The Night Flowering Jasmine, called Sewali in Assamese, has one of the most beautiful scents. It is an evergreen tree which starts to bloom in the onset of autumn and continues till end of winter.
Apart from having a very beautiful smell, the flowers of the Night Flowering Jasmine are also part of the Assamese palate. Actually both the flowers and leaves of this plant can serve as excellent delicacies. Here are a few of them.
Sewali Fulor Pokori
Possibly the simplest recipe of this list. Both fresh and dried flowers can be used for this dish. Simply add the flowers in the batter and deep fry just like normal pokori or fritters. But before trying these, do bear in mind that these flowers are bitter in taste.
Sewali Paator Pokori
The next one on this list is also similar to the previous one. But the difference is that we are going to use leaves instead of the flowers. The batter used here is also very simple and thicker. The leaves are dipped in a simple gram flour batter before deep-frying them. It has a nice crunch combined with a light bitter taste.
Fish Head Curry
Unlike many other types of cuisines, the Assamese consider the fish head as a part of the delicacy. One of the dishes is to prepare it with multiple herbs. The flowers are also added to give a slight bitter taste to the dish. The head is chopped and fried before adding the other ingredients. The same can be done the fish intestines and fish inwards.
Khar with Sewali Ful
The word khar means alkali in Assamese. It is a way of cooking which uses alkali as an essential ingredient. The bitter taste of these flowers complement the same of the khar. It goes specially well with the ones using fish.
Fried Rice
This one is a favorite of the people who love a little bitter taste in their food. All you have to do is a handful of fresh or dried flowers while cooking. This dish can be further tweaked by adding fish intestines.
Read More about the ethnic cuisines of the region in Discover East. You can also share your cuisines and recipes by mailing them to discovereastin@gmail.com .
