INDIA: The Ministry of Tourism’s Dekho Apna Desh recently held its 80th webinar titled “Assamese Cuisine- The Gourmet Unexplored.” Food in India is a vibrant assortment of uncountable dishes, cooking styles and it is distinctly characterised by the subtle and sophisticated use of spices, grains, vegetables and fruits that are locally available. Indian food is a balance food as it satiates the taste buds with all sorts of flavours in it such as salty, sweet, bitter or spicy with combination of one or more food grains, vegetables spices etc. The topic of the recent webinar conducted was focused on Assamese Cuisine which is confluence of varied cooking habits.
Assam is the gateway to the north eastern states and has been aptly described as the sentinel of Northeast India. Assam is surrounded by hills, major rivers such as Brahmaputra & Barak and its tributaries, thick forest, tea gardens which enhances the scenic beauty. Located in the Nilachal hills in the western part of Guwahati, Kamakhya Temple is the oldest temple, dedicated to goddess Kamakhya. The temple is popular among pilgrims of Tantric worship, more so during the annual Ambubachi Mela Festival. The famous Kaziranga National Park is located in the Golaghat district of Assam is home to largest population of world’s one horned rhino species. Manas National Park, also a world heritage site, is a constituent unit of the Eastern Himalayan Bio-Diversity Region; one of the two biodiversity “Hot Spot” in the country. This National Park has also the highest density of tigers. The state is endowed with more than 600 tea gardens which gives soothing view to the eyes as one travels down to upper Assam.
Due to its location there has been lot of migration in the past and this has resulted in diverse & interesting food habits that Assamese cuisine have. Due to its strategic location, the state of Assam is immensely fertile as a gift of the river Brahmaputra and ecological hotspot resulting in the availability of numerous ingredients such as fresh veggies, variety of meats, herbs & spices. The staple diet in Assamese cuisine includes rice, fish / meat, vegetables and herbs etc. The Cooking style in Assamese cuisine ranges from steaming, boiling, smoking, barbeque to the regular style of frying and currying etc.
The Webinar was presented by Ms. Madhusmita Khound, Partner at an Inbound Travel Company based in Assam with expertise in organising experiential & special interest tours on various themes in the Northeast and Ms. Sanjukta Dutta, a food writer / blogger / independent restaurant reviewer and a commercial kitchen consultant based out of Guwahati. A live demonstration of cooking traditional Assamese chicken dish was conducted by Chef Megha, Corporate Chef from Delhi.
The Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series is presented in technical partnership with National e-Governance Department, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
If you wish to visit the Webinar, please visit: “Assamese Cuisine- The Gourmet Unexplored”
You can also visit the social media Handles of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
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