THE EXOTIC TASTES OF ASSAM

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!