Thursday 30 June 2011

Ondla-Mewai Jwng Naa Jwng


This delicacy is a very popular and a favourite of the Bodos.
A few Bodo terminologies :
1.Ondla : curry made of rice powder, mainly cooked with either fish or meat.
2.Ingkhree : curry with gravy
3.Jwng : with
4.Naa : fish
5.Gonger mosla : long coriander (Eryngium foetidum)
6.Joha rice : a variety of small grained rice with a beautiful aroma
7.Khaari : alkali, procedure of making : sun dry banana peels and trunks of the plant, burn to collect the ash. Pour water, keep over night, strain and store the clear brown liquid to use in curries. This is very common and used in a variety of dishes all over the North Eastern part of India.
8.Mewai : tender bamboo shoot, Bodos eat only fresh bamboo shoot whereas others eat it fermented too.
Ingredients :
Fresh bamboo shoot which is found only during the summer months of June, July.
To clean, keep taking off the layers till you find the tender white edible part....
... wash them whole .....
...and slice. For this recipe you need 2 bamboo shoots.
 8 pieces of Rahu fish (Carp), any fresh fish can be used. Clean, wash and marinate fish pieces with salt+turmeric for 20 minutes.


1/2 cup rice, preferably Joha. Grind to a smooth paste with 1 or 2 cups water. Originally rice powder is used, but I have made this variation as, if not expert, while adding the rice powder the curry might turn lumpy.

 1 tbsp khaari
1 onion sliced or grated
Garlic 12 pods, grated
Chilly cut lengthwise
2 tsp turmeric
2 to 3 tsp salt
2 tbsp mustard oil for the curry and 1/2 cup to fry fish.
A few leaves of gonger mosla
Method :
Fry fish and keep aside
Heat oil and saute onion+garlic+chilly for 2 minutes
Put in bamboo shoot, salt, turmeric and stir fry for a few minutes.
Pour warm water, cover and cook till bamboo shoot is cooked.
Pour the rice paste, keep stirring .....
... drop the pieces of fish, cook for a few more minutes.
Add Khaari, stir, cook for few more minutes

Add long coriander, Ondla ingkhree with naa and mewai is ready to serve. 

Sunday 26 June 2011

Koldil Bhaji



                 Koldil : banana flower 
                 Bhaji : fry

                  Ingredients : (serves 4)


Julienne of 3 onions, 1 sliced green chilly.


 1tsp turmeric, 1and1/2 tsp salt.


4tbsp oil

Method : 


Peel koldil, you will find long flowers along with each layer. 


Take out and throw the hard long stamens from each of those flowers. Go on removing the layers this way until you find the very tender white portion, chop it very fine along with these long inner flowers.


 Fill a big bowl with cold water and rinse the chopped koldil thoroughly, squeeze water out of koldil and throw the water which has turned dark in colour. Repeat this 3 times.


 Heat oil, put in all the ingredients and stir well. Do not add water, cook covered in low heat, stirring occasionally till koldil is cooked.


Delicious Koldil Bhaji is ready to serve with rice, roti or luchi(poori).  

Saturday 25 June 2011

Ondla-Mewai Jwng Daau Jwng


A delicious and very popular Ingkhree. "Curry made of ground rice-with bamboo shoot and chicken"
 A few Bodo terminologies:
1.Ondla : curry made of ground rice, a favourite of the Bodos, mainly cooked with either fish or meat.
2.Ingkhree : curry with gravy
3.Mewai : tender bamboo shoot. Bodos eat only fresh bamboo shoots
4. Jwng : with
5.Daau : chicken
6.Khaari : alkali, procedure of making: sun dry banana peels and trunks of banana plant and burn to collect the ash. Then pour water, keep over night, strain and store the clear brown liquid to use in curries. This is very common and used in a variety of dishes all over the North Eastern part of India.
7.Joha rice : a variety of small grained rice, has a nice aroma
8.Gonger mosla : long coriander(Eryngium foetidum)
To cook this delicacy, you need :
Fresh bamboo shoot which is found only during the summer months of June, July.
 To clean, keep taking off the layers till you find the tender white edible part ...
...wash them whole .....
 .... slice. For this recipe you need 2 bamboo shoots.
500g 'country' chicken, diced and washed
1/2 cup rice, preferably Joha. Grind to a smooth paste with 1 or 2 cups water. Originally rice powder is used, but I have made this variation as, if not expert, while adding the rice powder the curry might turn lumpy.
Paste of 1 big onion, little ginger, 10pods of garlic
2 chillies chopped
2 tsp turmeric, 2tsp salt (to taste)
3 tbsp mustard oil
1 tbsp khaari
A few leaves of long coriander
Method :
Heat oil, fry paste of onion, ginger, garlic and chilly for a few minutes, add chicken, turmeric, salt and again fry for a few minutes. 
Add bamboo shoot and fry again for some time, cover and cook in low heat for a while. 
Add 2 or 3 cups water, stir well, cook covered till half cooked.
Add the rice paste, keep stirring while pouring it. Cook covered again stirring occasionally till both chicken and bamboo shoot are cooked. 
Add khaari, stir well and cook for a few more minutes till gravy thickens.
Garnish with long coriander, it adds to the flavour.
 Ondla ingkhree-mewai jwng daau jwng is ready to serve with rice.

Friday 24 June 2011

Thadoon Jwng Naa Jwng

Thadoon Jwng Naa Jwng (Curry of fish and root of colocasia)

Bodos love non vegetarian food, so much so that most of the vegetables are cooked either with meat or fish. This dish is one of their most popular and favourite.
Like the rest of North-East, Bodos too eat each part of a colocasia plant. While the root is called Thadoon, tender leaves are called Thaso Bitroi, shoots are called Thaso Aathing and the body is called Thaso Bisong. 
A few Bodo terminologies:
1.Thadoon : root of colocasia. All parts of colocasia is eaten in the North Eastern part of India, there are a variety of delicious dishes. You can check  colocasia leaves recipe.  
2.Jwng : with
3.Naa : fish
4.Ingkhree : curry 


                       Ingredients :




 1.   250g Thadoon


  Peel, halve and wash thadoon.


2. 6 pieces Rahu(Curp) fish. Cut, clean, wash and pat dry. Any fresh fish can be used.



 3. Paste of : 1 onion + 10 pods of garlic
                                                     4. Chopped or slit chilly, to taste.



                                                  5. 2 tsp turmeric
                                                                            6. Salt to taste.


 7. 1 tbsp mustard oil for the curry and 1/3 cup for frying fish.
                 
                            Method :




Smear the pieces of fish with salt-turmeric and leave on for 15 to 20 minutes. 
Fry and keep aside.


 Heat oil, fry paste and chilly for a few minutes. 


Add thadoon, salt, turmeric and stir fry for a few more minutes. 


Pour two cups of warm water, cover and cook on low heat till thadoon is tender, stirring occasionally.


Drop the fried pieces of fish and cook again adding little more water. 


Delicious thadoon ingkhree is ready to serve when fish is cooked and the gravy thickens. 
Serve with a steaming plate of rice.