During our food tour in the North Eastern state of Tripura, we visited the town of Jampuijala to discover the cuisine culture of the Tripuri tribe at the home of our host Sakila Debbarma. The Tripuri are the largest tribal community of the state and Sakila is one of the native. As a food content creator, she is on a journey to showcase the rich culinary heritage of her community.
The setting for the day was the serene outdoors of her village home. On reaching there we were intrigued to see all the ingredients and vessels laid out for the cooking. The chula or the open fire oven too was ready for all the action and so was Sakila and her mom. After a warm welcome, we started with the preparation. The menu for the day included Mosdeng Kelua, Maidul, Mikhun Togla Gudok, Tohan Pengjak, Awang Bhangwi, Wahan Yogjak and Dalok Bwtwi. It was a medley of some everyday and a few occasional dishes. The key ingredient in most of the above dishes was the small fermented fish Berma.
Shakila started with the Dalok Bwtwi. It is a simple dish cooked with a few native greens, sliced onions and berma. It was put on 10-12 mins on low flame and it was ready. Next she made Mikhun Togla Gudok. For this, first she cooked a mix of wild banana flower, berma, potatoes and green chillies inside a bamboo segment with just salt and little water, then pounded then into a mash. This too was a oil free preparation. For making bangwi she took some pre soaked guria rice, mixed it with ginger and onion, stuffed it into lairu leaves cones and set aside to steam. This was followed by a very interesting dish called maidul. It is a lightly-baked ball made of leftover rice and salt. Maidul is paired with Mosdeng kelua, a quick and simple condiment made of roasted green chillies, roasted berma, garlic and salt.
Awang shokrang, a occasion specific dish, was rice cooked in an interesting manner. Pre soaked guria rice was mixed with salt, onion, ginger and mustard oil then steam cooked in a double vessel steamer. This was followed by the pork dish called wahan yogjak. Here pork chunks were stir fried in pork fat along with ginger, garlic and cumin paste, salt and turmeric. The last dish was tohan pengjak or mixture of chicken, onion, garlic, ginger and salt cooked inside a bamboo segment.
With no fancy gadgets or make-easy appliances in place, rustic cooking is always a laborious task. Finally after the intriguing cooking session that introduced us to some key aspects of the Tripuri cuisine, we sat don to eat. Smoky maidul tastes great the spicy and piquant Mosdeng kelua. Tripuri cuisine has a wide range of Mosdeng prepared with different ingredients. The gudok was one of the best that we had tried. Awang shokrang had a nice kick from the ginger, onion and mustard oil. Both the pork and chicken were absolutely delicious although one was a stir fry and the other a earthy oil free stew like dish. Dalok Bwtwi was slightly bitter, earthy and piquant. Awang bangwi one of the most popular tripuri dishes, was a savoury and sticky treat with an earthy undertone. This rustic Tripuri meal was so light on the palate yet hearty. The conversation with our host enriched us with many details about their unique cuisine. Watch till the end for all the yummy details.
Follow our co host at:
/ @sakilas_kitchen
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About the host:
anubhavsapra.com/
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Texts by Swetaleena Nayak
7 июн 2024
