Like most grandmothers, mine too had an immense influence on my life in many ways. Of late, amongst all her influences, the one I remember most is her views on food. I realize that many years before I studied nutrition or even thought about it in the way I do today, she lived and embodied it. Even after she retired from her hectic career, she remained constantly active both physically and mentally. She grew her own vegetables, was a beekeeper, and even made her own honey. Her food choices were guided not by trends but by wisdom or a rhythm of eating seasonally and were rooted in the land, not in a supermarket aisle.
This Diwali, as lights sparkle across cities and sweets fill every corner, I find myself thinking of a different kind of a feast, which is the Assamese thali. It’s not your typical festive indulgence, but an everyday celebration of balance, seasonality, and quiet nourishment that supports long-term metabolic health
This isn’t just my grandmother’s thali. Every Assamese home, wealthy or humble, ate this way on beautiful plates of kansa (bell metal), which itself was believed to enhance immunity and improve digestion. Even the utensil reflected a philosophy, supporting local artisans, preserving village economies, and keeping communities in harmony. The food was steamed, roasted, or lightly stir-fried. Oils and spices were used sparingly. The hero of the Assamese plate was always the ingredient itself.
Typically Assamese meal starts with a preparation called KHAR. This is an alkaline dish made from the filtered ash of burnt banana peels, specifically the “Bheem Kol”, an indigenous wild banana, or even from water hyacinth. Scientifically, Khar is alkaline in nature, helping to neutralize excess gastric acid, aid digestion, and restore pH balance in the stomach, much like how modern nutritionists talk about improving gut health and digestive balance. It can be made with raw papaya, pulses, bottle gourd, spinach, etc, and is said to gently detoxify the gut and prep it for digestion.
No Assamese meal is complete without greens or xaaks, as we call them. We eat a vast variety of wild and cultivated greens with lyrical names like laai xaak(mustard green) and dhekia xaak (fiddlehead fern). Nothing gets wasted, even the pumpkin, eggplant, and radish leaves are used as part of the meal.
During one of our Bihu celebrations, the arrival of spring, families traditionally ate 101 varieties of xaak. They rose early to forage from fields, riversides, and forests, bringing home bundles of greens, an act that was both culinary and ecological. These greens brought not just color but fibre, antioxidants, iron, calcium, and phytonutrients.
Then there are the pitikas, soft, mashed sides made from roasted vegetables, pulses, or seeds.
From roasted cherry tomatoes and Sweet potatoes to exotic jackfruit seeds or olives, each mashed with raw mustard oil, onions, and chillies.
Humble yet so comforting, and each one makes incredible dips – our own version of a mezze! The cold-pressed mustard oil is always drizzled raw on top, a bit like a wasabi topping, pungent but never overcooked.
A signature dish of the region, fish tenga is a tangy, soupy curry made with fresh river fish, tomatoes, lemon, or elephant apple. Designed perfectly for Assam’s humid climate, it’s cooling, anti-inflammatory, and rich in omega-3 fats. It’s our answer to both nourishment and climate, a functional food before such terms existed.
Two of Assam’s most distinctive ferments, khorisa(bamboo shoot) and panitenga (fermented mustard) are unique to the region. Khorisa, or fermented bamboo shoot, brings a tangy acidity rich in lactic acid bacteria that aids digestion and balances gut flora, while panitenga, the fermented mustard seed paste wrapped in banana leaf and cured naturally, transforms pungent mustard into an enzyme-rich, probiotic condiment.
Then there are small-batch fermented fish high in protein and preserved without refrigeration, and rice ferments like laopani, the traditional rice beer that once marked every community celebration, and of course, the humble poita-bhat, a leftover rice soaked overnight and eaten cold with mustard oil, onions, and chillies, is perhaps the simplest probiotic meal in Assam’s sultry summers.
In Assam, dessert was never the highlight, and perhaps that’s probably why metabolic disorders were rare.
Our sweet comfort came from nature, mainly seasonal fruits, rice, and black sesame pithas. Of course, there are varieties of ladoos and pithas, but none are overly decadent or sweet. Even our prasad in the namghar (temple) is not sugar or flour, but sprouted chana and green grams and seasonal fruits like banana, sugarcane, coconut, pomelo, etc
Even now, I feel the Assamese cuisine has stayed largely untouched by culinary fads or too much post-colonial mimicry. Of course, we have lost many traditional greens and vegetables, but it has still remained close to its ecosystem i.e., a cuisine of rivers, forests, and fermentation.
In fact, Colleen Taylor Sen, a culinary historian, wrote in one of her books called Feasts and Fasts – A History of Food in India, that Assamese cuisine is the only regional Indian cuisine that has preserved the six tastes of ancient Hindu gastronomy. I could not agree more.
Across India, each region once had its own functional thali, maybe a system designed by geography, season, and microbiome. But somewhere, we all swapped that for uniformity. Our diets became heavier, oilier, and more homogenous, and our bodies respond with acidity, bloating, and fatigue.
The Assamese thali, to me, still carries something rare, as the memory of a time before influence, before excess, before confusion. It’s not perfect and may not be a king’s feast, but it’s real, rooted, and restorative.
This Diwali, as lights sparkle and homes overflow with sweets, I invite you to reflect on the food traditions of your own family and region. Which everyday recipes or practices, forgotten or alive, kept your ancestors healthy and connected to the land? Share your stories, recipes, or rituals, let’s celebrate not just the festival of lights, but the living wisdom on our plates.
1. Why does a traditional Assamese meal begin with an alkaline dish called Khar?
Khar is traditionally eaten early in the meal because it prepares the palate and may support digestion through its alkaline nature. It is usually made from the filtered ash water of sun-dried banana peel or stem, then cooked with ingredients such as raw papaya, pulses, vegetables, or fish. From a functional health lens, the wisdom is not that Khar is a cure, but that the meal begins with a light, bitter-alkaline, plant-forward preparation before heavier foods. This supports a slower, more mindful eating pattern and may help reduce the sudden glucose and digestive burden that often comes from starting directly with rice-heavy or fried foods.
2. What nutritional benefits do indigenous Assamese greens, or Xaak, provide?
Xaak is one of the strongest nutritional anchors of the Assamese thali. Indigenous leafy greens provide dietary fibre, plant polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin A precursors, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron, and chlorophyll-rich compounds. A study of 14 indigenous leafy vegetables of Assam found high moisture content, protein ranging from 1.25 to 8.63 g per 100 g, vitamin C ranging from 41.86 to 537.24 mg per 100 g, and strong antioxidant potential. In simple terms, Xaak is not just a side dish. It is a daily source of micronutrients and plant compounds that support gut function, antioxidant defence, vascular health, immunity, and metabolic resilience.
3. How does the preparation of Pitika enhance its digestive and anti-inflammatory benefits?
Pitika is usually boiled, roasted, or lightly cooked before being mashed with mustard oil, onion, herbs, green chilli, or fermented accompaniments. This matters because the preparation is simple and low in oil, while still making vegetables, potatoes, eggplant, fish, or lentils easier to digest. Mashing increases surface area, gentle cooking softens fibres, and mustard oil plus herbs add bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Compared with deep-fried sides, Pitika delivers flavour, fibre, and satiety with a lower inflammatory load. That is why it fits beautifully into a prevention-focused diet.
4. Why is Assamese Fish Tenga considered a climate-adapted functional food?
Fish Tenga is light, sour, hydrating, and usually cooked with tomatoes, elephant apple, lemon, herbs, or other tangy seasonal ingredients. This makes it especially suited to hot, humid climates where heavy, oily meals can worsen sluggishness, reflux, and post-meal fatigue. Fish provides high-quality protein, iodine, selenium, vitamin D in some species, and omega-3 fats in fatty varieties. The souring agents and herbs add polyphenols and make the dish refreshing without needing heavy cream, excess oil, or refined sauces. Functionally, Fish Tenga is a smart combination of protein, hydration, acidity, and seasonal plant compounds.
5. How do traditional Assamese ferments like Khorisa and Panitenga support gut health?
Traditional ferments support gut health by bringing microbial diversity, organic acids, fibre transformation, and sharper flavours that can improve meal satisfaction. Khorisa, fermented bamboo shoot, has been studied for lactic acid bacteria and potential probiotic properties. Fermentation can also reduce some anti-nutrients, improve texture, and create compounds that may support digestion. Panitenga and similar sour ferments reflect the same principle: food is partially transformed by microbes before it reaches the gut. The key is moderation and quality. Ferments can be helpful, but they should be cleanly prepared and personalised for people with reflux, histamine sensitivity, IBS, or active gut inflammation.
6. Why are metabolic disorders historically rare among those eating a traditional Assamese diet?
It is more accurate to say that a traditional Assamese dietary pattern may be metabolically protective, not that it makes people immune to metabolic disease. The older pattern was high in greens, herbs, seasonal vegetables, fish, pulses, fermented foods, bitter and sour flavours, and home-cooked meals. It was also lower in ultra-processed foods, refined snacks, sugary drinks, and constant grazing. This combination supports fibre intake, microbial diversity, better satiety, lower energy density, and steadier blood sugar. Today, metabolic risk is rising across India, including Assam. NFHS-5 data for Assam reported high or very high blood sugar, or medication use, in 12.8 percent of women and 16.0 percent of men aged 15 and above. The lesson is clear. The traditional thali offers a preventive template, but modern lifestyle, sleep, stress, activity, and food quality still matter.
