Bodo herbs and cuisines

  Kharoukhandai The human tongue can detect at least five tastes or flavours: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (or savoury). The heat of peppers and chilli don’t count as the sensation you feel when you eat them is actually pain that is triggered by the same sensors in our bodies that are also activated when we feel a rise in body temperature. We all crave for things that are sweet, fatty, salty and meaty or savoury. The whole food industry is geared towards fulfilling our desires for these flavours. But here’s the thing with bitter. Most people don’t like it. One theory why we don’t like bitter tasting food from an evolutionary standpoint is that bitter foods indicate toxicity.   Our bodies evolved to learn that sweet fruits and berries are safe to eat, bitter ones are not. Sure enough, research has shown that many bitter foods found in nature contain hundreds of toxic molecules like alkaloids and glucosinolates. Nevertheless, many people and cultures a round the wo...

  Dingkheeya (Fiddlehead fern) Commonly known as Fiddlehead fern in English, this fern is pretty widespread in the humid and moist environment of Bodoland and other parts of Assam. They typically grow in moist soil by road sides or near water bodies or meadows or anywhere that people do not care to clear them off. Bodos call it Dingkheeya and Assamese call it Dhekiya saag.  There is another fern species known as Bracken that is widely consumed in Southeast Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea. Apparently, bracken contains a carcinogen called ptalquiloside, although research is not conclusive. I’m pretty sure that Dingkheeya is just one sub-species of Fiddlehead fern. Maybe Dingkheeya too contains some carcinogen. But do not be alarmed. As long as the ferns are cooked thoroughly, they should be fine to eat. In fact, many widely consumed plants contain natural toxins as forms of defence mechanisms to protect themselves from being eaten by other organisms. For instance, ba...

 Kheradaphini/Maati Gaaldaab The availability of this plant is quiet rare, yet its leaves are commonly commonly used by the Bodos to season their meat or fish dishes. After digging around online for some information on this plant, I've learned that its scientific name is Premna herbacea Roxb. I haven't actually bothered to go and see a live plant on the ground. However, I have heard people say that it only grows in the wild, on forest floors. It's a short plant, almost like an undershrub with 4-5 leaves on each plant. I do wonder why it is called Kheradaphini or Maati Gaaldaab. Perhaps, the leaves resemble some kind of dangling earring because 'Khera' means earring in the Bodo language and 'daphini' might mean something chunky or clunky thing. Its alternative name, 'Maati Gaaldaab' might be a mish-mash between 'Maati', meaning land in the Assamese language, and 'Gaaldaab' which might mean 'to walk heavily in a lumbered way'. ...