EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY
THEME: MEGHALAYA CUISINE
Megha means clouds and thus this North Eastern State is known as the ‘Abode of the Clouds’. True to its name, its receives plenty of rainfall. The state comprises of Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Majority of the population are Christians. The neighbors are Assam to the north and Bangladesh to the south. The Nohkalikai falls near Cherrapunji is the highest plunge waterfall in India, 1115 feet. Till 1972 Meghalaya was a part of Assam. The hills have many caves which fast is making Meghalaya a famous destination for cave exploration activities. Meghalaya has many living bridges, roots that are old span waterbodies to form suspension like bridges.
Coming to the cuisine of Meghalaya, the staple diet consists of rice, meat and fish.Vegetables are usually served as a side dish or as salad. Finding a vegetarian dish for this cuisine was very difficult.
Here are some the famous dishes of Meghalaya:
- Jadoh – a red rice preparation usually made with pork and other ingredients like onion, ginger,turmeric, bay leaves, pepper, green chillis.
- Doh Khlieh – a salad made using pork, onions and chillis.
- Nakham Bitchi – a soup made from nakham fish, chillis and pepper.
- Pumaloi – rice powder is steamed in special pots called khiew ranei. Its usually served during festivals and community gatherings with curries.
- Doh Neiing – a pork curry dish with rich gravy and with black sesame seeds added to it.
- Tungrymbai – a meal for the peasant community which consists of fermented soya beans, pork, onion,balck sesame seeds, chillis, onion, ginger.
- Pudoh – A curry made from pork pieces and powdered rice.
- minil songa – a sticky rice and fresh bamboo snack.
- Pukhlein – a sweet dish made from powdered rice and jaggery.
- Sakin Gata – a sweet steamed sticky rice preparation.
- Kyat – fermented rice beer.
Meghalaya cuisine is healthy with hardly any oil and uses fresh ingredients. My partner for this month was Priya Mahesh who blogs @ At200deg. I gave her rice and mushrooms while she gave me rice and black sesame seeds. With the ingredients that I suggested to Priya she made a delicious rice dish, Vegetarian Jadoh with tofu and mushroom.
My hunt for vegetarian dishes took me to Desi Fiesta a blog by Manjula Bharath. I got the idea to make Janeiiong from her blog.
There is not much information about Janeiiong on the internet. However, I can assure you the rice is so flavourful on its own. I had the rice on its own while hubby enjoyed it with some curry. The main ingredient here besides the rice is black sesame seeds.
The benefits of including black sesame seeds in your diet are:
- they are rich in calcium and zinc, making it beneficial for strong bones
- Its rich in magesium which helps to stabilse blood pressur
- has anti aging properties as it rich in iron, Vitamin B
- Decreases risk of cancer
- the seeds are a good source of fiber making it beneficial for proper digestion
Make Janeiiong or Black Sesame Seeds Pulao with a curry or enjoy it on its own as a snack or breakfast treat. Remember to go easy with the chillis as Meghalaya food is not overly spicy.
JANEIIONG/BLACK SESAME SEED PULAO
Serves 2
2 cups cooked rice
½ cup black sesame seeds
1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger paste or about 1″ ginger thinly sliced
1-2 green chillis, sliced or paste
5-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
½ tsp salt
- Roast the black sesame seeds on a wide pan over low heat till they begin to crackle. Remember to stir them continuously.
- Let the seeds cool down a bit. Add very little water and grind it into a paste.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Stir fry the onion till it becomes soft.
- Add the ginger, garlic and chillis. Mix well.
- Add the sesame seed paste. Mix well.
- Add the rice and salt.
- Mix it gently so that the paste coats the grains of the rice. Let it become hot over low heat and serve immediately with a curry or on its own.
Tips:
- I used garlic for extra flavor.
- Use leftover rice.
- Its a great way to include black sesame seeds in your diet. If kids don’t like the slightly bitter taste of the ground sesame seeds then sprinkle them whole for them.
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A little request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962
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Sharing this recipe with the following event:
Shhh Cooking Secretly a group started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes, is where every month food bloggers are paired up and give each other 2 secret ingredients to cook with according to the theme chosen. If you’re interested in joining this exciting group then please leave a message in the comment section. Thank you.