My World of Food and Travel

It is that time of the year again – feasting and making merry! My favourite festival, no wonder. Magh Bihu, also known as Bhogali Bihu, is close to every Assamese’s heart and I am sure everyone has his/her own fond memories to tell. And I have loads! Let me take a deep breath, now… Magh Bihu to me has always been about my maternal grandmother or Aita. Since Aita lived with her two sons, whom we called dangor mama (elder uncle) and xoru mama (younger uncle), her four daughters who had been married off to distant corners of Assam would troop in for Bihu, their families in tow. I can still hear the multitude of chatter and laughter resounding through the large mansion with every new arrival.  There would be elaborate preparations for Uruka, the feast on the eve of Bihu. Huge mounds of straw would be brought over to make the bhela ghor , a temporary hut where communal feasting takes place and then lit at dawn. Our gang of younger cousins would revel among the straw mounds a...

And so my holidays are over and I am back. I can’t believe how those two weeks ended; everything seems to have moved super fast. All I have right now are my memories, some of them photographed. Before I turn sentimental and weepy, let me share with you some of the food I had while in Assam. These are just a fragment of the food I gorged on during those two weeks. It was food, food and more food all the way, especially since we were visiting Assam during Bhogali Bihu , our harvest festival. I am sure we must have put on at least 10 kgs on this visit alone! But I don’t mind the weight considering the fact that we won’t be able to taste those dishes again for a long time, till our next visit. And now here comes a photo-chronicle of my food journey in Assam! The Bihu Thali Let’s start with what my eldest jethai (aunt) prepared for us on the morning of Bhogali Bihu. On the plate: xandoh (ground roasted rice of the sticky variety), sira (flattened rice), akhoi (puffed...

Yesss! For the next two hectic weeks, I shall be away from the maddening crowd in Bangalore and joining another motley crowd consisting of family and friends in Assam.  Here is what I expect: Food I want to have: -           Fresh vegetables (broccoli, peas, spinach, mustard greens, radish, knol-khol, mint and other stuff) from my parents’ kitchen garden in Guwahati -           Dad’s special duck roast -           Duck eggs -           Mom’s fish curry in curry leaves paste -           Father-in-law’s specialty of steamed colocasia leaves-mash -           Another of his specialty roasted small fish chutney -           Pigeon curry, if...