A garland of memories: cooking with the night jasmine flowers
One of the earliest memories I have of my grandmother’s house was waking up to a big carpet of dew-laden parijat flowers that was found every morning in her courtyard. The night jasmine, parijat or xewali tree as it’s known in Assam, is famous for its intoxicating smell and the myriad mythological stories that have been written praising this tiny white flower with its orange stem. However, in Assam the xewali flower is not just known for its simple beauty and haunting fragrance but is a very popular ingredient in many Assamese kitchens. Both the leaves and flowers are found in many dishes especially in fish curries and are believed to have multiple health benefits.
In my grandmother’s house (and many homes) the flowers are usually collected, sun-dried, and stored in airtight containers for use throughout the year. In olden days, many Assamese homes would have a breakfast of rice and parijat flowers with chillies, oil, and salt or with coconut milk. It was believed that the dish helped in building immunity against the seasonal flu and cured many other ailments as well.
Even today when I pick up the fallen flowers in my garden, it takes me back to the simple joy of picking the fallen flowers in my grandmother’s house when I was young. And the smell helps me relive the garland of memories of those bygone days!
Stir-fried rice with parijat flowers
Johar rice (an Assamese rice, or any rice; pre-cooked with salt): 1 cup
Parijat (night jasmine) flowers: ¼ cup (Soak in water for an hour or more and throw away the water. Washing a couple of times and throwing away the water will reduce the bitterness of the flowers)
Paanch phoron (mix of 5 spices: cumin, mustard, fennel, nigella, and fenugreek seeds in equal quantities): 1 tsp
Green chillies: 2
Onion (chopped): 1 (small)
Handful of cashew nuts
Mustard oil: 1 tbsp
- Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts till they turn golden. Take them out and keep separately. Heat a spoonful of mustard oil, put paanch phoron and flowers (squeeze out the water); sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add pre-cooked rice to the mixture and stir-fry. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and serve.
Assamese cuisine is still relatively unknown and not many Indians have tasted it, unless one has an Assamese friend. The hallmark of any Assamese dish is its simplicity as it uses very little oil and masala. You cook with fresh ingredients mainly from your back garden and eat without much complication. The freshness of the ingredients is the key. Apart from fish, the Assamese love their greens or xaag and eat every possible leaf and many edible flowers as well. The lockdown helped me research and eat multiple leaves and flowers growing in my garden and cooking with them.
My grandmother grew all her vegetables in her back garden till she died in her late 80s; I am trying to follow her example, within my limited space of course. In the villages, home cooks can quickly stir-fry many leaves and flowers – papaya leaves, parijat, morning glory, moringa flowers, water hyacinth, and a whole host of flowers and greens – many of which are native to Assam.
Colocasia, or kusu paat as it’s called in Assam, is found in every village and pretty much grows wild. The leaves and stems are eaten as much, if not more, than the actual root (arbi). Considered to be a great source of Vitamins A and C, it is believed a cup of this healthy leaf delays eye muscle degeneration and cataract.
Colacasia or kosu paat with prawns
Prawns: 250 gm
Kosu paat (Colocasia/Taro/arbi leaves): 5 (medium sized)
Tomato: 6 cherry tomatoes or 1 small one
Mustard paste: 1 tbsp
Coconut paste or poppy seed paste: 2 tbsp
Green chillies: 3 or 4, as per taste
Dry red chilli: 1
Turmeric: A pinch or two
Salt as per taste
Mustard oil: 1–2 tbsp
Lemon juice: 2 tbsp
- Wash, clean, and de-vein the prawns and cut them into small pieces. Technically in Assam they use river prawns, which are way smaller. Mix a pinch of salt and turmeric and keep aside.
- Wash colocasia leaves and finely chop them. Then boil the leaves with some salt and a little lemon juice.
- Grind the coconut, mustard, and green chillies together to a paste.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the dry red chilli and prawns and lightly fry for a minute on low flame. Keep the prawns aside.
- Add the coconut-mustard-chilli paste and salt in the pan. Cook it for 2–3 minutes.
- Squeeze the water out of the boiled colocasia leaves and add them to the pan along with the chopped tomato. Cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Once tomato is mushy, add the prawns and cook for another 3–4 minutes.
- Add a teaspoon of mustard oil and a tablespoon of lemon juice and serve hot with steamed rice.
No Assamese meal is complete without the menu tenga or kaji lemon, an elongated oblong-shaped lime with a distinct flavour and found essentially in the northeastern states.
I have always loved the lime, but it was only when I was expecting my son many years back that I realised how much the lime meant to me. I couldn’t eat anything other than dal chawal with a squeeze of this lime (no other lime worked!). My poor mother had to courier these packets from Assam all the way to Mumbai. I still tease my mother that she only sent this package during my pregnancy, not before and not after!
In desperation when I moved to Bangalore I travelled back with a lemon plant cutting all the way from Assam and today it is the essential part of my kitchen garden and cooking.
This chicken curry is a flavourful stew with a very mild flavour and no masalas … perfect with hot steamed rice. I like to cook it in an earthen pot to give it a slightly smoky hint but anything works.
Chicken stew with kaji nebu
Dahi (curd): ⅔ cup
A handful of lime leaves or kaffir lime
Lemons (sliced): 2
Kaji nebu juice: 1 tbsp
Onion puree: 6 tbsp
Ginger paste: ½ tbsp
Green chilli paste: 2 tsp
Ginger (cut into fine juliennes): 2 tbsp
Garlic (finely chopped): 1 tsp
Green chillies (slit): 4
Whole black peppercorns: 10
Black pepper powder: ½ tbsp
Mustard oil: 2 tbsp
- First marinate the chicken pieces with a little salt, lemon juice, onion puree, ginger puree, green chilli paste, and half of the dahi. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours or overnight.
- Heat oil in a pan. Once it is hot, add in the black peppercorns and garlic. Sauté till light brown.
- Add the marinated chicken and set the marinade aside.
- Add the ginger juliennes, black pepper powder, green chillies, the remaining dahi, and the marinade. Cook for 4–5 minutes. Add half a cup of warm water and the lime leaves; continue to cook till the chicken is tender.
Comfort food for the soul
Ask an Assamese about comfort food and invariably the answer will be pitika! Nothing more than a simple mash or a bharta, this humble and unpretentious mash is soul food for many, especially when accompanied by steaming rice, dal and, of course, the kaji nebu. In fact the ultimate joy in my life has been when my Parsi neighbours list pitika as their comfort food as well!
This mash is smooth, fiery, and a flavourful mashed goodie made with mustard oil, onions, garlic, and chillies. Most veggies or fish, both fresh and dried, are steamed, roasted, or boiled before being mashed with oil, onions, garlic, chillies, and occasionally cilantro or lemon juice and turned into a pitika.
Alu or potato pitika and egg pitika is the most popular among all and is also the easiest to make. However, the combinations are endless: brinjal and tomato, mashed green bananas, mashed olives, mashed jackfruit seeds, amla and potato, French beans and shrimp , smoked fish and star fruit – the list is endless.
The banana flower on my tree gave me ideas and thus another comfort mash was born!
Sesame seed and banana flower pitika
Banana flowers: 2 cups
Black sesame seeds: 1 cup
Limes: 3
Mustard oil: ½ cup or more, according to taste
Green chillies: as per taste
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves: a handful
- Take 2 cups of banana flowers. Clean and remove the hard stamens.
Boil 3 cups water and add the banana flowers. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes. When done, drain the water and keep flowers aside. - Meanwhile roast a cup of black sesame seeds and grind them.
- Add the juice of 3 limes and a half cup or more of mustard oil (which has been heated and cooled).
- Mix the boiled banana flowers and sesame seed paste well.
Add slit green chillies, salt, and chopped coriander leaves. Boiled potatoes are optional but can be added as well.
