If you think Indian people love spicy food only, you are wrong. As we move to the eastern part of India, the cooking style, food preferred completely differs from the other part. Though every state has a unique food taste, the eastern India food contrasts with the other parts. Assamese cuisine is characterized by less use of spices and involves little fire. They use dried, fermented vegetables and fruits for cooking. The foods are made in earthenware which gives them, a special smell and taste. If you are a lover of roasted and meat dishes with little spices, then Assam is the place for you.
Assamese are non-vegetarians providing more non-veg foods than vegan foods. Their main dish involves rice with curry of different types and the meal ends with a sweet, a beet nut and paan. If you want to taste and experiments with new food, from pork to duck, even silkworms, fish and duck eggs, Assam cuisine gives it to you with exotic flavours.
Assam's specialized dishes:
1) Khaar
2) Duck Meat Curry
3) Masoor Tenga
4)Aloo Pitika.
Khaar is usually made for lunch and this dish involves meat, raw papaya, and pulses. These ingredients are filtered in banana leaves which adds a refreshing flavour to the dish.
Aloo Pitikais is known as the comfort food of Assam. This dish is made mostly of mashed potatoes. Eaten with dal Aloo pitika is the most preferred dish in Assam.
Best Snacks:
1) Momos
Eaten with Assamese's chilli dip, this mildly flavoured paneer or pork stuffed momos taste like heaven.
2) Bahoor Chugat Maach and Pitha
Assamese obsession with bamboos resulted in tasty evening snacks. Pitha contains roasted, dried barbequed ingredients inside the bamboo stems. As for the Bahoor Maach, little fishes are placed inside the bamboo stem and cooked in the charcoal fire to obtain an exotic flavour from the dish.
The tribes in Assam make herbal dishes namely xaak, which is known to have many medicinal values that help in the growth of the body. There are also several dishes made of green leafy vegetables like Babori Bhaaji.
Last but not least, Don't miss out the Assaam's black tea. This tea is known for its strong, brisk, bright colour and malty flavour. This tea was first found and used by the SIngpho tribes of Assam. Robert Bruce, a Scottish Adventurer is said to introduce Assam's tea bush in Europe in 1823.
Though the cuisine may sound bland and tasteless, it is not. The subtle yet strong flavour found in this cuisine ie., not too bland, not too spicy makes this cuisine special and worth trying in your lifetime.
- S.Varshini
No comments:
Post a Comment