Custom, Cuisine, and Culture: Locating Khaar and Tenga in the Larger Prism of Food Traditions

Food is arguably, yet invariably more than merely a means of sustenance – it blends different ‘flavors,’ essences, and peculiarities of cultures, traditions, societies, and ‘life’ itself. This paper attempts to celebrate food and its peculiarities, particularly regarding the Assamese culinary tradition, while comparing and picturing it alongside food from other cultures and placing it on a larger culinary plane of practice, precision, and popular culture. ‘Traditional’ Assamese cuisine is a piquant admixture of dishes from the pakghor (kitchen) of the xipini (weaver) to the middle-class household, seeking to embrace ‘modernity’, not only in terms of lifestyle but also in terms of culinary habits, traversing from the ‘coolie’ lines to the kitchens of the ornately imposing Burra Bungalows (whoever can forget the majesty of the Thengal Manor in Titabor or the Chameli Memsaab bungalow in Cinnamara, Jorhat!) While Assamese cuisine presents a wide range of delicacies, ranging from Pitha, Laru, Baahor Gaaz (bamboo shoot), Outengar Jul (Elephant apple curry), various Pitikas or mashed delicacies, different types of Bor (fritters), Xaak (leafy vegetables), Maahor Dali (Black Dal cooked plain or with outenga or sometimes with duck), Mangxor Jul (meat curry, often mutton), two principal elements that can be said to ‘define’ Assamese food are Khaar, which is alkaline in nature and Tenga (which is typically acidic). A large chunk of Assamese culinary tradition can be said to revolve around Khaar and Tenga and their tug of war, as they are entirely opposite in taste and composition, and it is generally advised not to have Khaar and Tenga together. Therefore, if the meal starts with khaar, it ends with tenga which is ideally a tangy curry with fish. This paper would be an attempt to traverse from the kitchen of the Burra Sahib to the commoner -weaving tapestries of food, history and orality, along with the evolution in Assamese culinary tradition – essentially cuisines that link the royalty to the commoner, as picturing Assamese cuisine vis a vis cuisines and culinary traditions from other cultures.