Eat shoots and leave with a taste of the North-East

New Delhi, Aug 29 (UNI) Grated bamboo shoots mixed with salt, mustard oil, onion and hot chilly prepared traditionally in the North-East has cut across regional barriers and made its way to tables in the national capital.

Bamboo shoot dishes, considered exotic enough to merit a 'special' tag find a place in the menu in the top hotels as well as some of the humble restaurants.

Bamboo shoots are used not only in items from the North-East, but also in Chinese, Thai, Japanese cuisine and also as condiment in many other food items.

"We use bamboo in all our oriental cuisine. It adds flavour and gives a body to the food items like soups, chicken, mushroom, prawns and fish," Devraj Halder, Executive Chef of Uppal's Orchid hotel told UNI. These are a hot favourite with the foreigners visiting the country, he added.

Concurring with this view, Dominic Joseph Tham, Chef of The Taste of China said, "with Chinese cuisine a favourite in the country, bamboo shoots have become a common ingredient. People are also aware that bamboo is rich in nutrition value, with low fat, low calorie and low sugar. They prefer these items to be served first these days." Asked about sourcing of the shoots and the costs, Mr Halder said, "the bamboo shoots are mostly imported and cost Rs 400-500 per tin.

We also grab some bamboo cans available in the market here, priced at around Rs 200-Rs 300 per tin." The menu at Uppal's Orchid has hot and sour soup (with bamboo shoots) at Rs 220, Chicken Bamboo shoots at Rs 425, Bamboo shoot blended with mushrooms and black beans at Rs 395, for the desserts and Thai dishes at Rs 245, where bamboo shoots are sometimes used for flavour. "You can call them reasonably priced for the taste they provide," he added.

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