After dinner traditions- fennel and sugar ---- immature coconuts
Assamese dinner cooked and served by my host principal : Mrs. Manika Goswami Barua
State of Assam, Guwahati, IndiaJune 8, 2011
Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham
I do not like green eggs and ham!
I do not like that Sam-I-Am!
Dr. Seuss taught a lesson in his famous book concerning prejudging food and people: Try them and you might find you like them!
Oh I do so like the Assamese Indian people and their food! This region of India has food that is milder in flavor, but the garnishes and pickles pick up the slack and make a statement. The sweet corn soup here is wonderful! Chicken and fish are prepared in so many different ways. The food is prepared fresh at home and out in restaurants- no relying on anything canned. If you want to eat chicken for dinner, that chicken is purchased alive from a basket on the street and slaughtered while you wait. The fish is freshwater fish and locally caught. Individuals offer fish on the side of the road along with the local vegetable produce. I have seen pork cut fresh on the side of the road too. Mutton and lamb dishes are common here as well, but Hindus do not eat beef so it is not on the menu.
Assamese food is not about convenience, but about the subtle flavors. The roti (bread) is similar to flour tortillas and is torn into pieces to eat. White rice is a staple of the Assamese diet along with lentils, potatoes, mangoes and bananas. A sort of lentil soup is served on the side of the rice plate and the idea is to spoon the lentils over the rice and mix it all with your fingers. The Assamese eat this with the right hand using three fingers as a sort of spoon and the thumb pushes across the fingers to deliver the rice dish into the mouth. There is definitely a technique for accomplishing this method of eating that requires practice. One DOES NOT lick the fingers after eating- this is very bad manners.
Achar is the Assamese name for pickles. I have tasted three types of mango pickles that are very different. These pickles are explosions of flavor and texture in the mouth. Some pickles have more vinegar, sugar or spices than others. There are certain pickles that accompany certain meats offered on the table. These pickles are so interesting that I found a few in the department specialty shop and bought some samples to take home to my family. Madam Principal Monica is giving me some of her pickles to take home when I leave India. Common spices used to prepare pickles and other foods here are coriander, turmeric, garlic, curry and chilies of many different types. Onion is a primary seasoning agent too.
The hotel breakfast buffet at Brahmaputra Ashok Hotel has a number of Indian offerings that we finally got the courage to try. There is chole which is chickpeas in a savory sauce eaten with bhutora which is a type of fried bread. Beans for breakfast- highly seasoned beans- is a radical culinary step for this Southern girl. The hotel also offers fried vegetables that look like croquettes that taste pretty good and seem to vary from day to day.
The snack foods here in India are different and tasty. The chips or crisps are flavored much differently using chilies and tomatoes. Cashews and peanuts are big for snacks too. Roadside stands offer coconut water to drink as a snack which is very different from coconut milk and I have tasted a wonderful mango drink with fresh coconut and cashew nuts on top.
This region of India is a tropical paradise so of course the fruit is spectacular. Litchi fruit is in season now and so interesting to touch, peel and eat. Madam Principal Monica showed us the Jack fruit tree with the fruit growing on it and brought us Jack fruit to sample- not bad. Both of these exotic fruits have large pits to spit out and interesting flavors and smells. Of course there are mangoes, papayas, coconuts and smaller green colored bananas that are really good!
Now let’s talk about tea- Indian tea-black or green varieties. The state of Assam is famous for their wonderful tea. Tea is served and enjoyed here in the late afternoon and is part of the social niceties whenever one visits or conducts business. The host always offers tea and biscuits, crackers or cookies to the guest. It is important to accept this invitation and then sit back and relax and enjoy something timeless that Americans seem too busy to appreciate.
Tea time pushes dinner time here in India to much later in the evening. Dinner is served starting after 8pm here- certainly not 5:30 or 6:00pm like we do in the States. At times it seems that all one does in India is EAT! At the end of a meal there are two regional customs that are always seen. A small bowl of water with a lime slice floating in it is offered to each dinner guest to wash the fingers off. A crystallized white sugar and anise seeds are offered together for a guest to take a small amount and place in the mouth to use as a breath freshener. This is so very civilized and I love it!
Green Eggs and Ham
I do not like green eggs and ham!
I do not like that Sam-I-Am!
Dr. Seuss taught a lesson in his famous book concerning prejudging food and people: Try them and you might find you like them!
Oh I do so like the Assamese Indian people and their food! This region of India has food that is milder in flavor, but the garnishes and pickles pick up the slack and make a statement. The sweet corn soup here is wonderful! Chicken and fish are prepared in so many different ways. The food is prepared fresh at home and out in restaurants- no relying on anything canned. If you want to eat chicken for dinner, that chicken is purchased alive from a basket on the street and slaughtered while you wait. The fish is freshwater fish and locally caught. Individuals offer fish on the side of the road along with the local vegetable produce. I have seen pork cut fresh on the side of the road too. Mutton and lamb dishes are common here as well, but Hindus do not eat beef so it is not on the menu.
Assamese food is not about convenience, but about the subtle flavors. The roti (bread) is similar to flour tortillas and is torn into pieces to eat. White rice is a staple of the Assamese diet along with lentils, potatoes, mangoes and bananas. A sort of lentil soup is served on the side of the rice plate and the idea is to spoon the lentils over the rice and mix it all with your fingers. The Assamese eat this with the right hand using three fingers as a sort of spoon and the thumb pushes across the fingers to deliver the rice dish into the mouth. There is definitely a technique for accomplishing this method of eating that requires practice. One DOES NOT lick the fingers after eating- this is very bad manners.
Achar is the Assamese name for pickles. I have tasted three types of mango pickles that are very different. These pickles are explosions of flavor and texture in the mouth. Some pickles have more vinegar, sugar or spices than others. There are certain pickles that accompany certain meats offered on the table. These pickles are so interesting that I found a few in the department specialty shop and bought some samples to take home to my family. Madam Principal Monica is giving me some of her pickles to take home when I leave India. Common spices used to prepare pickles and other foods here are coriander, turmeric, garlic, curry and chilies of many different types. Onion is a primary seasoning agent too.
The hotel breakfast buffet at Brahmaputra Ashok Hotel has a number of Indian offerings that we finally got the courage to try. There is chole which is chickpeas in a savory sauce eaten with bhutora which is a type of fried bread. Beans for breakfast- highly seasoned beans- is a radical culinary step for this Southern girl. The hotel also offers fried vegetables that look like croquettes that taste pretty good and seem to vary from day to day.
The snack foods here in India are different and tasty. The chips or crisps are flavored much differently using chilies and tomatoes. Cashews and peanuts are big for snacks too. Roadside stands offer coconut water to drink as a snack which is very different from coconut milk and I have tasted a wonderful mango drink with fresh coconut and cashew nuts on top.
This region of India is a tropical paradise so of course the fruit is spectacular. Litchi fruit is in season now and so interesting to touch, peel and eat. Madam Principal Monica showed us the Jack fruit tree with the fruit growing on it and brought us Jack fruit to sample- not bad. Both of these exotic fruits have large pits to spit out and interesting flavors and smells. Of course there are mangoes, papayas, coconuts and smaller green colored bananas that are really good!
Now let’s talk about tea- Indian tea-black or green varieties. The state of Assam is famous for their wonderful tea. Tea is served and enjoyed here in the late afternoon and is part of the social niceties whenever one visits or conducts business. The host always offers tea and biscuits, crackers or cookies to the guest. It is important to accept this invitation and then sit back and relax and enjoy something timeless that Americans seem too busy to appreciate.
Tea time pushes dinner time here in India to much later in the evening. Dinner is served starting after 8pm here- certainly not 5:30 or 6:00pm like we do in the States. At times it seems that all one does in India is EAT! At the end of a meal there are two regional customs that are always seen. A small bowl of water with a lime slice floating in it is offered to each dinner guest to wash the fingers off. A crystallized white sugar and anise seeds are offered together for a guest to take a small amount and place in the mouth to use as a breath freshener. This is so very civilized and I love it!
In extreme eating there are so many foods and so little time! I wonder what’s for breakfast in the morning???? "I do so like green eggs and ham!"
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