Local Dishes

1. ভাত

   Bhat

   Cooked rice

   Usage

   The centre of an Assamese meal: rice is served in the middle of the plate with fish, dal and vegetable dishes

   Grammar Note

   ভাত is cooked rice; uncooked rice is চাউল

2. মাছ

   Mas

   Fish

   Usage

   A fixture of Assamese meals. River fish are common in curries and are often full of small bones

   Grammar Note

   মাছ is the basic word for fish; মাছৰ means of fish and is used in dish names

3. ডাল

   Dal

   Dal (lentil soup)

   Usage

   A lentil soup poured over rice, a basic dish of daily meals

   Grammar Note

   A widely used word that is understood in the same form across India

4. খাৰ

   Khar

   Khar (traditional alkaline dish)

   Usage

   A traditional dish of raw papaya or pulses cooked with an alkaline liquid, often served first in a meal

   Grammar Note

   The dictionary describes it as a traditional Assamese dish with alkaline properties; খাৰ also means the alkali itself

5. কলাখাৰ

   Kolakhar

   Kolakhar (banana-ash alkali)

   Usage

   A liquid filtered from burnt ash of dried banana parts, used to cook khar; sold in bottles in markets

   Grammar Note

   A compound of কলা, banana, and খাৰ, alkali

6. মাছৰ টেঙা

   Masor tenga

   Sour fish curry

   Usage

   A light fish stew soured with tomato, lemon or sour fruit, good with rice on a hot day

   Grammar Note

   টেঙা means sour and also names sour dishes. মাছৰ means of fish

7. আলু পিটিকা

   Alu pitika

   Mashed potato with mustard oil

   Usage

   Boiled potato mashed with mustard oil, onion and chilli, served with rice and dal

   Grammar Note

   পিটিকা means a mash and can follow the name of other ingredients

8. পিঠা

   Pitha

   Pitha (rice cake)

   Usage

   A general name for steamed or fried rice-flour cakes, made at home in the Bihu season and offered to guests

   Grammar Note

   Each kind has its own name, often a material followed by পিঠা, as in তিলপিঠা

9. তিলপিঠা

   Tilopitha

   Til pitha (sesame rice roll)

   Usage

   A rice-batter roll filled with sesame and jaggery, eaten around Magh Bihu

   Grammar Note

   তিল is sesame and পিঠা is a rice-flour cake

10. টেকেলি পিঠা

    Tekeli pitha

    Tekeli pitha

    Usage

    A kind of pitha named after the earthen pot (টেকেলি), a home sweet of the Bihu season

    Grammar Note

    টেকেলি means an earthen pot; the name comes from the vessel used

11. চুঙা পিঠা

    Sunga pitha

    Chunga pitha

    Usage

    A pitha cooked inside a bamboo tube and cut from its tubular shape to eat

    Grammar Note

    চুঙা is a hollow tube-like object

12. পিঠাগুড়ি

    Pithaguri

    Pithaguri (rice flour for pitha)

    Usage

    Fine rice flour for making pitha, sold in packs in markets

    Grammar Note

    A compound of পিঠা and গুড়ি, flour

13. চিৰা

    Sira

    Chira (flattened rice)

    Usage

    Soaked in water, milk or curd and eaten with jaggery as breakfast or a snack

    Grammar Note

    চিৰা is also the written form of a word for a pod

14. আখৈ

    Akhoi

    Akhoi (puffed rice)

    Usage

    Paddy grains popped in a hot vessel without oil; eaten with curd or jaggery in the Bihu season

    Grammar Note

    The dictionary describes it as food made by frying paddy without oil

15. অসমীয়া জলপান

    Oxomiya jolopan

    Assamese jolpan (traditional snack meal)

    Usage

    A snack meal combining flattened rice, puffed rice, curd, jaggery and pitha, served for breakfast or guests

    Grammar Note

    জলপান means a light meal and অসমীয়া means Assamese

16. পায়স

    Payox

    Payox (rice pudding)

    Usage

    A sweet dish of rice cooked in milk and sugar, served on festive days

    Grammar Note

    পায়স is an old Sanskrit-derived word; the Latin form uses x for স

17. আচাৰ

    Asar

    Pickle

    Usage

    Preserved in oil and spices and served beside rice; mango and lemon are common

    Grammar Note

    A loanword understood widely in India

18. আমৰ আচাৰ

    Amor asar

    Mango pickle

    Usage

    Green mango preserved in mustard oil and spices, hot and sour

    Grammar Note

    আমৰ is of the mango, formed from আম with the genitive -ৰ

19. চাটনি

    Satoni

    Chutney

    Usage

    A relish of crushed fruit or vegetables served with meals or snacks

    Grammar Note

    A loanword used in the same form in many Indian languages

20. গাহৰিৰ মাংস

    Gahorir mangx

    Pork

    Usage

    A favoured meat in many Assamese communities; some people do not eat it, so check before ordering

    Grammar Note

    গাহৰি is pig and মাংস is meat. গাহৰিৰ means of pig

21. কেঁকোৰাৰ তৰকাৰী

    Kẽkorar torokari

    Crab curry

    Usage

    A curry of crabs from rivers and paddy fields, cooked in the shell and slow to eat

    Grammar Note

    তৰকাৰী is a general word for cooked dishes. কেঁকোৰা is a crab

22. ঔ টেঙা

    Ou tenga

    Outenga (elephant apple)

    Usage

    A large sour fruit used to add sourness to fish curry and pickles

    Grammar Note

    ঔ is the fruit and টেঙা is sour; the dictionary also has the joined form ঔটেঙা

23. অসমীয়া খাদ্য

    Oxomiya khadyo

    Assamese cuisine

    Usage

    Mild in spice, with steamed and boiled cooking and mustard oil; built on rice, fish, vegetables and dal

    Grammar Note

    খাদ্য is a formal word for food

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