On day three day, we are going to stop for a meal in Assam which is one of the states in the North Eastern region of India. Assam is very well known throughout the world for its tea and silk.Assam in rich in culture, ethnic groups and literature.The famous Kaziranga Narional Park is in Assam and it houses the one horned Rhinos and tigers.Assam is turning into a popular wild life tourism destination
Coming to the cuisine of Assam, rice is one of the main dishes and there are many varieties of rice that are grown and it is cooked in many ways too.
Fish can also be said as a staple here are they are availablein abundance from the ponds and rivers.
The cooking techinque is very different from the other Indian cuisines. The tempering of dishes is not seen in the Assamese cuisine.
Also the preparation techniques are not very elaborate but that does not compromise the taste of the dishes.This cuisine does use spices but can be felt just mildly ie. they do not overpower the dish.
The meal usually consists of Rice[Bhaat],lentils[dal], fish curry[masor jool],Meat curry[mangso] and / or greens and vegetables [xaak and bhaji].
A meal usually has a Tenga– a sour dish and a Khar – alkali dish. The meal begins with a Khar and ends with a Tenga
In order to bring about the essence of Assamese cuisine, I have selected Massor-daal Boror Bilahi Tenga & Alu Pitika.
The Masoor daal Boror Bilahi Tenga is a representative of the Tenga dish of the meal and the Alu Pitika is a dish which has no tempering and as I metioned earlier, this is one of the distinct feature of the Assamese cuisine.
Behind the scene:
My hunt for Assamese cuisine lead me to a large number of dishes mostly those with meat and fish. The vegetarian ones had bamboo shoots or some sort of greens that are not available around here.So I finally settled down of these two recipes and prepared them for lunch.
The Massor-daal Boror Bilahi Tenga received a warm welcome. The kids loved both the soaked and crispy dumplings. The Alu Pitika however did not receive such a good response. Since it was not tempered / sauteed, the kids and the adults did not like it much. I however found the taste to be okay. But the flavors improved when I tasted the same around dinner time.
Massor-daal Boror Bilahi Tenga
I made this after comparing a few variations of this recipe.
I used:
For the lentil dumplings
Massor Daal / Red lentil -1/2 cup
Red chilli powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt- to taste
Oil to deep fry
For the tomato gravy
Ripe tomatoes – 3
Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Red chili powder- 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 teaspoon
Coriander leaves to garnish
Soak the red lentils for an hour. Grind it to a coarse paste without adding water. Add salt and chili powder, mix well. Take a teaspoon of this batter and drop into hot oil. Fry on medium heat till the dumplings turn golden brown.Remove from heat and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.When it splutters, add finely chopped tomatoes.Add 1 cup of water and cook till the tomato turns mushy.Add chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Mash the tomato well with the back of the ladle.When the mixture comes to a rolling boil, add the fried dumplings and serve garnished with coriander leaves.
Massor-daal Boror Bilahi Tenga is ready to be served with steamed rice….
The gravy thickens after adding the dumplings. So make it a little on the watery side.
Now coming to the second recipe of the day…
Alu pitika is a signature dish of the Assamese Cuisine. It is a simple recipe. Like most of the Assamese recipes that call for raw ingredients to be used as such without cooking and no tempering used, this one too falls under that category.
I used:
Potatoes – 2
Onion-1
Green chili-1
Salt to taste
Sesame oil- 1 teaspoon
Boil potatoes and peel of the skin. Mash roughly. Chop onions and green chilies.Add this to the potato. Mix in salt and oil.
Serve garnished with coriander leaves
Note:
Usually mustard oil is used in this recipe. Since I did nit have it ,I used sesame oil.
Here are some Assamese food blogs that I browsed through and found them very interesting. Take a look at these sites to get a better look into an Assamese Kitchen….
Sunita’s World
Aankhol Ghor
Taste of Assam
Assam foodie’s Blog
Assamese Food
Read more about the Assamese life style, culture and cuisine – here….
Bon Appetit…
very deliicous Boror Bilahi Tenga and alu pitika dear 🙂 Even I made tenga and it was a great hit , your looks very inviting and yummy .. awesome post love your intros 🙂
i wanted to make tenga and but changed my mind in the last minute. Tenga and alu pitika look yummy
The whole set up looks cool..The dumplings look crunchy and this dish reminds me of a Sindhi dish..
I would love that aloo recipe. .a little extra green chilly and wow..it would taste awesome.
Feel like inviting myself to your place, tenga and alu pitika both are just simply out of the world.
I was supposed to make the same combination PJ..good that I didn't and I got to enjoy this at your place..:)
the gravy looks awesome. even i made aloo pitika and similar response, i added a dollop of mustard and green chilly and the flavors suddenly transformed. i want to try this masoor dumpling recipe
the gravy looks awesome. even i made aloo pitika and similar response, i added a dollop of mustard and green chilly and the flavors suddenly transformed. i want to try this masoor dumpling recipe
curry looks so yumm..
I really like the boror bilahi tenga.. looks delicious. those fritters look tasty enough to eat on their own too
Borara Bilahi tenga is some think like the South Indian pakoda kulambhu,looks very inviting and interesting…
Mouth watering spread specially the masoor dal dumpling gravy.
boror bilahi tenga is so delicious!! loved the entire presentation!! very well explained!!
Love the presentation ! Both the dishes looks fabulous …nice one !!
Lovely platter there PJ. I loved the vibrant looking curry ;-)) almost like a paruppu urundai kozhambu butthicker
Delicious thali pj!!! love that lentil dumpling!! must try!!!
Wow Pj you really did an awesome job. I want them all.how do you manage all this.
That lentil curry is very similar to a dish made in Bengal. It looks and sounds delicious. Aloo pitikha sounds very interesting.
Enjoyed reading the write up. The dishes look great. The tenga is so colorful and appetizing.
i really like the masoor dhal dumpling in tomato gravy! Aloo pitika is so simple, but I agree it needs a palate adjustment. We are so used to sauteing everything.
Delicious boror and alu..Your click tempting me to give a try..
The gravy is so much like our paruppu urundai kulambu. Looks so inviting. I love the aloo dish and yes, it it very tough to make kids eat this..
dumplings look yummy and your into was so well explained
ohh….the aloo pitika…yum yum yum!!
Wow.. Curry looks delicious.
The curry looks colorful and yummy. And I understand not anyone liking that potato dish considering that we are used to addition of tadka and spices.
Your tenga anja(dish) looks very good.Your aloo pitika didn't taste good perhaps since you used sesame oil instead of mustard oil.Mustard oil(or mitha tel as known in Assam) is used in aloo pitika generally. Also,coriander leaves(dhania) are added to the pitika in generous proportions more than as a garnish.
Thanks a lot Geetanjali. The next time I make the pitika , I will do as you have suggested ,adding more dhania. Thanks for the insight 🙂