Apple or ‘Ou Tenga’
as its locally called, Cocum or xuthi/thekera tenga, tomatoes, star fruit etc.
These fruits are locally available in Assam. A few days back, I learnt to make
xuthi tenga, which is again very easy to prepare. The key ingredient in this
dish is the cocum or xuthi (Garcinia indica), which provides the unique sour
taste. I fried a pinch of mustard seeds in a spoonful of mustard oil in a pan
first, after which I added three slivers of cocum, followed by some salt to
taste and some turmeric powder. I sautéd this mixture for a few minutes and
then added about three cups of water to it. After letting it simmer for some
time, I added a little cornflour-water paste to thicken it. One can fry some
fish pieces in mustard oil separately and add the fried pieces to the tenga to
make a fish-tenga, which is a favourite among the Assamese folk. In my case, I
fried some gram-flour fritters in mustard oil separately and added these to my
tenga, and let it simmer for some more time. Tenga marks the end of an Assamese
meal.
I hope the
above write-up served as an eye opener for food-aficionados who are willing to
experiment. Bon appétit!
