Traditional Assamese food has a good number of specialities to try from. Similar to most places in India, here in Assam too you'll have a vegetarian as well as a non-vegetarian menu to choose from. This is either because of religious restrictions or may be due to health issues.

Collage credits: author

Here I present to you 10 items that you are most likely to see in an authentic Assamese thali (thali: local word for dish/platter). This is my own curated list of items for a non-veg Assamese thali for this contest which also includes veg items by default.

Papaya khaar (local: Omita khaar)

Khaar is an alkaline base extracted from banana skin after sun drying it. It is the most synonymous item that one can associate with Assamese thali. Khaar is most commonly prepared with Papaya. In general, papaya khaar helps in digestion.

Source

Fiddlehead fern cooked with eggs (local: Dhekia Haak aru koni bhaji)

This is Fiddlehead fern. This green leafy plant grows in abundance in the wild. This fern is finely chopped and fried. When it is almost ready, eggs can be added and scrambled to mix properly with the ferns.
(Can also be eaten without adding eggs)

Source

Mashed potatoes (local: Aloo Pitika)

Mashed potatoes is a crowd favourite item here in Assam. Boiled potatoes, finely chopped onions, finely chopped green chillies, mustard oil and salt -- all these ingredients are mashed uniformly to prepare this item. So easy.

Source

Tangy Fish curry (local: Maasor Tenga)

Fresh water river fishes are a boon to Assamese people. Fish curry is a common non-vegetarian dish across the state. People prefer to have a tangy or sour curry with fish. The sour agent may be tomato, lemon, thekera (Garcinia pedunculata), Elephant apple etc. of which thekera is the most preferred one. The stew is prepared and when it boils in the form of curry, pieces of fried fish are added to the curry.

Fried fish (Credits: author)

Source

Pigeon meat curry (local: Paror Maangkho)

Pigeons are a popular domesticated bird species in Assamese households. When guests are scheduled to come, pigeon meat curry is one of the common meat items cooked. The gravy has a dark appearance, has a rich texture and tastes delicious. (Not recommended for people with high blood pressure)

Source

Duck meat curry cooked with Ash gourd (local: Kumura-Haahor Maangkho)

Duck meat cooked with Ash gourd is a signature meat item in the Assamese thali. Some also prefer to have roasted Duck meat, which gives the meat a tasty charcoal smell.

Source

Goat meat with potato (local: Saagoli'r maangkho)

Goat meat is commonly available for consumption in Assam. While 99% of the people refer to it as mutton (which is actually sheep meat), sheep are not common in Assam's topography as it is a plain river valley. So, goat meat cooked with potatoes, tomatoes (optional/for flavour) results in a mouth-watering local meat item.

Source

Lentil fritters (local: Daali' r bora)

Pre-soaked lentils are ground into a paste. Salt, onion, chillies are added to it and mixed properly. Then they are fried in oil the form of dumplings. This is a purely vegetarian side dish.

Lentil Fritters (Credits: Author)

Chickpea flour coated-Brinjal slices fry (local: Beson-bengena bhaji)

This is another vegetarian item. These are deep fried brinjal/aubergine/eggplant slices coated with chickpea flour. Capsicum, pumpkin slices are alternatives to brinjal here.

Source

Mixed Veggies (local: Sabji/Torkari/Labra)

This is an ever present item in any Assamese thali, be it the road side hotels or the high end restaurants. It consists of season vegetables such as pumpkin, cabbage, peas, carrot,potato etc. not deep fried but stir fried with spices. The choice of vegetables changes with season and availablity.

Rice and Dal is included by default in the main course with above list of items.

Plain Assamese thali (Credit: author)

For dessert, one may like to try Milk Curd with a Sweet dish (local: Doi-Mithai) or Kheer (Milk boiled with rice, dry fruits)

Kheer (Credits: author)

That's all for this post. Thanks for reading.

---

Inviting @amritraj, @vaibhavsan, @neelamroy07 to take part in the Contest.

Thank You.