Fresh Bamboo Shoot

A bamboo shoot is a young culm harvested at the time, or shortly after it appears above the soil surface.Most bamboo species produce edible shoots. In many parts of North-East India, bamboo shoots are an integral part of traditional cuisine – fresh, dried, shredded or pickled.In Assam it is called BaahnGaaj (the fresh form) and Khorisa(fermented and dried form).Bamboo shoot when consumed fresh have a far superior taste and texture- it has a crunchy and subtle flavor.It is a purely seasonal thing .Though they have already made an appearance in the local markets of Guwahati (my city), i bought it from a roadside vegetable seller on National Highway (on my way to Shillong).Look at the picture above--they look very fresh and tender.I bought three shoots for 20 Rs. Let me share few things about the pre-cooking and preserving process of Fresh Bamboo shoots with you.
Bamboo shoots have high nutritional value,low fat and are a good source of Vitamins,cellulose and amino acids.To know more about its nutritional value click here.The shoots we get to buy here are already devoid of their hard peels (sellers do this job).Bamboo shoots are naturally bitter .Therefore to remove this bitterness and to make it easily digestible ,it is very important to parboil them before their consumption.I will show you how i do it in my kitchen.After washing it properly in running water,i slice them into rings of medium thickness .After immersing them completely in water i add two to three red chillies(as you see in the picture below) .It was a tip given to me by one of the shoot seller only,she said that this helps in loosing the bitterness and in retaining its natural color.I boil it uncovered for 20-25 minutes-if a skewer easily passes through the shoot,i consider it done.After putting off the flame i keep it aside for cooling down.Once it cools down ,i wash them once more with drinking water .
After that once again i immerse it in water and store in refrigerator in an air tight container.It is very important to change the water daily if you want to retain its freshness.This way it can be kept for two weeks.(see the picture below).It is now ready to be used in your meat/veg curries or for stir frying.
Here is Khorisa which is a fermented and dried form of bamboo shoot.It is pungent smelling and is a bit sour in taste.Tastes very good if added to mashed potatoes(aalu-pitika) or fish curries.
The very same day that i bought the shoots ,i used it for two different dishes .The first one was ' boneless chicken with vegetables and sliced bamboo shoots' (the picture below).I am a vegetarian so i don't know how it tasted...my kids and husband loved it though.

Second dish was almost same with the chicken replaced by Tofu (one can use paneer/cottage cheese too).If you don't get fresh ones you can use canned one which is more convenient but little less in taste and texture.Is Bamboo Shoot  a part of your cuisine too ?