Must try Bodo delicacies that you can’t miss! Check out some of the popular dishes

The Bodo tribe of Assam is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the state. Bodos belong to the greater Bodo-Kachari family and speak the Bodo language, which belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese language.

The Bodos are distributed mainly in the Bodo Territorial Region of Assam (BTR), parts of the Northeastern region, and also in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Like the diversity in their culture, the Bodo cuisine is also diverse and contains foods rich in protein and nutrients. If you’re a non-vegetarian and love to try something different, you can devour yourselves with some of the delicious delicacies of the Bodo cuisine.

Rice is the staple food of the Bodos. The Bodo people are pork lovers. You will find pork in most of the dishes. Along with it, the Bodo cuisine also includes silkworms, snails, and dry fish.

And to add some kick to the food, Bodo people love to drink Zou (rice beer), made from fermented rice.
Check out some popular and finger-licking delicacies of the Bodo cuisine:

• Napham (fermented fish chutney)

Napham is fermented fish made by grinding dry smoked fish with vegetables, kharwi (vinegar made from the ashes of banana peel), salt, ginger, garlic, onion, mustard oil, and chillies. After grinding everything together, a paste is made, which is stored inside bamboos or any closed container and can be consumed at any time. You can add Napham to any of your dishes, and the smell of the napham is what the Bodo people love the most.

• Onla jwng dau bedor (chicken curry with rice powder)

This is one of the most popular dishes of the Bodos. The local chicken is cooked with rice powder. The rice power forms a thick texture, making it super delicious. The other ingredients used in the dish are chilli paste, spinach, garlic, ginger, mustard oil, and salt.

• Sobai jwng samo (black gram with snails)

Some people may find it creepy, but snail is one of the most popular delicacies of the Bodo cuisine. The snails are cooked with their shells with black gram / Urad daal and are eaten by sucking the snail meat out of the shell. The river snails are used for cooking.

• Oma jwng Narjwi (pork with jute leaves)

Pork with Narjwi is one of the most popular and favourite dish of the Bodos. Oma, which means pork, is cooked with dry jute leaves and kharwi (local vinegar). The dry jute leaves are bitter in taste. Try it once; you will not regret it.

• Mwita jwng naa (fish with roselle leaves)

Fish with roselle leaves is one of the star dishes of the Bodos cuisine. The roselle leaves, which are sour in taste, complements well with fish. Just put roselle leaves in a pot with fresh river fish, a pinch of salt, and chillies according to your spice level.

• Kangkrai bathwn (crab chutney)

Crab chutney is love. Smoked crab paste with lots of chillies, ginger, garlic, and a pinch of salt is enough to create the magic.

• Emphow latha (silkworm fry)

Silk worm pupae fry is also one of the popular snacks in the bodo cuisine. The silk worm pupae are fried with onions and green chillies. It is high in protein. The taste of silkworm is similar to that of scrambled eggs.

• Khumra jwng Hangsw bedor (Ash gourd with duck meat)

Ash gourd with duck meat is a must try dish. The duck meat is cooked with Ash gourd with ginger, garlic, and chillies. As the duck meat is rich in protein and fat, the wax gourd balances out the fat, which is known for its cooling properties.

• Khaijwma bwdai (red ant eggs)

The red ant eggs are one of the must-try dishes during Bwisagu (the celebration of the New Year among Bodos). The red ants lay eggs in the month of April, which is completely packed with protein and rich nutrients. The eggs are fried with onion, chillies, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt, and they’re ready to eat. The eggs are a little bit sour in taste.

• Ganjema bathwn (giant water bug chutney)

This is not just a normal bug. The aroma of the Gangjema (water bug) is what makes it a popular dish in the Bodo cuisine. The water bug is found in freshwater bodies and can be consumed by making chutney with some green chillies, ginger, garlic, and salt.

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