A cup of Assam Tea

   A torrent of memory flared up in me when I think about the Gheela/Ghila pitha, and I behold the moment.  Gheela pitha and Bihu are synonyms, in that matter, in Assamese celebrations, an essential Assamese dessert recipe.  The clear sky, blooming flowers, and light greenery are what I am enjoying right now here in Connecticut, while in my homeland, Assam, is preparing for our most whimsical festival, Bohag  Bihu,  and the New Year.  A thousand miles  away from my home and loved ones, I  reminisce  about those yesteryears and think of making Gheela Pitha. Unlike Xutuli pitha , Gheela Pitha is easy to make with just 3 ingredients. Gheela pitha's shape is inspired by a seed that children used to use as a toy. Flat and round-shaped gheela pitha is a ubiquitous dessert that you can find in an Assamese household, especially during Bihu or any other special celebration.  Ingredients Sweet Rice - 2 cups ( ideally new rice) Regular rice...

  Nostalgia is a part of every immigrant's life, a treasure trove. I carry a piece of Assam in my heart and wear it on my sleeves. Special occasions and festivities often transport me back to my homeland, especially to my large family with all Our Uncles and Aunts, to our house and our expansive courtyard in Assam. During this time, my homeland, Assam, celebrates Magh Bihu with great zeal. Magh Bihu is a harvest festival, similar to Thanksgiving in the USA, where the end of the harvest season is widely celebrated. I reminisce those wonderful times, how in the guidance of my Koka (Grandfather) we used to build a makeshift house in our courtyard, my Pehis(Aunts) and Mom prepared Bihu delicacies. How the whirlpool of flavor straightly tantalized my senses with roasted sesame, ground sticky rice, and the sticky and syrupy smell of jaggery. During the day, our house help collected all the winter vegetables, whether it was olkobi, pohulkobi, or tender potatoes from our kitchen garden, a...

There are days when my taste buds ask for something rustic, rugged, totally country style, something that brings that nostalgic flavor, more precisely, brings me to our home kitchen in Assam, my grandma's kitchen, my mama's kitchen. Yup, sesame chicken is in my mind. My Assamese taste buds are so amicable with till or sesame seeds; name a festival or staple cooking time, and it is a desirable ingredient. I love that in today's new age, healthy cooking promotes and incorporates seed-eating, especially sesame, for numerous health benefits, which I was fortunate enough to grow up eating. Once you taste this exotic dish with its rustic and nutty flavor, you will definitely try it again. Today I am sharing my recipe.. Have you tried Assamese Chicken Curry . Ingredients 2 lb chicken cut into medium-sized pieces with bone 5 tablespoons of till or sesame 3 tablespoons mustard oil or olive oil, you can use any other cooking oil too but I love to use thick oil as...

Mangoes in the Indian summer are ubiquitous. Mango is not a fruit, but the mermaid of memories and emotions. An avid enthusiast farmer, my grandfather planted numerous trees in our huge backyard at home in Assam and every season bestowed upon them the best fruits or vegetables. We had different varieties of mangoes in our yard.  Aqua Vintage Mason Jars However, unlike other states in India, we don't have a high quality of mangoes, yet we have sufficient local mango varieties to satisfy our taste buds. The different shapes, sizes, and colors of mangoes appeal to both my eyes and my heart.  In early summer or late spring, the wind takes out small, tender mangoes, and we played with those mangoes with my friends. It transports me home, thinking about how my mom used to make raw chutney with just freshly plucked mint and green chili, adding a hint of salt, and grinding them together. A hearty chutney was ready in a jiffy. In the sultry summer in Assam, when somebo...

                                        Komal Saul prior to soaking. Komal Saul takes me to my grandparents' home, where I recall the early childhood days when we stayed in a different city and visited my grandparents' ancestral home. My grandmother often delights in preparing a morning breakfast in a jiffy. The breakfast is called Komal saul or soft rice. A luscious, slightly golden color and light glossy textured rice, no need for the cooking process, unlike other regular rice. In Assamese, 'Komal' means soft, and that softness does not require cooking. Soak it in hot water for a few minutes, and it's ready to eat.          My home state, Assam, produces a variety of rice, and it's no wonder we have all kinds of cereals, snacks, and main courses made from rice. Any other type of rice is considered the main course, whereas Komal Saul is considered a light...

             This whole week I have been thinking about food. And I can't wait for the Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. Also, I have been wondering about the similarities of food between one culture and another. How the resembles favorite entry's to one another. Where in our thanksgiving dinner I relish mashed potatoes, my assamese taste bud adore aloo pitika, aloo means potatoes and pitika means mashed. How the main ingredients of the entry are the same but the difference is the spices or secondary ingredients. Today I wanted to share the Assamese aloo pitika recipe.       Humble and simple aloo pitika is a quintessential side in assamese cuisine. Like Fish curry , aloo pitika is also an essential entry. Most of the time, even though considered as a side, the place of aloo pitika is nothing less than the main course. In western countries, butter is popularly used for mash potatoes. But, like many other recipes i...

      My both sets of grandparents have never eaten chicken rather they enjoyed Fish curry  or fish. The chicken was almost an alien for my families past generations. In Assam, about 30/35 years back older people instead of chicken rather ate duck, mutton or fish . That says chicken curry is not exactly a traditional dish in Assamese cuisine. But eating chicken is a quintessential part of modern Assamese family. As a kid, I remember waiting for Sunday lunches for chicken curry. The aroma of cooking chicken-filled up our home and us picky eaters can't wait to have our lunch. While growing up we only got one day holiday in the week, Sunday. Usually, everyone is at home and my mom painstakingly cooks the best and exquisite dishes to the table. And along with other specialties, the chicken was the fulcrum attraction. And happiness was eating chicken curry on Sundays.       As I told earlier, chicken curry is not exactly a traditional dish in assam...

You can't imagine a soulful Assamese meal without a fish curry. The fish curry transports me to my Grandmother's kitchen. I tiptoed entered the kitchen and wearing mekhela chadar  the affectionate lady a few dots of turmeric here and there on her clothes, frying fish and making curry, and she caught me and trying to feed me bite by bite and from our garden night jasmine exuding fall fragrance what a soulful sight. It was more than 30 years those smell, place, gestures felt like yesterday.  Let me tell you my grandmother made the world best curry and then my mom.  Lost my grandmother at the age of five. I was so little that I couldn’t learn my grandmother's recipe but my mom taught me how to make a good fish curry. In my assamese household as a child, we used to eat fish way more often than chicken. As an expert cook my mom made fish with all kinds of veggies. Her fish curry is very delicately prepared. She always says, to make a good fish curry you have to be ...