Chakhwi

Tripuri meat and bamboo shoot stew — pork, chicken, or fish cooked with fresh or fermented bamboo shoots (muya), green chilli, shallots, ginger, and berma in a light, brothy stew that sits between a soup and a curry. Unlike gudok, the chakhwi involves a brief frying stage: the meat is browned in a small amount of fat with shallots and ginger before the bamboo shoots and water are added and everything simmers together. The bamboo shoot's naturally astringent, subtly bitter flavour mellows during cooking and absorbs the meat's fat and the berma's saltiness. Fresh bamboo shoots (available year-round in Tripura's forests) make a milder chakhwi; fermented bamboo shoots (kosoi muya) produce a sharper, more sour version. The chakhwi's thin broth is poured over rice; the bamboo shoots and meat are eaten as accompaniments.