Muya Awandru

Bamboo shoot cooked in bamboo tube — fresh, tender bamboo shoots (muya) scraped, sliced thin, mixed with shallots, green chilli, ginger, salt, and a small piece of berma, packed into a section of green bamboo tube (awandru) that is sealed with a banana leaf plug and roasted slowly over a wood fire, turning occasionally, for thirty to forty minutes until the bamboo outer surface chars and the contents inside steam in their own moisture. The bamboo tube imparts a clean, green, smoky flavour to the shoots from the inside; the berma infuses its savoury depth without overpowering the bamboo's natural freshness. Eaten by splitting the charred tube at the table and scooping the contents over rice. The awandru technique — cooking inside sealed bamboo — is unique to several Northeast Indian communities; the Tripuri use it most extensively.