Assam offers a culinary tradition distinctly different from the rest of India

Bamboo shoot has a big role in creating the flavours of most of the Assamese dishes.

By anirban bora, ET Bureau | Jan 27, 2018, 11.30 PM IST

Boro dishes start with khar. It is made with water filtered through dried banana leaves’ ashes, and then used in making vegetables and fish dishes

With a menu of roasted duck with bamboo shoots, silkword pupae and minced pork with jute leaves, the Northeastern state offers a culinary tradition distinctly different from the rest of India

For instance, the Ahoms, founders of Bihu, love dishes made with pork, duck, pigeon, and exotic food like stir-fried red ant eggs (amloi porua) and silkworm

Bamboo shoot has a big role in creating the flavours of most of Assamese dishes. Rice, fish or meat is often placed in the hollow bamboo stem and roasted in fire

The traditional Assamese thali

The Britishers came to Assam in 1824, and with them they smuggled the tea plantation from China. We have discussed the influence of the tea plantations and how the Anglo-Indian cuisine entered and got modified in our previous issues