Aakhol Ghor, the Assamese Cuisines and Foods from Assam

Its all about Food and Food Habits from the land of blue hills and red river, Assam.

Aakhol Ghor means Kitchen in Assamese. Assamese traditional Kitchens normally has two parts. First the dining area plus a small cooking space for tea etc. And the next bigger and more functional room is the actual kitchen with at least two earthen fire places (chowka).If you are a food lover you can hope to see a lot of authentic Assamese Recipes in this place......

DISCLAIMER

Some famous Chef of India once said, " India is so unique, one can find three different recipes for the same chicken curry in the three houses lined in the same row. Every kitchen and every cook in India has it's own cook book, unlike rest of the world."
I personally feel it is so well said. Even in my case, you might find small to big differences in your known method of cooking and the ones posted here. I call them true Assamese for two main reasons, one: because of the spices used, and two: my granny knew nothing beyond her village ( she did not believe that cauliflower can be green, which is Broccoli). So whatever she cooked was passed on over generation. And my Mom finds it hard to believe anything can be cooked beyond her traditional methods( she is best at it, though she makes excellent Indo - Chinese things, invented). So please feel free to put in your comments / correction. One thing I can assure is I have cooked all these ( everything) myself with my own hands at least once. So whatever is here is tried and tested. You are always welcome to do your bit of experiment !!!!!

Fish Curry... Granny Style.

As I have said many times that Assamese food is simple, and food in the villages is simpler. So here is one very simple fish curry. It's tasty, it's healthy and it's quick. You can refer to the glossary part for more clarity on the ingredients.

Ingredients:
1. Fish (Rahu, Katla, Koi, Xingi, Magur) - 1 piece per person, fried.
2. Pre Boiled Potato - 1 medium sized per piece of fish. broken, but not meshed.
3. Onion - Chopped, for about 5 pieces one medium sized.
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch for 5 pieces, broken
5. Boiling water 3 times the amount of curry is needed.
6. Mustard Oil - 2 spoon
7. Salt, Turmeric - To taste

Method:
Heat a wok or any curry pan. Add the oil. Add the ginger and onion. Fry a little. Add the Potato , salt and turmeric and mix well. Fry till you get the flavour. Pour in all the water. You can add two green chillies to it. Once the curry bubbles, add the fish piece to it. Keep shimmering in a low medium flame till the curry reaches a consistency of your choice.
It's ready. Serve hot with rice and some bhaji.