Discover culinary delights of Assam

It was a showcase of delicately spiced food made using freshest of produce, cooked over low heat for a long time with just a dash of oil resulting is some amazingly delicious food. Assamese pop up at Bidri restaurant, Marriott Hyderabad was an exploration of what makes the Assamese palates tick, the culinary traditions, the predominantly rice-rich dishes, the love for potatoes, the mix of sour, sweet, and chilli…

The kokum based welcome drink came in a tall glass followed by the Khorikas, kebabs on skewers, mildly spiced using just a dash of mustard oil, ginger, salt and turmeric, and cooked over open fire.

There was Kukura – chicken skewers with the fingerlickingly hot and tasty dip made using the sharpest chilli found in Assam, bhut jalokia or ghost chilli and bamboo shoots; Maas – boneless cubes of fish served with lentil dip;

Mangso khorika – the barbequed lamb; home styled Anguli pitha (the finger shaped rice floor fritters steamed and poached in water is a popular snack and the chef served it with sweet tomato chutney); aloo chop filled with chicken mince served with mango dip and bhaat karela that the chef tweaked a bit by covering it with mashed potato before frying.

The Thali could very well be a festive feast for there was so much variety – the traditional start to Assamese food is with the alkaline khar – the one that was served on the thali was made using raw papaya, jack fruit and chickpea.

Then there was the Kukura kurma – chicken dish slow cooked in yoghurt and onion that can be had with the luchi or the steamed rice. The thali also featured one of the most delicious Assamese curries, Maangsho rongalou (lamb braised in sweet pumpkin), and Potol xoriyha (pointed gourd in mustard gravy), Labra (mixed vegetables) and the delicate Masoor dal with bamboo shoots – that are flavoured with paanch phoren.

The Assamese have a special fetish was sour dishes (tenga) that are made by using ambada (sorrel) or tomato. On the menu was Fish tenga that uses tomato and elephant apple and the Boror tenga, which is lentil dumplings cooked with sorrel leaves. A sour dish usually marks an end to main course.

A unique culinary tradition calls for some unique desserts – and the orange kheer (komalar kheer), Kolabora sawal (sweet brown sticky rice), narikol (coconut laddu) and laru bora sawal (the crunchy mildly sweet sticky rice pudding) fitted the bill.

Foodie, blogger, chef Kashmiri Nath created an elaborate Assamese menu that will be served on a Thali until June 26 during dinners for Rs 1500 (non-vegetarian) minus the taxes.

By: Rajeshwari Kalyanam