Fish cooked in bamboo
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River fish packed with ginger, chilli and herbs into a green bamboo tube and cooked in the embers.
Region: NagalandOccasion: Outdoor cooking; feastsTime: 50 minServes: 4Non-vegetarian
Ingredients
- 500 g small river fish, cleaned
- 1 inch ginger, crushed
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 king chilli or 3 green chillies, crushed
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- A handful of local herbs or coriander
- Salt to taste
- 1 length of fresh green bamboo, closed at one end
- Banana leaf to seal
Method
- Mix the fish with ginger, garlic, chilli, tomatoes, herbs and salt.
- Pack the mixture into the bamboo tube and add a few spoons of water.
- Seal the open end with a folded banana leaf.
- Place the bamboo over hot embers at an angle and cook for 30–40 minutes, turning it now and then, until the outside is charred.
- Split the bamboo carefully and serve the fish with rice.
History
Cooking in green bamboo tubes is an old method in the hills of the North-East; the moist bamboo steams the food and gives it a fresh aroma.
Significance
Bamboo-cooked fish and meat are made at community feasts and outings by rivers, and are now shown to visitors at festivals.