LETS KNOW ABOUT TRADITIONAL FOOD HABIT ITEMS PORO APONG (RICE BEER) AND PURANG APIN (PACKED BOILED RICE) BY MISING COMMUNITY.
INTRODUCTION :Traditional food items differ from society to society across the food habit ,in fact largely depends on climate conditions and the culture social group .It also changes of time and the change of life style of a given group of people in the social group .the art of coocking food in an important aspect in the study of human culture .Human heath and nature is determind by what kind of food is taken day in day to day life .Balanced diet containing vitamins and minerals that traditional methods of coocking includes such herbal leaves as can be considered as medicines in the modern times.
THE MISING AND THEIR FOOD HABIT :The mising who asre one of the monoloid social groups are an indigenous tribe of Assam. The migrated from the neigbhoring hills of arunachal Pradesh to the bramahputra valley and practised jhum cultivation on the banks of the Brahmaputra, subansiri, dhansiri, dikhow, disang, jibharali etc .ofb upper assam .agriculture is the main occupation of the mising people and rice is the staple food for them.
The misings did not have a tradition having enclosed fence around their house and no habit of keeping kitchen –garden within it either. They collected varities of edible wild leaves wild leaves from the nearly jungle and used them as vegestables.
PORO APONG:Apong is an important and indispensable beverage both in religios function day to day of food for the mising.
They use two kinds of apong :poro apong (black variety ) and Nogin Apong (witte variety). To prepare apong of both the kinds ,rice is boiled and spread out in a bamboo the for gething it cold.
Then e’pob (Dried and hardend mixure of grou rice with a large varieties of medicinal herbs /plants found in the local area ) is ground with the ..... of the hands once again and dusty contents are mixed well with the rice . But in the case of Po:ro variety , burnt ashes of husk and strow together is first mixed welfare using the e’pob . Such mixed rice is put in wild ear damons into picklels . It takes 7 to 10 days for fermentation of both the varieties ofr apong. After fermentation ,apong has to percolated in a cornial shape ofr bamboo buskest to make it ready for drinking.
PURANG APIN (PACKED BOILED RICE):Purang apin (packed boiled rice)is a traditional dish of the mising community in assam.
It is integral part of the cusine served during the art Ali Aye Ligang Festival celebrated by the community during the month off February.Purang apin basically a steamed rice lake made out of sticky rice wrapped in alpinia nigra(tara paat).On the eve ligang young boys and gril collect tara paat from forest or beside the river,and wash the tara paat thoroughly and mixed them with bora rice ,jaha rice (rice should be soakedin water for and hour). Thus leaves are packed and given in boiling water of a large utensil.Its tastes good by opening a purang apin and heating it with meat or eating it with a milk .
CONCLUSION :All the food items prevated in mising society are prepared exclusively by women in the family occasions.the out of prepation food ows its credit to women skill.food items make by mising community have delicious taste with difference.