How Assam got its legendary Smoked Pork
Smoked pork in Assam has an interesting story. In olden days, villagers or our tribal families reared pigs at home to eat and sell in the market.
Pork was usually consumed during religious festivals and other social gatherings. But, what happened when the meat was extra?
There were no refrigerators or chillers to preserve the pork back in the day.
To avoid the meat to rot, what our forefathers did was, suspend it over the ‘Chulha’ and let it smoke, dry and ferment. Now, this led to an amazing discovery, which allowed the meat to stay edible enough for 8 to 12 months. Smoked pork was thus born without any glamour element behind.
Call it either chutney or salad, fact is the taste is not going to change.
I would rather say, forget its description, just dig in the smokiness of the pork with crushed fresh onions while the raw mustard oil flirts with your tastebuds.
Recipe for Pura Gahori Salad or Smoked Pork Salad
Ingredients:
250 gms of Smoked Pork
1 medium-sized fresh onion (chopped)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon raw mustard oil
Chopped coriander
1 Bhut Jolokia or 2 green chilies
Method:
1. Make a paste of the green chillies or simply chop them.
2. Now, mix all the ingredients together and the chutney is ready to be served.
3. Make sure that the salad is served a bit warm. You can even add half a boiled potato to it. Enjoy!
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