The Dog and the Tungrymbai- A Tale from the World’s Wettest Place
Tungrymbai (Fermented Soyabean) Have you ever wondered why a dog's sense of smell is so good? If you were to ask this question to anyone in Meghalaya (the wettest place on earth), he/she would attribute it to 'Tungrymbai' or fermented beans! Tungrymbai is a popular indigenous Khasi food prepared by fermenting soybeans. Fermented beans is actually a popular food item in the culinary tradition of Northeast India. It is known as 'kinema' among the Nepalis of Darjeeling and Sikkim, 'axone' among the Sema Nagas and 'hawaijar' in Manipur. For fermenting the Khasi Tungrymbai, dried beans are washed and boiled for about 1-3 hours till they soften. The beans are then placed on fresh salem(phrynium pubinerve Bl) leaves spread inside a bamboo basket. The beans are wrapped, and hot red charcoals put on top of it. The beans are covered again with another layer of salem. Finally, the beans are put...