Assam’s Five traditional foods; you should try Once

The northeastern states of India are known for their distinctive, mouth-watering cuisine. They are known for their rice, fish and hooves, minimal use of oil, and generous use of medicinal herbs. Assam is a state that offers a variety of delicious foods in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Assamese food is often closely related to the agricultural seasons and there is a culture and history behind the preparation of the foods.

So let’s take a look at five essential Assam recipes that everyone must try at least once in their lifetime…
Aloo Pitika
Aloo Patika is a very common and widely loved dish in Assam. Also used in other states of India, Aloo Patika is a comfort food for many households due to its easy preparation, minimal ingredients and short cooking time. The main part of this side course is the potatoes, which are boiled for 15-20 minutes and mashed in a mixing pot.

Mix the mashed potatoes with a cup of chopped green chillies, red chillies, ginger or garlic. The choice of which vegetables and peppers to mash with the mash potatoes is up to you. You can mix mashed potatoes with tomato, coriander, boiled egg or onion depending on which flavor you prefer. But the most popular variety of aloo patika is the eggplant patika, in which the mash is mixed with fried pieces of eggplant.

This simple yet delicious dish is perfect to introduce to your house guests as an appetizer. And it smells so good!
Assamese fish curry
No list of Assamese food is complete without the nationally famous fish curry.

The main ingredient of the delicious dish is Roho fish, which can be cooked with a variety of sautéing agents. Some cooks add in elephant apples while others use jackfruit. Other options for souring agents are fillets, jujube, tamarind, mustard paste, catfish and creeping wood leaves. But The most preferred choice of ingredient for flavoring is tomato, which gives the curry a lip smacking flavor.

First rub the fish pieces with salt and turmeric. And fry them in a pan in mustard oil. Now take out the pieces and keep aside. Use the remaining oil in the pan to fry pieces of tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt and other spices. It’s up to you what you like in this aromatic potpourri. Finally put the fish in the pan and add two cups of water. When your Assamese fish curry is ready, garnish it with coriander or basil leaves.
While this special takes time to prepare, the resulting aroma and flavor (not to mention its filling potential) are totally worth it.
Khar with Green Papaya
If you have a vegetarian appetite, we have a delicious recipe for you too. This dish combines khar soda with green papaya to make a healthy side dish for lunch and dinner.

Khar is an important part of the food culture in Assam as it is a highly nutritious extract extracted from the sun-dried peel of the feather-back banana (locally known as ‘bheem kol’)… but its Only then are they burnt to semi-ashes. A medicinal extract of these charred fours, mixed with water, acts like soda with a refreshing earthy taste. Khar dwi, or Kharwi, became popular in the state as early as the British colonial period when salt was too expensive for common villagers to consume. So they took the local ingredient of banana leaf ash to make kharwi.
Like fish curry, there are several ingredients you can choose from when making a khar dish. Some people add black lentils, gourds, greens or fish heads to their kharwi. But perhaps, the most popular option is green papaya khar.

Kharwi is so widely eaten in Assam that the Assamese have a phrase used to describe a fellow who swears by kharwi or “possesses” all of its qualities. Is. This person is designated as ‘Khar Khuwa Aksumya’ (Khar-Eating Assamese).
Dao Onla
A staple dish for the Bodo community in Assam is Dao Onla (meaning ‘chicken and rice powder’). It is a meat dish that has deep cultural roots for Bodo families.

One way to prepare this dish is to marinate the chicken in a mixture of fried spices, coriander, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Leave the marinated chicken aside and share some black gram. Then finally, fry the meat and black gram in a pan and pour the khar water on it. As mentioned earlier, kharvi is an important part of Assamese food culture, but especially Bodo food culture.
Sesame Pitha
Rice coconut. And black sesame. We see these three beloved ingredients all come together in the famous pitha.

Pitha is a very popular side dish and dessert in Assam. It is associated with the agricultural festival of Bihu as it is prepared from chopped rice and served to the guests during it. Bihu is one of the three most celebrated festivals of Assam.

Three main types of Bihu are celebrated throughout the year: Katti/Kongali Bihu (when harvest begins), Magh/Bhogali Bihu (when the harvest season ends) and Bohag/Rongali Bihu (in spring). A new planting season begins). Assamese eat pitha extensively on all three holidays.
To prepare the pitha, you soak the glutinous rice for four hours and keep it aside. Then you grind it finely and keep it in the fridge overnight. After that, you fry the layers on a thick pan. Add sugar syrup and black sesame seeds. Then roll the rice paste around the sesame to form a proper roll. Make sure to do it on low heat so that you don’t burn your hands. Also take care not to break it. Let it dry. Your pitha is ready!
There are different shapes of backs and there is no one way to prepare them. Some pies are filled with coconut, jaggery and sugar syrup. Others are filled with the more desirable black sesame seeds. Did you know that one method is to stuff the backs into hollow bamboo and roast them over a fire? The result is a beautiful, cylindrical rice roll.