Try these traditional Assamese recipes this festive season

Get down to making a simple yet wholesome Assamese meal this festive season. Check out these traditional recipes shared by Master chef Milan Kar from Mayfair Spring Valley, Assam and enjoy your meal.

Assamese Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

●      Chicken curry cut 500gms

●      Potatoes cut 250gms

●      Mustard oil 50ml

●      Turmeric powder 5 Gms

●      Onion 100gms

●      Ginger 50gms

●      Cloves garlic 30gms

●      Dried chillies 10gms

●      Salt 10 Gms

●      Black pepper powder 5gms

●      Lemon juice 5ml

●      Coriander leaves 40gms

Method:

• Chicken should be washed well and the extra water, drained.

• Make a paste of onion, ginger, garlic, and dried chilli paste.

• Now fry the potato pieces in mustard oil and addsalt and turmeric powder to the potato.

• Mix spice paste in the oil, add salt to taste, add water, chicken, fried potatoes, add lemon juice and cover with hot water over medium heat.

• Serve with hot rice.

Bhapa Pitha

Ingredients:

●       White rice 240gms

●       Freshly scrapped coconut 100gms

●        Jaggery powder 40gms

●        Cardamom powder 5gms

●        Salt 5gms

Method:

• Wash the rice, drain and spread to a tray to dry. Then grind to make powder and sieve.

• Dry roast the sieved powder in medium heat until a sweet fragrant emits from the powder. Don't over-roast to make the powder brown in colour.

• Transfer to a big mixing bowl. Add salt.

• With the help of boiling water make a semi-soft dough. Note that you have to use boiling water only to make the dough. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

• In the meantime make the stuffing. For that dry roast scrapped coconut on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes. This will enhance the taste and flavour of coconut.

• Next add in jaggery and cardamom powder and mix well until jaggery melts completely.

• Mix well again Stuffing is done. Remove from heat.

• Now from the prepared dough, take a lemon-sized portion.

• Make a patty first and then make a cavity and stuff 1 tablespoon of coconut mixture. Fold and give the size of a gujiya. This is the traditional size. But the pithas can be made with a cookie mould just to give them a new style. You can make the pithas without stuffing also like the following pictures

• Place them in a steamer.Cover and steam them for about 20 minutes.

• Transfer the steamed pithas to a colander and pour some cold water over the pithas. This will prevent the pithas to stick each other.

• Serve once ready.