Another Jangalmahal delicacy is Mahd Rapa Jel, a steamed pork dish. It comes to life in the smoky, thatched kitchen of Moyna Budhi, who is bent with age but still never misses a trick while cooking. Like many others, she learnt the recipe from her mother-in-law.
Many parts of West Bengal and the North East often use the bamboo as a cooking receptacle or even in lieu of a bowl, and this is one such dish.
A six-inch opening is cut into a foot-long section of green bamboo that is still sealed on both sides by its natural rings. About half a kg of pork, shukri jel in local parlance, that is well-marinated in ginger and garlic is stuffed in. The opening is stuffed tight with leaves to seal it. The bamboo segment is then roasted in a smoldering fire and that is known as The Indian Tribal Cuisine in West Bengal.
People of West Bengal and the North East often use the bamboo as a cooking receptacle or even in lieu of a bowl
Moyna cannot rein in her enthusiasm over the taste. “The ginger and garlic blend well with the flavour of the bamboo juice that seeps into the meat during cooking,” she says.
Pork is the most favoured and expensive meat in Jangalmahal, making it a rare indulgence for the Indian tribal cuisine in West Bengal. As Moyna says regretfully, “Mahd Rupa Jel is mind-blowing. I haven’t had it for years… it costs so much.”
