The Abundance of Assamese Cuisine: How is NH37 Dhaba popularizing North Eastern Food in Pune?

Often when we hear about Assam, our mind drifts away to the lush green mountains of tea plantations and wild forests with rich biodiversity. But Assam is much more than that, especially on its food platter! We at NH37 Dhaba, have successfully brought the Assamese Cuisine to Pune and is the first Restaurant in Pune to do so so that everyone can taste the variety of Assamese delicacies made with the most authentic recipes! 

Going by the catchy name of our restaurant, NH37 is the National Highway running from Assam to Manipur, one of the most scenic highways of India. Our aim is to proudly make and serve the best of Assamese food at your table so that you can experience the richness that North East India holds. Let’s have a stop at the NH37 Dhaba and see what it has to offer!

One of the best ways that we could spread our delectable Assamese cuisine amongst the youngsters was the Zomaland Festival that took place in 2019, at Koregaon Park, Pune. Our Assamese kebabs and tikkas got such an overwhelming response that we got sold out during this amazing Food Carnival. Popularizing the Assamese cuisine alongside the known and popular cuisines like Chinese, Italian and Punjabi was an exciting task and we loved the blend of cultures that happened at Zomaland. Do have a look at the awesome Zomaland video of our food stall!

NH37 Dhaba has also participated in another Local Community event of Farmers’ Markets where a variety of Assamese dishes were made with the best of local and fresh ingredients and served with love. Do have a look at the short snippet from the event!

Pune Market by Karen Anand

So what’s so special about the Assamese cuisine?

1. Use of fresh veggies and high quality spices: Assamese people are extremely nature conscious. They grow and nurture the best of vegetables and tree plantations so that it brings out the best of flavours in their dishes. Garlic, Ginger, Green Chilly, Cumin, Coriander and Bay Leaves are the most prominent spices in the Assamese cuisine and a lot of main dishes and desserts revolve around rice. Assam has abundant biodiversity which is quite evident in their cuisine.
2. The vegetarian dishes are just as delicious as the non-vegetarian ones. The Assamese cuisine is always promising and appetizing irrespective of your eating habits. Freshly made Aloo Konir Dom (a sumptuous and soupy Potato recipe) is just as delicious as Fish Tenga (Sour Fish Curry). It’s a cuisine for one and all!
3. The Assamese Cuisine involves a lot of Drying and Fermentation which is quite similar to Thai and Singaporean Cuisine. This makes it not only tasty but also high in nutritional value and has a lot of medicinal properties.
4. Less to minimal use of oil in the Assamese cuisine makes it a great choice for health conscious people and fitness freaks.

All we can say is Assamese Cuisine can be described in 3Ds:

Distinct, Delightful and Delicious!

In order to popularise our Assamese food, we have recently launched 5 authentic Assamese dishes available for order on Zomato and Swiggy:

1. Aloo Bhaja: An iconic North Eastern recipe made with crispy shredded potatoes, deep fried in oil. A perfect starter that you can share with your loved ones!
2. Khorika Chicken: A traditional and flavourful Assamese Chicken dish that is the perfect combination of aroma, taste and nutritional value.
3. Aloo Pitika: A typical Assamese side dish made out of mashed potatoes in rich mustard oil, topped with onions, green chillies and coriander.
4. Begun Bhaja: A delicious treat for vegetarians which is made out of Eggplant/ Brinjal that is coated with rice flour and deep-fried in oil.
5. Mustard Chilli Fish: The perfect Assamese and non-vegetarian appetizer made out of fish that is marinated in a delicious mustard and chilli sauce.