The resounding beat of the dheki (traditional Assamese mortar) is replaced by the gyrating noise of the grinder in Pallavi’s kitchen in Delhi as she struggles with half-soaked rice to turn it into a fine flour. Almost 1,900 kms away from her hometown in Assam, this enthusiastic homemaker spends her cold January mornings in the kitchen to cook some traditional recipes. The rice flour may not have been as fine as her mother made when she was a kid, but was good enough to make her favourite sunga pitha (an Assamese sweet dish cooked inside bamboo hollow) which she planned to prepare during Bhogali Bihu, the harvest festival of the northeastern state.
As the kitchens in the rest of the country are warming up to prepare for Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Pongal, in northeast India, especially in Assam, people are prepping up for Bhogali Bihu—the festival, just like the word ‘Bhog’ from which its name is derived, is all about food. The mornings start with healthy breakfast of curd, jaggery and chira (poha or rice flakes) and also not to forget the famous komol saul (an indigenous rice known for its soft quality that can be eaten uncooked by just soaking it in water overnight). Pitha of course is the staple diet, and the sheer variety of it ranging from dry to syrupy ones could confuse anyone who tries it for the first time. Even the cooking techniques—using bamboo hollow, roasted, wrapped in banana leaf and boiled, fried et al—are as varied as their names like tilor pitha (sesame-stuffed rice wafers), ghila pitha (fried rice dumplings), kolor pitha (banana leaf wrapped rice pancakes) and others.
But the most awaited hour of the day begins after sunset. Kitchens are scrubbed clean only for more preparations to begin. In old days, people used to wait for their ducks to mature into a telia haanh (a fat one, to be precise). On the much-awaited Uruka night (the night before Maagh Bihu), the duck is cooked with bura komora (a kind of ripe gourd). There is no compromising on the quality of the duck or the gourd, both needed to be old and good enough to get the honour of being a part of a community feast. “As the nights of Bhogali Bihu are the coldest during the season, duck curry cooked traditionally using gourd helps keep the people warm during the celebration,” says Anamika Baruah, a Delhi-based banker who cooks traditional Assamese food. While this is the dish that everyone looks forward to, the menu is promising with traditionally cooked chicken and meat curry, masor tenga (a sour fish curry), posola (a vegetarian delight cooked using banana stem), labra (mixed vegetable) and others. Rice, of course, is the binding element that accompanies all.
Away from home, on the mid-week of January, food lovers will gather in their selected spots to celebrate this favourite festival of food. Eateries like Jakoi at Assam Bhawan or Rosang at Green Park in Delhi are already bringing out special menus for the occasion. “We are planning to introduce Bhogali Bihu specialities like doi, chira, pitha and other main courses like duck curry etc. to celebrate the festival. It will be a month-long affair in our cafe starting from the mid-week of January,” says Mary Lalboi, owner of Rosang.
Like George Bernard Shaw said, “there is no love more sincere than the love of food,” Bhogali Bihu is a perfect example of this.