Fish Curry... Granny Style.

As I have said many times that Assamese food is simple, and food in the villages is simpler. So here is one very simple fish curry. It's tasty, it's healthy and it's quick. You can refer to the glossary part for more clarity on the ingredients.

Ingredients:
1. Fish (Rahu, Katla, Koi, Xingi, Magur) - 1 piece per person, fried.
2. Pre Boiled Potato - 1 medium sized per piece of fish. broken, but not meshed.
3. Onion - Chopped, for about 5 pieces one medium sized.
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch for 5 pieces, broken
5. Boiling water 3 times the amount of curry is needed.
6. Mustard Oil - 2 spoon
7. Salt, Turmeric - To taste

Method:
Heat a wok or any curry pan. Add the oil. Add the ginger and onion. Fry a little. Add the Potato , salt and turmeric and mix well. Fry till you get the flavour. Pour in all the water. You can add two green chillies to it. Once the curry bubbles, add the fish piece to it. Keep shimmering in a low medium flame till the curry reaches a consistency of your choice.
It's ready. Serve hot with rice and some bhaji.

Assmese Pork Recipes

This time, I want to share a few very popular dishes from Assam with you in a different way. Basically, I was thinking, to make this post a bit personalized rather than just sharing only the recipe.

By this time you might have formed some idea, that Assam is really a land of rich amalgamation of many cultures, tribes, customs and food habits. Over a period of time, the typical dishes of many communities/ tribes have influenced and have got influenced by various cooking methods and styles of other communities. The popular dishes from Assam at the present day therefore reflect this trend and you can not really separate one from another, with respect to authenticity and origin. Having said that, I again would like to put the disclaimer, that, every cook has her/his own style and trademark preparation method.

Now, coming to pork dishes, I really find it very amazing, how pork has taken the place for most favorite meat in recent times among the people of Assam. Originally, not many communities used to consume pork as their main non-vegetarian side dish due to various religious and social restrictions. But, of late, more and more people have started having pork, either as a family habit or by discovering the awesome taste of the ingenious authentic pork dishes which different tribes of the region have been cooking. Today, if you ask any youth from Assam, what’s your favorite meat, 70% chances are there that the answer will be Pork.

In Assamese, we call it Gahori. It has many other names though e.g. Assam Tractor. I really don’t know what the origin of this name is or who coined it first, but I guess, you can really make out, why it is called so. Whatever you may call it, I am sure, you would definitely enjoy the following dishes which I am going to talk here today.

Although, there are many popular pork recipes which people of Assam and NE India prepare and serve, I am going to talk about mostly about three very must have dishes. They are:

Pork Curry with Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tendergreen)
Pork with Gaanj Tenga (Chilly Pork Curry in Bamboo Shoot)
Chilly Dry Fried Pork

There are some basic things with pork dishes if you really want to taste it in the Assamese way.

First, you should get the most appropriate type of pork meat. I am not an authority on pork, but I have heard the meat from lower neck and lower belly part tastes the best. Then you need to get the meat cut down into smaller pieces so that you can cook it well it in a curry form. An ideal pork piece can be cut in such a way, where you get both fat and little bit of meat with the skin. (See photo)

Second, the usages of spices in Assamese pork dishes. As mentioned in many places throughout various posts in this blog, Assamese dishes do not require much of spices, and its especially applicable for pork dishes. You don’t have to use any of the garam masalas which you might have used for mutton or chicken. What you need for pork dishes are only garlic, ginger and green chilies.

Third thing is, if you get some tender pork meat, then its very good. Otherwise, make sure, you cook the meat till its soft and tender. If the pieces with skin is soft, then you can assume, its done. You also need to make sure; you wash and clean the meat properly before cooking to avoid hygiene issues.

Fourth, you don’t have to use any additional oil to make the curry. You can make the curry in the pork fat itself.

Before getting into the details of the recipes, let me mention a few names without whom my pork fiesta would not have been completed. They are the guys who really helped me to taste, appreciate, understand and experiment pork at various point of time by sharing their ingenious trademark recipes.

Thanks Ghananil for your special dry fried pork. Thanks Debajyoti for your pork and laai xaak recipe. Thanks Jeet for your naga style bamboo shoot pork recipe. Thanks Utpal, Parashar, Anupom, and Himangshu et al for tolerating my experiment with pork and for your praises.

Thanks to all those buddies with whom I had the chance to have Assam tractor licking my fingers on so many occasions.

Thanks to my better half too for letting me cook pork the way I want.

Pork Curry with Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tender green)

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 1 K.G.

Laai Xaak (Mustard Greens) [BTW, this was home grown :), straight from Assam]

Fresh Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tender green) 1 bunch

Garlic 8 cloves
Ginger 1 inch
Green Chilies 5 nos
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder half tsp
Onions 2 nos
Salt to taste

Optional:

Medium sized tomato 1 no
Big sized potato 1 no

P.S. Most of the Assamese non-vegetarian dishes traditionally contain potato as one of the mandatory ingredient.

Preparation:

Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
Cut the onions in thin slices
Slit the green chilies lengthwise in two halves
Cut the tomato in 4 halves
Cut the potato in 8 parts


Cooking:

Put a wide pressure cooker on stove and heat it in medium flame till its complete dry and warm. Do not overheat the cooker.
Put the fat pieces which you kept separately after washing into the cooker and make sure they do not stick to the cooker. Keep stirring the pieces with medium flame one.
Oil will come out from the fat pieces slowly and the color of the fat pieces will turn from golden to light brown. (If you want to take out the oil from the pieces faster, then u put the flame to bit on the higher side and cover the cooker temporarily.)
Once sufficient amount of oil comes out, put the cut onions in the cooker and stir fry them till they become golden brown.
Then put the rest of the pork in the cooker and increase the flame.
Put turmeric and red chilly powder and little bit of cumin (jeera) powder if you like and mix them well with the pork. Leave it on medium high flame for 2-3 minutes
Once oil starts coming out reduce the flame and put the ginger garlic paste you prepared. Mix them well with the meat and cover the cooker and leave it for 2-3 minutes.
Uncover the cooker and put the cut potatoes, if you had done it and put the flame at medium heat. Keep frying them for sometime and then put the lid back and let it cook on low heat.
Once the meat is somewhat cooked, take the laai leafs and tear them into small portions by hand and put them in the pressure cooker. You can put small amount of leafs so that you can keep mixing them with the meat by stirring.
Put the lid back on the cooker and reduce the flame. Keep it covered for 5 minutes.
At this point of time, you should get the aroma of Laai xaak and the pork. Check if the leafs are starting to form a lump, then add the tomatoes in the cooker. Fry them in low flame till they start to melt.
Add the slit green chilies and salt.
Add a cup of hot water and increase the flame.
Once the curry starts boiling, put the lid clipped on the cooker and let pressure cook it for 5/6 whistles.
Take the cooker out of the stove and let it cool naturally. Once you can open the cooker, put it back on the stove and mix the curry and the meat properly. Sprinkle some fresh coriander over it and serve hot with rice. Here it would look like:

Gahori Lai Xaak: Home Cooked

We are adding this picture of home-cooked dish as an update on request from a few of you out there :)

Pork with Gaanj Tenga (Chilly Pork Curry in Bamboo Shoot)

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 1 K.G.

Bamboo Shoot (Grated) 150 gms

Bhot Jolokiya (Raja Mircha)

Dried Red Chilies - 8 nos (If you can get Bhot Jolokiya then its better; one is more than enough)

1. Garlic 8 cloves
   Ginger 1 inch
   Onions 2 nos
   Salt to taste
   Fresh coriander 1 bunch
   
   P.S. For more on bamboo shoot, please check the bottom left hand section of this page. This recipe does not need turmeric powder or any other masala.
   
   Preparation:
   
   Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
   Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
   Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
   Make separate paste of the red chilies. Or you can keep them as flakes.
   Cut the onions in thin slices
   
   Cooking:
   
   Put a wide pressure cooker on stove and heat it in medium flame till its complete dry and warm. Do not overheat the cooker.
   Put the fat pieces which you kept separately after washing into the cooker and make sure they do not stick to the cooker. Keep stirring the pieces with medium flame one.
   Oil will come out from the fat pieces slowly and the color of the fat pieces will turn from golden to light brown. (If you want to take out the oil from the pieces faster, then u put the flame to bit on the higher side and cover the cooker temporarily.)
   Once sufficient amount of oil comes out, put the cut onions in the cooker and stir fry them till they become golden brown.
   Then put the rest of the pork in the cooker and increase the flame.
   Once oil starts coming out reduce the flame and put the ginger garlic paste you prepared. Mix them well with the meat and cover the cooker and leave it for 2-3 minutes.
   Uncover the cooker and put the red chilly flakes and put the flame at medium heat. Keep frying them for sometime and then put the lid back and let it cook on low heat.
   Once the meat is somewhat cooked, put the bamboo shoots in the cooker and mix them with the meat by stirring.
   Put the lid back on the cooker and reduce the flame. Keep it covered for 5 minutes.
   At this point of time, you should get the aroma of bamboo shoot and the pork. Keep frying them in low flame till they start to melt.
   Add salt.
   Add hot water to cover the meat and increase the flame. The gravy should be deep golden brown to red in color. If you have added sufficient amount of red chilly paste, then the gravy will take an inviting color without using any other masala.
   Once the curry starts boiling, put the lid clipped on the cooker and let pressure cook it for 5/6 whistles
   

Take the cooker out of the stove and let it cool naturally. Once you can open the cooker, put it back on the stove and mix the curry and the meat properly. Sprinkle some fresh coriander over it and serve hot with rice.

Home Cooked Pork and Bamboo Shoot with Dried Raja Mircha

Chilly Dry Fried Pork

1. Serves 4 – 6
   
   Ingredients:
   
   Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 0.5 K.G.
   Garlic 6 cloves
   Ginger 1 inch
   Onions 1 no
   Salt to taste
   Fresh capsicum 1 no
   Turmeric powder 1 tsp
   Red chilly powder ½ tsp
   Black pepper powder ½ tsp
   Dark soya sauce 1 table spoon
   Green chilies 4 nos
   Spring Onions 3 nos
   Fresh coriander 1 bunch
   Cooking oil 1 table spoon
   
   Preparation:
   
   Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
   Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
   Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
   Cut the onion and capsicum into rings
   Cut the spring onions including the bulb into one inch long pieces
   
   Cooking:
   
   Add half cup of water in a cooker
   Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder and half of the ginger garlic paste in the water and mix well.
   Put the pork in the cooker and mix with the Masala water.
   Steam the cooker in medium high heat for 3-4 whistles. Last two whistles in low flame.
   Let the cooker be cooled naturally and once cooled, separate the meat from the remaining water and keep aside. Don’t throw the boiled water away. You might need it.
   Heat a wok or deep fry pan (not a flat frying pan). Put one table spoon of cooking oil and spread the oil on the surface of the pan
   Once the oil is hot, put the remaining ginger garlic paste.
   Put the drained out pork in the pan and sauté them for sometime, till they get a brownish tint.
   Cover the pan with a lid and put the flame in medium low.
   After 3-5 minutes once the oil starts coming out from the fat, increase the flame and keep stir fry.
   Add black pepper powder, salt and the spring onions.
   Once the spring onions are flat, add the capsicum and onion rings. Adjust the salt if you like.
   Reduce the flame to lowest and cover the pan for 3 minutes.
   Add dark soya sauce and mix it well and stir fry. At this point of time, the meat should be light brown in color and should be tender. Check for a fat piece whether the skin is soft.
   Add the slit green chilies and coriander.

Serve it hot with beer or with normal rice meal.

Chicken with Vegetables

This is one of my personal favorite. It's healthy and good to taste.

1. Chicken - 500 gm
2. Salt - to taste
3. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
4. Chopped Onion - one medium sized
5. Vegetables - Cauliflower, Carrot, Potato, Beans, Tomato, Parval / potol, Green peas; all of
these together should be half the volume of chicken.
6. Haldi - 1/2 tea spoon
7. sugar - a pinch
8. Green chillies - about 4 slit in length ( can be as per taste)
9. Mustered Oil - 2 Spoons.
10. 2 Cardamom and 1/2 inch Dalchini broken.

Method:
Mix the chicken and the rest of the ingredient in a pan. Do not add the vegetable and Ingredient 10. Take a pressure cooker. Add the chicken mixture followed by the vegetable. Place it on flame.When the pressure cooker heats up, heat the mustered oil separately and pour into the chicken. Fry till the chicken leaves water. Let the water dry up a bit. Add fresh water and whistle it to cook well. Once the pressure cooker is opened, add the garam masala.

Serve Hot with hot steamed rice or Roti.

One Simple Quick Side Dish....

Ingredients:

1. Half Cup Masoor Dal ( red bengal daal)
2. One small Onion finely chopped.
3. Green Chilly, chopped.
4. 1 spoon mustard oil
5. Salt to taste
6. A cotton big handkerchief / Piece of cloth.

Method:

First and fore most your piece of cloth has to be so clean that you can eat it. It should be literally eatable.
If you cook rice in pressure cooker your work is more than half done. Put the daal in the cloth piece and make a pouch by tying it tight. The knot has to be tight but make a pouch double the amount of daal. Put this pouch in your rice, to cook along the rice. Once your rice is done, take the pouch out and let it cool a bit.

Take out the daal from the pouch, add all the rest of the ingredients, mesh well. It is a delicious side dish for any rice variety. I some times stuff this into a Paratha too :-D

Mach Aru Kala Teel Curry - Fish Curry in Black Sesame

Oh well.. long since my last recipe... sorry about that. Here is one absolute authentic Assamese dish.
Ingredients:

1. Fish ( Rahu or Climbing Perch)


2. Black Sesame seeds (Kala Teel) - About half cup, paste ( Use the black variety with the "chilka")


3. Galric - 7 to 8 Medium cloves


4. Salt to taste


5. Green Chilly- about 3, slit them


6. Water - Boiled


7. mustered Oil - 2 Spoon

Method:
Clean the fish and deep fry, do not forget to add salt and turmeric. The fish should be 90% fried.
Heat a wok ( Karhai). Add the oil and bring it to boil. Add the garlic cloves. Sputter till brown. Add the Gingely / till paste. Add Salt and the green chilly simultaneously. Add the boiling hot water. ( The amount of water should be double the amount of gravy desired. About a Liter is fine for this amount of other ingredient). Let is come to bubble. Add the fish pieces.
Now let it shimmer on a very low flame. It is ready to serve when the water is half of its amount. serve with rice....

Ou Tengar Ombol - elephant's apple chutney

Well elephant's apple is a favorite soaring agent used by all Assamese Kitchen. I am not sure where all places this particular fruit is avaiable. If you can find it do try this chutney.

Do not forget to throw away the cover flakes.

1. Ou tenga - 1, flaked and cut in to pieces.


2. Salt to taste


3. Sugar to taste


4. Green chillies

Method:

Boil the Ou tenga falkes with water in a cooker. ( add only enough water to cook). Remove from flame once cooked. Mesh the cooked flakes and squeeze. Seperate the pulpy water part and the hard fibers. Add salt, sugar and Chillies. Mix well.

Serve with anything.

Roast Brinjal - Bengena Pitika

Pitika and Pora are two unavoidable side dishes of any assamese platter. Here is one quick fix.

Ingredient:

1. Brinjal - One ( as shown in the picture)


2. Roasted or Boiled and peeled Potato - 2 medium


3. Onion - 1, Finely chopped


4. Green Chilly - to taste


5. Masturd Oil - 1 tea spoon


6. Green Coriender - 2 tea spoon, chopped

Method:

Roast the brinjal on a gas flame/ wood fire or any where as per your arrengement. Prick the brinjal while roasting, with a pricker. After roasting it evenly and once the brinjal is cooked, peel of the skin. Keep it in a pan or plate. Add the potatos ( Peeled). Add all the rest of the ingredients. Mesh it well. ( You can add a boiled egg to it).

Serve it hot with any rice platter.

Pickle - Brinjal

This is one of the best expertise of my mother. You can make it at any point of time. Use the kind of Brinjals as shown in the picture.

Ingredients:

1. Brinjal - 1KG


2. Oil - 1 Ltr


3. Ginger - 250 Gm - Paste


4. Garlic - 3 Big - Paste


5. Red Chilly Powder - 2 Table Spoon


6. Jeera / Cummin Powder - 2 Table Spoon


7. Dhania / Corriender powder - 3 Table Spoon


8. Fenugreek / Methi - 1/2 tea spoon- powdered


9. Salt to taste


10. Sugar to taste


11. Vinegar - 1 Cup


12. Curry leaves - 4 to 5

Method:

Wash the brinjal clean. Remove all stems. Dry of all water with a clean musline. Cut in to a size of 5cm length. You can use them a half sliced vertically or cut into quater vertically with a length of 5 cm. Heat a iron wok or a deep and heacy bottom pan. Pour 750 Ml of the oil. Half fry the brinjals in batches. Drain the oil and keep aside. Add ginger and garlic to the oil. Fry till golden brown. Add all the spices mentioned. Now add the half fried brinjals. Add salt and sugar to taste. Mix well. Cook till every thing is mixed evenly. when the Brinjal is cooked, add vinegar and the curry leaves. Keep it on flame for another minute and remove.

Let it pickle for 2 days in a jar. heat the remaining oil and let it cool. Once cooled, pour over the pickle.

Serve it with chappati, bread or any thing. ( The sate is sweet salt sour)

Narasingh Masor Jhol - Curry Leaves and Fish Curry

Currently I am in Hyderabad and one thing I find in plenty is Curry leaves or Naraxingho Paat in Assamese. The original recipe uses tender leaves but one can use the grown up ones. This recipe is passed on to me by my Aunt in Law.

Ingredient:

1. Curry Leaves - to make a paste of about half a cup



2. Boiled baby potato - peeled



3. Fish - The best candidate is Kawoi (in Assamese) /Koee (Bengali) / climbing perch (Anabas testudineus). If not available, then you can try with either Rahu or Magur - Half Fried


4. Garlic cloves - 4 to 5


5. salt, red chilly and a little oil

Method:

Add about 5 glasses of water to the curry leave paste, keep aside. Heat a big pan or Wok of adequate capacity to make the curry. Add the garlic cut into pieces. Let the garlic sputter till brown. Add the potato to the oil, add salt and red chilly. Fry a little bit ( say about two minutes) Add the Curry leave juice to the pan. Let in come to boil. Add the half fried fish pieces ( About 4 Big Pieces). Let it boil till the water comes to half. Taste for salt. Mesh some potatoes for a little thicker curry and taste. Serve with rice. !!!!

Sour Pumpkin Curry ---- Rongalaur Tenga Torkari

Ingredient :

1. Pumpkin - Rongalaou
2. Ribbed Goud - Jika
3. One potato
4. Mustard Seed
5. Mustard Oil - One Spoon
6. Salt, Pinch of Sugar, Turmeric
7. Lemon Juice - 2 Spoon

Method:

Cut the pumpkin, potato and the goud in small pieces. heat a wok and add oil. Sputter the mustard seed, add the vegetable. Add salt, sugar and turmeric. Cover to cook. Stir occationally. When it is half cooked, add little water to make very little gravvy. Once cooked, add the lemon juce, remove from flame. If you want it to be very sour, add some extra lemon Juice. It goes well with rice, plain dal and some dry fry.

Xaak Bhaaji ---- Green Vegetable Assamese Style

Well... first I do not know the english of most of the green leafy veges we use in assam. This may be one of the most simple but tricky recepie.
Ingredient:

1. Green Leafy Vegetable.


2. Seasoning - Onion/Ginger / garlic / Methi seeds


3. Salt to taste


4. Masturd oil - 1 tea spoon

Method:

Clean the vegetables, chop them finely. heat a wok. Add oil and the seasoning, let it sputter. Add the vegetable, add salt. Mix well and cover it. Once cooked,remove from flame. Serve hot with rice.

Sagoli Mangxor Jol ( Mutton Curry )

I am sure we get mutton in all parts of the world. So this recipie can be tried and tasted by any one.
Ingradients :

1. Mutton - 1 Kg ( Cut into medium size pieces)


2. Onion - 2 Medium


3. Ginger - 2 tsp paste


4. Garlic - 3 tsp paste


5. Cumin - 3 tsp


6. Dry red chilly - 3


7. Salt, Turmeric - to taste


8. Black Peper - 4 to 5


9. Potato - Cut in half ( optional)and light deep fried.


10. Mustard Oil

Method:

Clean the meat and add Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Salt and turmeric. Add one spoon Mustard oil. Mix it all well. Heat a wok. Add about 3 spoon oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the Mutton. Cook till the water is out and than dried. Now boil some water seperately in a pan. Add the potato and mix well. Add sufficient water and pressure cook for the meat to be tender. Once done, place the meat in the wok back or remove the lid from the cooker and cook open for the water to dry a little bit. Add broken black peper. Remove from heat. Serve with rice or Roti.

Kasu thor Jalukia or Jhola

Kasu Xaak or Taro Leaves is a green vegitable variety. This recipie is one of the typical assamese cooking with least of oil and spices.

Ingredients:

1. Kumolia Kasu Thor - Taro Leaves which have not grown completely : 7 to 8 stems


2. Jaaluk - Black Peper : 5 to 7 broken


3. Masoor/Boot/ Rahar Dal - Red Lentil / Bengal gram : 3 table spoon


4. Salt to taste


5. Turmeric to taste


6. Ginger Garlic paste (not fine paste) in equal amout about 2 tea spoon


7. A pinch of Sugar if you prefer.


8. Paanch Foran - One Pinch


9. One spoon oil

Method:

Clean the Kasu Xaak and chop in big pieces.Put all ,but oil and paanch foran, of the ingredients in a pressure cooker ( preferably a pressure cooker, you can use othe heavy pan as well). Once it is cooked well, remove from flame. Place a pan on the stove, heat well. Add one spoon oil and add the paanch foran to the hot oil. Saunt for half a minute. Add the boiled kasu in to the pan. Let it shimmer for some time in a very low flame.

Serve hot with a rice platter.

Maas aaru Thekera Tenga

Well, THEKERA I think is again patented to the land of Assam. Though I could find out the English Name, it has a scientific name. It is green at the beginning, get deep purple when ripe and turns deeper purple or almost black when dried.It is a souring agent.


Thekera - Garcinia Mangostana of Garcinia indica Family.

SO if you manage to import Thekera from Assam, great !!! Or else you can use other souring agents. But I like it with Thekera only.

Ingredients:

1. Fish - 1 cleaned catfish, cut to about 3/4 inch pieces.
2. Turmeric - Half Teaspoon
3. Green chilies, Chopped - according to taste
4. Panch Foran
5. Mustard Oil
6. Salt to taste
7.The most important thing - Thekera

Method:

Put the "thekera" in a cup of water. A piece of thekera will give you one bowl of curry to serve one person.SO soak as much as you want. Keep for about 1/2 hour.Mix the turmeric and salt with the fish. Fry the fish in oil lightly. Remove from pan.

In the same pan, Remove the extra oil, leaving about a table spoon behind and add panch foran. Put green chillies. When fried, put the cup of water with "Thekera". Add extra cups of water (depending on the number of "Thekera" used). When it comes to boil, add fried fish and reduce flame
Let it simmer for some time (10-15 minutes), till the juice gets cooked and a tangy flavor comes out.

Serve with steamed rice.

Masor Aaloo Bilahi & Koldil Bhaaji

Here comes a main course recipe.

Masor Tenga - Rau ( Labio Rohita , scientific name) fish in tomato potato curry.

Ingredients :

1.Rau Fish 5 to 6 pieces big in size. ( can be more as per the no of people)
2. 2 Big potatos, boiled and peeled
3. 3 Medium or 2 Big sized tomato finely sliced along it's longitude. ( remove the seeds)
4. Fenugreek(Methi) seed about 1/4 tea spoon. It will be some 8 to 10 in no.
5. Green Chilly - 2 to 3 according to taste
6. Salt to taste
7. Turmeric
8. 1 spoon Coriander leaves chopped
9. Oil for frying ( preferably mustard oil)

Method:

Clean the fish pieces. add salt and turmeric to the pieces. Deep fry the pieces and keep aside.
From the fry pan, take out the extra oil leaving about 2 tea spoon behind. Add fenugreek seeds to the oil, sputter. Add the chopped tomatos.Cook till the tomatos are half tender. Add salt and turmeric to the tomato and cook till the tomato becomes a paste. Add the mashed potato to this and mix well. Add hot water almost double the curry you want. Let it boil till it bubbles. Add the fish pieces in to this watery curry. Add Green chillies. Shimmer and boil till the water becomes half and gives a blend.

Remove from flame, garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.


KOLDIL BHAAJI - Dry Sabji of banana flower:

This is quick fix. It goes well with the curry above.

Ingredient:
1. One Banana Flower
2. One big potato
3. Dry Red Chilly
4. Bay leaves
5. Panch Foron - check the details in the side bar
6. Salt and Termeric
7. Mustard oil.

Preperation:

Remove a few of the outer covers of the banana flower. When you can see the lighter inside colors, thats it. Start chopping this whole flower from the pointed side ( my mother takes out about 2cm before chopping). Finely chopp the whole flower till you reach the end. Throw off the last half inch of the flower. Now add some oil to this. smash well with your hand. Mix for about 5 minutes like you kneed your dough. Squeeze out any water.

Cut the potato in to 2cm cubes. Do not forget to wash and peel.

Method:

Heat a deep pan on flame, add 2 spoons of oil. Add panch foron to it. It will immediately sputter.
Add one bay leave and the dry chillys. Add the banana flower and the potato almost immediately. Add salt and Turmeric. mix well. Cover and put the flame on low. Let it cook. Check in between so that it does not burn. When potato is cooked, remove the lid and put the flame on high. Stir continuously for about 5 minutes more. ( be careful not to break the potatos).
Remove from flame. Serve hot, with steam rice and curry.

A Complete Assamese Lunch Platter ( Assamese Thali)

I am still researching on how many courses an Assamese Meal can be; however I will try to put up one full platter here. Assamese platters are normally served in typical Indian Thali Style in bowls.

One traditional assamese plate is made up of an alloy metal called Ka(n)h in assamese. This is a assamese copy write product as it is produced only in Assam. A royal or most respectful version is a High Plate with stands for bowls. This is called "Maiheng Kaahi". The next one is a normal plate with bowls. In a family the size of the serving plate decides the rank and respect of the member of the family. A very small sized and cute plates are normally for the eye candy of the family.

You seat on a "Bor Peera", it would be like a table but of the size of a seating mat and of about 4 to 6 inches in height. Eat from your plate and Drink from your own "Ghoti and Gilas". A Ghoti is a personalized water jug normally round in shape and a Gilas is a Water glass. Both of these are made of Pitol or Kaa(n)h.

Now the Items:

1. Steamed Rice - Bhaat


2. Xaak Bhaaji - Dry green leafy vegetable.
   


3. Daal - Dail or Daali


4. Khaar - A kind of veg / non veg item


5. Bhaaji - Dry veg


6. Torkari - wet veg


7. Maasor Aanja - Fish Curry, normally sour (tenga aanja)
   


8. Mandxor Jol - Meat or Chicken
   


9. Chutney


10. Some Fries - can be of various vegetables.


11. Pitika - a side dish , kind of a mash.


12. Asaar - achar or pickle.
    

I think I need to start some where in telling how to prepare all of the above.
so here we go............

Breakfast - Paani Pitha

This is a typical assamese delicacy. This is one of my personal favorite. This is quick make and good to taste.

Ingrediant:

1. Wheat flour
2. Salt / Sugar to taste
3. Onion for the salted version
4. very little oil for frying

Method:

Mix wheat and sugar and salt+ onion. If you like sweet salt taste, then do not add the onion and add salt and sugar both to taste. Add water and mix well. It should be neither too thick nor thin. Can be of the same density as that of a cake batter.

Heat a flat pan to a medium hot. sprinkle some oil. Take a medium scoop of the batter. Add to the pan and spread fast in a circular motion. Low the flame. Cover for sometime ( it depends on the thickness of you pan). Reverse it and cook the other side. if you want a little crispy, add some more oil. Once cooked remove from flame and repeat the process for the rest of the 'pitha'.

Your pitha is ready. You can use rice flour in place of wheat flour. But you need practice to do so. You can have it with hot tea. You can serve it with Dry Potato veg ( xukan aaloo bhaaji) or simply honey.

Bambo Shoot Recipes

Here are the two Assamese recipes. These are from Assamese Cuisine by Neelaxi Arora

Lentil and Bamboo Shoot

1 cup lentil, soaked for 1 hour
1 cup grated bamboo shoots
4 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp methi seeds
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp grated ginger
4 green chilis, chopped
4 bay leaves
salt

Cook the dal till thick and almost dry, then mix the bamboo shoots into the dal. Heat oil, fry methi, then add garlic, ginger, chilis and bay leaves. Fry one minute. Add the lentil and bamboo mixture and keep cooking until all the water has evaporated.

Breakfast - Komol Saul Xijoa

Komol Saul - roasted boiled rice.

Ingredient :

1. Broken Boiled Rice, soaked overnight
2. Milk or Curd
3. Sugar or Jaggery

Method:
Drain out all water from the rice soaked overnight. Let it dry till all the water is virtually gone.
Put a dry pan on the flame. Dry roast the rice in it till the rice sputters. Remove from flame and let it cool. You can store it for a long time.

Take adequate amount of rice. Boil enough water in a pan. When the water starts boiling, add the amount of rice to be cooked. Let he rice boil till soft. Drain out all the excess water.
Serve hot with milk or curd and sugar. With milk banana can be added.

FOR THE SALTED FORM:

Take the rice and add finely chopped ginger and salt. Add a little luke warm water. You can add some oil from your pickle bottle ( red chilly pickle or sour berry pickle best suited)

Breakfast - Xandoh Guri

Xaandoh guri - Powdered Rice. Assamese cousin of English porridge / oat meal.

Ingredients:
1. Boiled Rice
2. Milk
3. Sugar

Method:
Roast the rice in a dry pan till light brown. The rice will sputter. Remove from flame and grind till powder. Do not make it super fine powder.

Take 2 to 3 spoon of this powder, add milk and Sugar. Add enough milk to soak the rice powder completely. Your porridge is ready. You can add banana to it for taste.