[asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

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kamal deka

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Sep 29, 2012, 3:18:46 PM9/29/12
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Dilip Deka

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Oct 1, 2012, 9:13:17 PM10/1/12
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Sorry, never had mirika tenga in the 18 years of my early life that I spent in Assam.
What does it taste like? Sweet? What is it used for - dessert? tengar anja?
Just curious to know.
Dilip Deka, Houston

--- On Sat, 9/29/12, kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com>
Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 2:18 PM



 
 
 
 
 
 


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Barada Sarma

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Oct 4, 2012, 2:37:20 PM10/4/12
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Hi Dilip,
              Mirika Tenga grew in Shillong area and perhaps in other places too.When I was in primary school my close friends  Gita,Gayatri (Satyajit's younger sisters) and I used to go to the Hazarika's house in Maidan Laban (parents of Bhaimonda) and pick as many as we wanted.Haazarikani Jethai used to be so happy that we had gone to visit her,not realizing we had a motive!!
                  Mirika Tenga is extremely sour,only crazy young kids ate it off the bush.My mother used to make achar and ambal with lot of gur added.Brings back memories of our carefree childhood.    Kumkum

From: Dilip Deka <dili...@yahoo.com>
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 1, 2012 8:13 PM


Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga


 
Sorry, never had mirika tenga in the 18 years of my early life that I spent in Assam.
What does it taste like? Sweet? What is it used for - dessert? tengar anja?
Just curious to know.
Dilip Deka, Houston

--- On Sat, 9/29/12, kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com>
Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 2:18 PM



 
 
 
 
 
 




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kamal deka

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Oct 4, 2012, 12:59:05 PM10/4/12
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Mirika tenga ( tangy/sweet) ujoni oxomor kisuman jegat etiawo dekha jai.Moi jonat fruit hisabe khai.Anjat di khowa kotha moi kintu xuna nai.
Kamal

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mc mahant

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Oct 4, 2012, 1:08:16 PM10/4/12
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[Attachment(s) from mc mahant included below]

  Must  be a Tenga-  like Thekera Tenga,  Naga Tenga  and Pirompee--(   Photo attached-  from  my Bari at Madgharia) which   belongs to the Kordoi   family .
PIROMPEE       ripens , DROP FROM THE TREE. That is the time to eat.
  Tastes like an Electric Shock-- but feels   wonderful after a few seconds .  a touch of salt helps.

mm

To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
From: dili...@yahoo.com
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2012 18:13:17 -0700


Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

 
Sorry, never had mirika tenga in the 18 years of my early life that I spent in Assam.
What does it taste like? Sweet? What is it used for - dessert? tengar anja?
Just curious to know.
Dilip Deka, Houston

--- On Sat, 9/29/12, kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com>
Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 2:18 PM



 
 
 
 
 
 



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Attachment(s) from mc mahant

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Dilip Deka

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Oct 4, 2012, 4:15:25 PM10/4/12
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Hello Kumkum,
Thanks for the information.
Now that I know Mirika Tanga is awfully sour, I don't feel all that deprived in my childhood. Green kordoi is about the most sour of fruits that I remember from Guwahati. I remember eating it with salt and green chillies. Kordoi trees used to attract Tian Sorai. What is the western name for Tian Sorai? I know it is not a true parrot.
Dilip

--- On Thu, 10/4/12, Barada Sarma <bcsa...@yahoo.com> wrote:



From: Barada Sarma <bcsa...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

To: "assam...@yahoogroups.com" <assam...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012, 1:37 PM

Hi Dilip,
              Mirika Tenga grew in Shillong area and perhaps in other places too.When I was in primary school my close friends  Gita,Gayatri (Satyajit's younger sisters) and I used to go to the Hazarika's house in Maidan Laban (parents of Bhaimonda) and pick as many as we wanted.Haazarikani Jethai used to be so happy that we had gone to visit her,not realizing we had a motive!!
                  Mirika Tenga is extremely sour,only crazy young kids ate it off the bush.My mother used to make achar and ambal with lot of gur added.Brings back memories of our carefree childhood.    Kumkum

From: Dilip Deka <dili...@yahoo.com>
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 1, 2012 8:13 PM

Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

Sorry, never had mirika tenga in the 18 years of my early life that I spent in Assam.
What does it taste like? Sweet? What is it used for - dessert? tengar anja?
Just curious to know.
Dilip Deka, Houston

--- On Sat, 9/29/12, kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com>
Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 2:18 PM

 
 
 
 
 
 

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kamal deka

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Oct 4, 2012, 5:01:49 PM10/4/12
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You are right,Kunkum baidew.Besides Meghalaya and Assam,it also grows in Arunachal and Nagaland.In Upper Assam,some people make sweet and sour pickle by dipping them in mustard oil with a bit of jaggery and eat them with ' luchi'.Quite yummy.

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Kchaz...@aol.com

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Oct 5, 2012, 5:06:12 AM10/5/12
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Hi kumkum,
your email to dilip deka about mirika tenga at our house in madan laban took me back to shillong...brought back sweet memories of those days..feel like weeping... bapti kokaideu

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Gautam Choudhury

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Oct 6, 2012, 2:14:22 AM10/6/12
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Tiay sarai's english name is parakeet...
 
 
Gautam Choudhury

--- On Fri, 5/10/12, Dilip Deka <dili...@yahoo.com> wrote:

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Barada Sarma

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Oct 6, 2012, 9:25:19 AM10/6/12
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I have so many happy memories of that house.Jethaideo and Putu Nobou making fresh luchi-bhaji as soon as we went and of course allowing us to wander in the garden.Hope you are doing well. Love, Kumkum

From: "Kchaz...@aol.com" <Kchaz...@aol.com>
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, October 5, 2012 4:06 AM


Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

Hi kumkum,
your email to dilip deka about mirika tenga at our house in madan laban took me back to shillong...brought back sweet memories of those days..feel like weeping... bapti kokaideu



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kamal deka

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Oct 6, 2012, 6:24:09 PM10/6/12
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I think,parakeet or paraquet is a generic term that refers to a small and medium-sized parrot.The word parakeet means long tail.It seems,there are more that 120 species and sub-species of parakeet.However,all parrots are not parakeet.
 
As far as I know,'tiwa pokhi' of Assam is known as the COMMON PARROT OF ASSAM.That said,I must say, I could be in error.
 
By the way,we often say ' tiwa mat ( tiwa voice) to denote slender voice--not sonorous.
 
Kamal.
 

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kamal deka

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Oct 4, 2012, 6:43:01 PM10/4/12
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Along with mirika tenga,we have mirika fish in Assam too.Here is a picture.
 


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Dilip Deka

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Oct 7, 2012, 12:22:34 AM10/7/12
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I am so happy to see that Mirika Tenga opened up a whole new dialog. How about Kordoi Tenga now? Aren't there sweet memories with Kordoi?I associate Kordoi with summer in Assam and Tiyan Sorai because we had to fight with these birds to steal the fruits from our neighbor's back yard three houses down the road in Uzanbazar, Guwahati. The birds used to descend in dozens on the trees and devour the fruits before we got to them.Someone said in another email that Tiyan Sorai is same as parakeet. That is not quite true. The parakeets are a lot smaller in size than Tiyan Sorai,Dilip Deka, Houston, Texas
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atul sarma

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Oct 7, 2012, 5:57:48 PM10/7/12
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"Tiwa Charai" is a type of parrot. I used ot have Tiwa pet while  I was little. It talks.
 
 
  
Dr. Atul C. Sarma
8100 Harrow Court    Louisville, KY 40220, USA
PHONE:  502-499-7075
E-mail: acsarma@ yahoo.com


From: kamal deka <kjit...@gmail.com>
To: assam...@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, October 6, 2012 6:24 PM
Subject: [asom] Re: Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga


 
I think,parakeet or paraquet is a generic term that refers to a small and medium-sized parrot.The word parakeet means long tail.It seems,there are more that 120 species and sub-species of parakeet.However,all parrots are not parakeet.
 
As far as I know,'tiwa pokhi' of Assam is known as the COMMON PARROT OF ASSAM.That said,I must say, I could be in error.
 
By the way,we often say ' tiwa mat ( tiwa voice) to denote slender voice--not sonorous.
 
Kamal.
 


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Dilip Deka

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Oct 7, 2012, 12:29:30 AM10/7/12
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Gautam,
Parakeets are a lot smaller in size than Tiyan Sorai. Tiyans appear to be cousins of parrots but they cannot imitate human voice. I found that out after trying to coach one for many months in my youth.
Dilip Deka

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atul sarma

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Oct 7, 2012, 10:37:45 PM10/7/12
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 Indeed, Tia Sorai likes Kordoi Tenga more than anything else. Tia Sorai is very clever, it makes its nest at the top of the tallest tree.



 
 
  
Dr. Atul C. Sarma
8100 Harrow Court    Louisville, KY 40220, USA
PHONE:  502-499-7075
E-mail: acsarma@ yahoo.com


Cc: bcsa...@yahoo.com; Kchaz...@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, October 7, 2012 12:22 AM
Subject: Re: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga


 
I am so happy to see that Mirika Tenga opened up a whole new dialog. How about Kordoi Tenga now? Aren't there sweet memories with Kordoi?I associate Kordoi with summer in Assam and Tiyan Sorai because we had to fight with these birds to steal the fruits from our neighbor's back yard three houses down the road in Uzanbazar, Guwahati. The birds used to descend in dozens on the trees and devour the fruits before we got to them.Someone said in another email that Tiyan Sorai is same as parakeet. That is not quite true. The parakeets are a lot smaller in size than Tiyan Sorai,Dilip Deka, Houston, Texas
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atul sarma

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Oct 8, 2012, 6:17:30 PM10/8/12
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Dear Deka:
     I had at least three Tiwa that imitated human voice. I guess, your Tiwa was not trained properly, or it had learning disability.
 Indeed you are right, some Tiwas cannot be trained if they are too old or have some other Tiwas around.
                                                       Sarma



 
 
  
Dr. Atul C. Sarma
8100 Harrow Court    Louisville, KY 40220, USA
PHONE:  502-499-7075
E-mail: acsarma@ yahoo.com


Cc: gaut...@yahoo.co.in
Sent: Sunday, October 7, 2012 12:29 AM


Subject: [asom] Endangered fruit of Assam--Mirika tenga

Gautam,
Parakeets are a lot smaller in size than Tiyan Sorai. Tiyans appear to be cousins of parrots but they cannot imitate human voice. I found that out after trying to coach one for many months in my youth.
Dilip Deka



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kamal deka

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Oct 8, 2012, 5:10:30 PM10/8/12
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How did ' kordoi ' ( star fruit) gets its name? it earned that moniker because of its ability to turn ' ewa gakhir' ( fresh milk) into ' doi' ( curd/yogurt).
KOR=MAKE
DOI=CURD
I think,each kordoi has five ridges and because of this feature,the famous' bhut jolokia' is also known as 'kordoi xiria' jolokia.In Sarthebari,my ancestral village,it is pronouned as ' kodde tenga' and they eat them after frying in oil with mustard seeds,green chillies and tumeric powder.My mother-in-law had a couple of trees at Panbazar.A delicious pickle can be made out of it by submerging them in oil with spices in order to dulcify.
In Assam,doctors often advise their patiets to consume kordoi when they are afflicted with Hepatitis A infection.
When it comes to the world of sour,another fruit called ' thekera tenga' may be the champion,being the sourest of all.I am just guessing.They are also used as herbal medicine for some gastro-intestinal ailments.There are four different varieties.They are: bor thekera,kuji thekera,rupahi thekera and kao thekera.For a huge flavor of ' masor tenga',addition of a few pieces of ' xuthi' ( dried thekera) really pack a punch.Please take a look at the following pictures.
 
KORDOI.
THEKERA TENGA

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