Northeast India Delicacies: Pora Haah

The cuisine from Northeast India is traditionally considered to be one of the healthiest in the world as the ingredients used are always local and very fresh.

Also, like traditional Japanese food, people here hardly use any oil while cooking, a fact that is responsible for the superb skin people from the region usually have.

Spices are minimal in the upper states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya and while Assam has largely been influenced by Bengali cuisine, it has picked up the subtle nuances of the region.

Pora Haah
(burnt/roasted duck)

Pora” means “burnt” and “haah” is Assamese for duck. This duck is roasted whole and the stuffing has some distinct Indian touches, like green chillies and coriander leaves.

Ingredients
1 medium sized duck — whole, with skin
1 egg, beaten
4 slices of bread
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, cubed
Juice of 1 large lime
½ tsp black pepper
1½ tsp white vinegar
3 green chillies, chopped
1 small bunch coriander leaves, chopped fine
2 stalks spring onions, chopped fine
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ cup oil; Salt to taste

Method
Remove the giblets from the duck, wash and cut them in tiny pieces. Rub salt and lime juice over the duck, inside as well as outside and refrigerate for 15 minutes to half an hour.
Mix the potatoes with the bread, crumble and add all ingredients other than the egg and giblets to it. Add half of the oil to this mixture. Add the beaten egg to the mixture along with the giblets. Mix well. Remove the duck from the fridge and stuff the mixture inside the duck and tie up the legs and wings crosswise so the stuffing doesn’t escape. Rub the rest of the oil on the duck.

Roast the duck on an open charcoal fire for at least 30 minutes turning occasionally or roast it in an oven for 40 minutes at 180°C covered with an aluminium foil. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes. Baste the duck with oil frequently while it is being roasted. Serve with baked potatoes and bread.

Fried Tender Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots are abundantly available in most hilly areas that have good rainfall and while we are used to bamboo shoots in Chinese food, its usage is more or less unknown in mainstream North or South Indian cuisine. The best bamboo shoots come in the market during monsoons but one can get the tinned variety at supermarkets.

Ingredients
1 foot-long tender bamboo shoot
2 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
4 dried red chillies
4 tbsp oil; 2 tsp baking soda; Salt

Method
Scrape off the outer covering of the bamboo shoot, cut into small pieces and rinse thoroughly under running water. Mix the shoots with the baking soda and keep aside. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the methi seeds and red chillies.

Stir and fry till the chillies darken. Add the bamboo shoots and cook on a low flame till the shoots are dry. Add 3 tbsp of water and stir fry for another minute. Serve as a side dish with chapatis or rice.