Lore · Section

Cuisine

River, hill, and agrarian food traditions.

The two poles of the meal

An Assamese lunch on a bell-metal plate with rice, fish, and condiments, beside a banana leaf

Khar and Tenga

The two poles of Assamese cooking. The alkaline khar and the sour tenga are the flavours that frame a meal.

Pitha and the festive kitchen

A brass plate of round laru balls in several colours, sesame, coconut and jaggery among them, with pale pitha rolls at the edge and a red-woven gamosa beside

Pitha and the Sweets of Bihu

The rice-flour pithas and the jolpan of the Bihu table, til pitha, ghila pitha, the sweets of the harvest.

The tribal kitchens

Cuts of pork and fat threaded on bamboo skewers roasting over an open fire, with women cooking behind

The Tribal Kitchens

The distinctive cuisines of Assam's tribal communities, from the Bodo onla to the rice beers of the hills.

The ancient larder

Several pale, peeled fresh bamboo shoots laid out for sale on a market stall beside cucumbers and mushrooms

Bamboo Shoot and the Fermented Larder

The fermented bamboo shoot (khorisa), the dried and fermented fish, and the smoked hill kitchens of the region.

Cuisine · Storied Assam