Tea Planter, noted Assamese Hemen Barooah passes away leaving a great legacy

Hemendra Prasad Barooah
image courtesy The Telegraph

Great visionary, noted Assamese Tea magnet Hemen Barooah is no more. The person whose enthusiastic endeavours have inspired a generation of people to take the plunge into choosing business as career, who took Tea gardening and marketing into international level by using his unique business sense and and presented an inimitable example of life greatly, impressively lived has died on 31st July in Bankok.

Onlineassam blog is nominated for Indian bloggers competition

There have been many Assamese bloggers in in web world and they are silently contributing to the Assamese language, to spread Assamese culture and providing unbiased and original information about what is going on in Assam. Their efforts have been appreciated in different platforms also.

Monsoon Thoughts in Assam, Kharisa and some sad news(demise of Dr Kabin Phukon sir)

The most awaited Assam visit came to an end at last when me and my family members ended up in the school auditorium-like Jorhat airport lounge on 15th of June. The flight was late and we could experience the heat of outside in the passenger lounge itself, because sadly there was no air-conditioner in the Jorhat Airport passenger lounge. The passenger of one flight was enough to pack the auditorium!

Anyways, the stay at Assam was more than pleasant.

Profile, Biography of a Great Assamese Political leader Soneswar Bora, the Krishak Pitri

The most popular and honest political leader of Assm Soneswar Bora is no more. He is the ultimate peoples' man. A leader in the true meaning, who never hesitated about his farmer identity. He is actually called the Krishak Pitri(meaning the Father of Farmers). On 13 Dec this great Assamese soul has departed.

Assamese Cuisine: Exotic and truly Assamese ingredients, recipes and its USP

   Assamese Cuisine is  the heady mixture of ethnic tribal elements and Indian elements. Assam is the home of different tribes and casts and people have been following the culture of assimilation since the time immemorial. So the Assamese cuisine is bound to reflect all those elements in it's flavour and nature. As a result Assamese cuisine reflect a simplicity as well as complexity and variety.

A SIMPLE ASSAMESE MEAL

A traditional Assamese house-holds staple meal is Bhat and assorted dishes.

A very simple Assamese meal will consist a Rice plate(which is called bhat). A bowl of cooked green leafy vegetables(saak), a side dish of traditionally grilled veggies or fish  called Pitika, and a bowl of daal. But traditionally daal is used on very rare occasions though now each house hold cannot do without the daal.

Normally variations and innovations of these primary items are used on a daily basis. Vegetables locally and seaonally available are used in a very much Assamese way.

Traditional preservation of spices, herbs and Pickles play a very important role in Assamese cuisine. Kharisa  (no oil bamboo shoot pickles), Kahudi, Panitenga, Hukuta, Thekera(Dried soar fruit) etc are very authentic elements which are very rare in other Indian cuisines.

Fish and Fish preparations go very well with Assamese dishes. And there are variet of Fish preparations made exclusively with local ingredients. Assam is a land of water in many forms like river, tank etc and hence fresh fish are availlable at any time of Year. So Fish is a essential part of Assamese cuisine. And Assamese people are quintessentially    fishitarian.                                                                                                                                     

 Some Assamese Fish preparations:

  Masor tenga, Harioh diya Masor jol, kharisare Masor jol, kharikat Diya mas, Pora Mach, Karisare Magurmasor Jol, paleng Saakor jol. Hukan Bhoja

Though Fish is a part of Assamese cuisine Meat too is very much loved by Assamese people.Especially bird's meat is very popular. Roasted Duck, Paror mankho, Chicken , Pork with herbs and spices etc are very popular. Most imporatantly, in Assam meat options are very healthy and cooked with no or minimum oil. That's why Assamese Meat preparations are unique in taste and texure too.