This summer, get healthy with power-packed Assamese meal ‘Poita Bhat’

Poita Bhat used to be a popular meal option in Assam households. It is a healthy way of eating rice which is slowly losing its charm on the dining tables loaded with breakfast cereals, greek yoghurt and gluten-free cookies. A strong principle of good nutrition is eating what grows around you. And rice holds a prestigious position as a widely consumed grain across the country. In the Northeast of India alone, there are thousands of varieties of rice. This is the food that is easiest for your body to digest.

So let’s talk about ‘Poita Bhat’, a cooling food that will help you to beat the scorching summer heat. Traditionally, people in Assam eat Poita Bhat during Bohag Bihu. It is served to all the family members during lunch accompanied by an interesting custom of waving the person eating it with a hand fan, which signifies that summer is around the corner. 

The process of making Poita Bhat is pretty simple. You can soak the cooked rice overnight in normal water, sufficient enough to soak the entire rice. The next afternoon you can have the rice in your lunch without discarding the water. Sounds boring? Well, you can make it incredibly mouth-watering by adding some lemon juice, mustard oil, salt, boiled potatoes or fried potatoes with onions and fresh green chillies. You can also add some kharoli (mustard paste), kothal guti pitika (mashed jackfruit seeds), and bengena pitika (smoked brinjal). You can do the permutation and combination as per your taste buds. And the ultimate bliss lies in sipping the water at the end.