India on My Platter

by Saransh Goila

  DAY 91

  4 November/ Gangtok

  Early in the morning I went up to the Tashi Viewpoint to watch the sunrise. It was breathtaking to be in the east where the sun rose earlier than other places of the country. I was filled with the energy from the first light of the day and to keep up the good feeling I went to the Rumtek Monastery. To my eyes, it seemed like an outburst of different colours that was peaceful and powerful at the same time. From the monastery the view of the city was incredible. What really struck me was how quiet it was up there. I almost missed the noise of the city down below. In all honesty, if you have seen one, you have seen them all.

  My roommate from college days, Aditya, owns a hotel called Tashi Delek, which in Sikkimese means welcome. It is right on the Mall Road. The narrow Mall Road was flanked by shops on both sides and the striking bit about the architecture on that road was that the big shops were always behind the small shops. The entrance to the shop was narrow and long, which finally opened up into a square. Aditya introduced me to Sonam, an expert on the local food. She was known for her catering business that served traditional food for ceremonies. I had the opportunity to cook on the terrace of the hotel at the back, which overlooked the valley and the rest of the city. On a sunny day, when the visibility was clear, you could even spot the Kanchenjunga. It was one of the most spectacular views after my experience in Varanasi. Sonam was looking extremely pretty; she was wearing a dress called the baku, made of Chinese silk. She gave me a quick lesson about Sikkimese basics. They used a lot of onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric, fresh chillies and mustard seeds. The food was not overloaded with spices, and based, more broadly, on a variety of vegetables that were both wild and grown in Sikkim. She explained that broths eaten with rice made up most of their diet. Few of the dishes that were popular were the gaythuk, thukpa, momos and the khapse. There were many names that I can’t quite recall, and don’t remember, even though this was my third visit! The ones I do remember were prok gyari, cooked with tender bamboo shoots; sael roti, cooked in a tomato masala, unlike the Sikkimese version that looked like thick onion rings made from fermented rice batter, that was deep fried. Another ingredient that she introduced me to was the churpi momos. Churpi is a type of cheese that is available both fresh and dried. It is slightly crumbly with sharpness in its taste. My mind was working overtime thinking about all the dishes that I could use the cheese in!

  After giving me a brief lesson about Sikkimese food, she cooked with me and taught me how to make a typical dish eaten at her home; Sikkim Chicken Curry. This was very simple, so simple that it actually took me a while to adjust to the fact that there was barely anything in it!

  SIKKIM CHICKEN CURRY

  (Wild chicken cooked in a flavoured broth.)

  Ingredients

  1 kg chicken (local country chicken with bones), cut into medium pieces

  1½ tbsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lasun) paste

  Salt to taste

  ½ tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

  2 tsp chilli powder

  2 tsp lime juice or vinegar

  3 tbsp mustard oil (sarson ka tel)

  3 onions, diced

  5 green chillies, each sliced into two.

  4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

  ¼ cup yoghurt

  1 tbsp cumin (jeera) powder

  Coriander leaves (dhania patti) for garnishing

  Method

  1. Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric, chilli powder and lemon juice for two hours.

  2. Heat the mustard oil, bring it to a smoking point, and then reduce the flame to medium. Add onions to this and cook until translucent.

  3. Add the green chillies, followed by tomatoes. Cook for another three to four minutes.

  4. Lower the flame and then add yoghurt, followed by cumin power. Reduce this for two minutes.

  5. Add the marinated chicken and let it seal for three to four minutes.

  6. Top it with two cups of warm water; bring it to a boil and then let it cook for 25 minutes on simmer. Season with salt.

  7. Keep checking, as you need to cook it till the bones separate from the meat easily (check with a fork).

  8. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

  ∼

  After learning the recipe, we all sat down together to eat lunch. Along with the chicken there were churpi momos and sael roti. Another dish that stood out was called chaang. It was an alcoholic beverage that was fermented and made with cereals. Drunk from a bamboo pipe, it is also called Sikkimese beer, and has fermented seeds of millet in it.

  After this lovely meal with a lovely view, I thanked Sonam for her time and patience. I spent the evening walking around Gangtok and exploring the nightlife. The weather was perfect. Sikkim Super Lotto was very popular; I placed my bet and even won!

  I want to thrown in my two cents to all travellers who would like to explore India and its hill stations. Sikkim is a fascinating, unique and beautiful destination that you must visit.

  DAY 92

  I spent the day travelling from Gangtok to Guwahati, Assam.

  DAY 93

  5 November / Guwahati

  I arrived in Guwahati and somehow it made me feel like I had taken the road less travelled. This was going to be the last state that I would visit as part of the show. Assam is known for its silk and tea estates, it has a very rich culture and heritage; however, it has been politically unstable. We took a while to reach our destination because of the state of unrest. I reached at noon and it had taken me a day and a half to just get there. The saving grace was that the road I took was picturesque with tea estates on both sides.

  A little later after my arrival I met Chef Atul Lahakar, who has done more for Assamese cuisine than anybody else has from the state. He runs restaurants to promote local Assamese cuisine and has written many books about the same. I was glad that he could fit me into his schedule that day and that I got the chance to cook and eat with the master himself.

  Atul took me from Guwahati to Sonapur, a small village on the outskirts of Guwahati. He wanted me to experience traditional methods of cooking, with local fresh ingredients, in a unique surrounding. He gave me a small brief about the food. He explained that rice was very important and there was no use of rotis. They used few spices: cumin, coriander and black pepper. Assam’s 70 per cent of the population are tribal, who cook without oil and spices. They rely a lot on the natural herbs and local ingredients that are available in the wild. They like to preserve their meats by smoking them over fire. The dry meat or fish is then used as chutney by mixing them with fresh spices and flavourings. He also mentioned something that really caught my attention: the use of a hollow bamboo as a cooking vessel.

  Coming from north India, the tastes here were very different from anything that is available to us or that we are used to; especially foods that are preserved using fermentation, smoking and drying. Chef Atul and I sat ourselves down at a small cooking site that he had set up. It was made of a few stones and between them, there was a fire burning and a wok made of bell metal resting, slightly elevated over the fire. There were also a few sticks that were arranged over the fire with stands, to roast meats. We sat down in front of the fire, with banana leaves beside us, with all our raw ingredients on display. On my right was a stone silbatta (grinding stone), with a wooden mallet to crush fresh spices. The silbatta could be used to make a paste, or could be used as a surface to flatten fruit or spices.

  The two dishes Chef Atul and I were going to prepare today were Fish Outenga, which was river fish cooked with a vegetable particular to Assam, called outenga or elephant apple. It was a very simple recipe that used freshly pound turmeric, which closely resembled ginger. On tasting the recipe, I realised it reminded me of raw mango that had been cooked in a curry. The flavour profile was subtle; I could identify all the ingredients, and I was not bombarded with spices. The curry gave each ingredient the turn to shine.

  FISH OUTENGA

  (Fish cooked
with elephant apples.)

  Ingredients

  6 pieces (300 gm) rohu or any fresh-water fish

  2 tsp mustard oil (sarson ka tel)

  1½ piece of elephant apple or outenga, cut into small pieces

  Salt to taste

  2 green chillies, slit

  2-inch ginger (adrak)

  8-10 cloves garlic (lasun)

  1 tsp turmeric (haldi)

  2 tsp rice powder

  1 full stem of roselle leaves (tenga mora)

  A few sprigs of fresh coriander (dhania patti)

  Method

  1. Wash the fish well; apply some turmeric and salt, and keep aside.

  2. Heat a bit of mustard oil in a deep pan. Add pounded and crushed elephant apple pieces and sauté for a minute with a bit of salt. Add four cups of water to this. Bring it to a boil and then put it on simmer. If you don’t find elephant apple, you can add raw mango to this recipe instead. After 10 minutes add green chillies and pounded ginger and garlic (not chopped). Let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Add turmeric powder.

  3. Once the elephant apple is almost cooked, add marinated fish to this reduced stock. Let the fish cook for five to seven minutes. Handle it delicately. Add rice powder and crush and sprinkle roselle leaves with your hand. (If you can’t find this, add any local fern available in your area).

  4. Cook it for another minute or so; garnish with coriander. Serve it hot with rice.

  ∼

  The second dish we made was the chicken cooked in a hollow bamboo, also called Sunga Kukura. I got a few tips from the chef; he said that the bamboo should be fresh and rich in moisture. This helps the food inside to boil and prevents the shoot from burning. The bamboo shoot was also lightly smoked to add to the flavour. The chicken is marinated with fresh turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander, fermented bamboo shoot water, and fermented bamboo shoots. The chicken is then stuffed into the shoot and then sealed using a fresh turmeric leaf. The shoot is then put in the fire, standing up, to cook for about 40 minutes.

  BAMBOO CHICKEN A.K.A. SUNGA Kukura

  (Chicken cooked inside a roasted hollow bamboo, sealed from the sides.)

  Ingredients

  1 kg chicken, with bones or boneless, whatever you prefer

  2 tbsp fresh turmeric (haldi) roots, grated or finely chopped

  1½ tbsp fresh ginger (adrak), grated or finely chopped

  8-10 cloves garlic (lasun), finely chopped

  3 green chillies

  2 tbsp coriander leaves (dhania patti), chopped

  1½ tbsp fermented bamboo shoot juice

  Salt to taste

  1 tbsp dried bamboo shoot (optional)

  2 big pieces of bamboo, fresh, tender and edible (both sides are usually closed; get it cut at a 45 degree angle from the top and you’ll see the hollow)

  2-3 turmeric leaves to seal the bamboo hollow

  Other

  A place to light up a wood-fire or a set-up to burn the bamboo.

  Method

  1. Marinate the chicken with turmeric roots, ginger, garlic, chillies, coriander leaves, fermented bamboo shoot juice, salt and dried bamboo shoot. If you’re not adding fermented bamboo juice add a bit of lime juice or oil to mix all the ingredients together. Marinate this for two hours at least.

  2. Now roast the bamboo hollow from outside for two minutes so that fresh flavours are released within the hollow.

  3. Fill this hollow with half the marinated chicken. Add two and a half cups of water. Fold the turmeric leaves and push the chicken down and make sure that the leaves do not let the steam escape. (It basically acts like a cooker.)

  4. Cook this on open fire for approximately 40 minutes. The outer side will turn dark grey and you will be able to smell that it is cooked. Remove from the flame and serve hot with steamed rice. The time for cooking may vary depending on the size and quality of the bamboo.

  ∼

  At the end of all the cooking, we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labour. On a fresh banana leaf was the Assamese dal, made of only cereal water and salt. Not my favourite choice on the platter. What saved me was the fish outenga. The fish was tender and the flavours unique. The chicken was soft and the bamboo had acted as the perfect pressure cooker. I thanked him for my first Assamese experience.

  I had spent a lot of time travelling through India and had learnt from different people—chefs, mothers, housewives, shopkeepers, mithai walas, namkeen walas, and cooks—about different styles of cooking, different types of food, and of course, different cultures. This was another unforgettable experience to add to my diary, my memories and my life.

  DAY 94

  6 November / Guwahati

  Yesterday was dedicated to the traditional food of Assam. So, today I took a small detour from my culinary journey to explore the cultural side of Assam. I was invited by the Assam Kala Kendra to learn about the energetic, fast paced dance, Bihu. Brisk movements and deft hand gestures describe this beautiful folk dance the best. The dance is attached to the Bihu festival, which celebrates the onset of spring and marks the harvesting season. This festival is dedicated to nature, rebirth and fertility. Both men and women participate in the dance and wear traditional Assamese clothing called the muga mekhela, which is a two-piece garment that has red floral designs embroidered on them and resembles a sari. The men wear the dhoti gamosa. The most important part of the costume is the gamosa, a thin towel with a red border that is tied on the head with a fluffy knot. The gamosa is tied on the head while dancing and later hung around the neck during the prayers.

  I could see a lot of bright red during the group dance. They enacted stories, forming different types of circles and formations. The dance was accompanied by traditional music. The lyrics ranged from welcoming the Assamese New Year, celebrating the life of farmers, history and to even modern life. Besides the common dhol, the other instruments were made from hollow bamboo, like the toka (a bamboo flute that could be as big as a didgeridoo). I joined in for the last bit of the dance and all I was clap my hands. I had to do it really fast, keeping rhythm with the music. I did make a complete fool of myself as I couldn’t keep up with the change in pace, mood and rhythm, but I tried my best! I admired the skill of the dancers for being so agile and graceful.

  I spent the morning with them and then we all joined to eat a light Assamese breakfast. We had the traditional farmer’s breakfast which includes poita, a fermented rice preparation with yoghurt, chillies and mashed potatoes. It was a high-energy start for farmers to eat poita and set out to the fields. It was a lot like curd rice, but sour because of the fermentation.

  I left the dancers after breakfast to find an interesting spot for lunch, with my thoughts solely revolving around planning and preparing for my meals. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to Nagaland on this trip, but I had managed to find food from Nagaland in Guwahati at a place called Naga Kitchen. I spent lunch time there, eating with the owner, Romeo. He introduced me to Naga food by giving me a few tips. Nothing was fried and most of the dishes were boiled. Just like Assamese food, they did not use a lot of spices and used pickled, fermented and preserved food instead. Their favourite meat, and very common on the menus, was pork. All the meats were smoked, whether it was pork, fish, or chicken. Nagaland has about 30 tribes that all speak different languages and have different cultural habits and of course, a unique cuisine.

  Lunch began and I was served a platter of different smoked meats called ith akuni, a kind of fermented soya beans. Only someone familiar with akuni would not be taken aback by its pungent smell. I tried eating it, without smelling it, and it actually tasted good. The second dish I tasted was smoked fish with anishi, which was made of dry fermented yam leaves smoked over fire. There was also a soup that came for the main course called the mixed vegetable. It was literally vegetables with salt that were boiled with water. That was the only vegetarian dish available, so if you are a vegetarian, maybe Nagaland isn’t the best place to be in. If I had to pick one of my favourite dishes from the afte
rnoon, it would have had to be the smoked fish with the anishi. If you are a pork fan, the dry pork with bamboo shoots would appeal to you.

  One very special feature about Nagaland is that it is home to bhut jolokia, the world’s second hottest chilli with a count of 10 lakh Scoville units. I was told that the chilli might be hard on the palate, but it is easy on the stomach. I mustered up my courage to eat this chilli. I decided to taste the paste of the chilli by dipping the tip of a spoon into the bowl. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be; I survived and it didn’t trouble my stomach either. That was my experience at the Naga Kitchen. I didn’t want to judge it, just experience it. It was a better idea to just absorb everything I had learnt.

  DAY 95

  7 November / Guwahati

  Today was my last day in Assam, and soon after the sun set, it would be time to head home. That made it mandatory for me to start the day on a sweet note, just for good luck. I went to Lakshmi Mishtan Bhandar in Beltola. Here I met Arnab, the owner. The shop was founded by his grandfather in 1942. I was looking for a particular variety of Assamese sweet called pitha. I had never seen or tasted it before. From what I had gathered, it was like a flat Assamese crêpe made of only rice flour and stuffed with a kind of kheer. There were many varieties of it; some were made of palm syrup, others had sesame, and some had jaggery in them. I also found savoury pithas with different stuffing that were fried, boiled or even steamed. I ordered two; the plain version with kheer and one with palm jaggery called ghila pitha; this was fried. Both were delicious and reminded me of dessert crêpes that I have had at a continental restaurant. The pitha is usually accompanied by tea, and the shop was set up in such a way that the guests could pick up the pitha of their choice with their tea, and stand at the little counters.

  My next point of interest, while I was still in Assam, was tea! I had been surrounded by garden estates and plantations throughout my trip, whether it was Dharamshala or Munnar. Most of the tea here was grown in the Brahmaputra valley. The climate and altitude was perfect for the production. So much so that 150 years ago it was one of the most famous tea production spots in the world. Both sides of the river have fertile banks suitable for tea production.