Tripura Muya Berma Bamboo Shoot Fermented Fish Stir

Method

1. 1

   Prepare bamboo shoots: Boil fresh bamboo shoots in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain, rinse and cut into thin strips about 5 cm long. If using canned, drain and rinse thoroughly.

2. 2

   Roast the berma: Roast dried fermented fish pieces over a flame or in a dry pan for 30 to 60 seconds. Crumble or break into small pieces.

3. 3

   Heat mustard oil until smoking: Heat 2 tbsp mustard oil until smoking. Reduce to medium.

4. 4

   Fry the berma briefly: Add the crumbled roasted berma to the hot oil. Fry for 1 minute until it releases its savoury aroma into the oil. The pungent smell transforms into deep savouriness in the hot oil.

5. 5

   Add garlic: Add finely sliced garlic. Fry 30 seconds until golden.

6. 6

   Add green chilli: Add slit green chilli. Stir 15 seconds.

7. 7

   Add bamboo shoots: Add the bamboo shoot strips. Add turmeric. Stir well to coat every strip with the berma-garlic oil.

8. 8

   Stir fry on medium-high heat: Cook on medium-high heat stirring every 1 to 2 minutes for 6 to 8 minutes until the bamboo shoots are well-coated, slightly golden and fully heated through.

9. 9

   Season: Taste before adding salt — berma is very salty. Add only a very tiny pinch if needed.

10. 10

    Serve: Scatter spring onions. Serve as a side dish alongside steamed rice and fish curry or chakhwi.

11. 11

    Note: Muya Berma (bamboo shoot with fermented fish) is the most frequently eaten side preparation of Tripura — appearing at virtually every meal in Tripuri tribal households. The pairing of bamboo shoot with berma is to Tripuri cooking what potato and onion is to many other cuisines — the combination is so fundamental that it appears in some form at almost every sitting. Both bamboo and fermented fish are available year-round in Tripura's forested, river landscape.