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North by Northeast

Sharon Fernandes

Jakoi is a huge bamboo scoop with which the Assamese catch fish from shallow ponds and rivers. It is, for Delhiites, the new restaurant that opened at Assam Bhavan on 1 Sardar Patel Marg on Tuesday.

Mahor Guri (lentils seasoned with lime juice and chillies), Joha (flavoured, steamed rice), Kharisa (fermented bamboo shoots seasoned with red chillies), Maasor Sorsori (fish in a mustard sauce), Maasor Tenga (tangy fish curry) and chicken cooked in the hollow of the bamboo stem are some of the dishes that will be served at the restaurant.

“We are glad to bring Assamese food to Delhi,” says Paparee Bezbaruah of Paradise Group of Hotels and Restaurants, which runs Jakoi and two other restaurants in Assam. “There are many here who will enjoy our cuisine.” Assamese food though will be a different experience to the spice-friendly Delhi palate. It is characterised by a delicate, even sparse, use of spices, bamboo shoots and xaak (vegetables) that could be dried or fermented, and ferns like dhekia that are cooked with lentils. There are pumpkin flower fritters, fish with gooseberries or spinach, plantain flowers cooked with chickpea and kharoli (a paste of mustard and tamarind). Fish, duck and pigeon are the meat of choice on the menu. But the staple is rice — there are Sira Pulao (pilaf), Doi Aru Komal Chaul (rice with curd and jaggery) and Hurum (puffed rice with jaggery and sweets).

The vegetarian dishes come for Rs 40-100, and the non-vegetarian Rs 100-270. The thalis come for Rs 180 (vegetarian) and Rs 200 (non-vegetarian). There is a Parampara thali as well for Rs 350, with pigeon/duck curry, steamed fish and a dessert as additions to the regular thali, plus the promise of everything coming in bell-metal platters and bowls. Though the menu sports Chinese and continental dishes, we can only hope that they don’t invade Jakoi, and the restaurant doesn’t end up losing its Assamese flavour. For, this Bhavan restaurant could net quite a few fans in Delhi.

It is open from 11 am to 11 pm. Contact: 24355555 Sharon Fernandes

Jakoi is a huge bamboo scoop with which the Assamese catch fish from shallow ponds and rivers. It is, for Delhiites, the new restaurant that opened at Assam Bhavan on 1 Sardar Patel Marg on Tuesday.

Mahor Guri (lentils seasoned with lime juice and chillies), Joha (flavoured, steamed rice), Kharisa (fermented bamboo shoots seasoned with red chillies), Maasor Sorsori (fish in a mustard sauce), Maasor Tenga (tangy fish curry) and chicken cooked in the hollow of the bamboo stem are some of the dishes that will be served at the restaurant.

“We are glad to bring Assamese food to Delhi,” says Paparee Bezbaruah of Paradise Group of Hotels and Restaurants, which runs Jakoi and two other restaurants in Assam. “There are many here who will enjoy our cuisine.” Assamese food though will be a different experience to the spice-friendly Delhi palate. It is characterised by a delicate, even sparse, use of spices, bamboo shoots and xaak (vegetables) that could be dried or fermented, and ferns like dhekia that are cooked with lentils. There are pumpkin flower fritters, fish with gooseberries or spinach, plantain flowers cooked with chickpea and kharoli (a paste of mustard and tamarind). Fish, duck and pigeon are the meat of choice on the menu. But the staple is rice — there are Sira Pulao (pilaf), Doi Aru Komal Chaul (rice with curd and jaggery) and Hurum (puffed rice with jaggery and sweets).

The vegetarian dishes come for Rs 40-100, and the non-vegetarian Rs 100-270. The thalis come for Rs 180 (vegetarian) and Rs 200 (non-vegetarian). There is a Parampara thali as well for Rs 350, with pigeon/duck curry, steamed fish and a dessert as additions to the regular thali, plus the promise of everything coming in bell-metal platters and bowls. Though the menu sports Chinese and continental dishes, we can only hope that they don’t invade Jakoi, and the restaurant doesn’t end up losing its Assamese flavour. For, this Bhavan restaurant could net quite a few fans in Delhi.

It is open from 11 am to 11 pm. Contact: 24355555