Mizo Bai / Mizoram Rice Vegetable Stew
Mizo Bai from Mizoram's cuisine, an easy vegetable stew of seasonal greens and vegetables boiled with a little salt. North Eastern local ingredients like lengmaser and fermented soya bean paste and the spicy bird's eye chili, add flavour to the otherwise bland stew.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 2 servings
Author: Sujata Shukla
- 2 cups Cauliflower leaves or Pumpkin leaves and Bean Leaves
- ½ cup Cauliflower stalks or brinjal, ladies finger
- 1.5 cups Cauliflower florets Florets, stalks and leaves together 300 gms
- ⅔ cup french beans (50 gms)
- 1 potato 1 cup sliced
- 1 green chili
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon akhuni (Fermented soybean paste) or sodium bircarbonate or indigenous soda- see the above post
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons rice
Optional ingredients if available
- 1 tablespoon Mizo cheese fermented pork
- Lengmaser/ Lomba see above post for details
Preparation
Cauliflower: Wash and shred the leaves after separating them from the stalks.
Split thick stalks lengthwise and slice into 1" pieces
Separate florets into smaller pieces for easy cooking
Beans: Trim, remove the strings at the sides and slice into 1" pieces
Potatoes: Peel and dice into 1" long chunks
Green chili: split along its length without slicing into two
Rice: Wash, drain and set aside till required.
Making the Mizo Bai
Bring water to boil, in a pan
Reduce heat and add the soda or fermented bean paste
Add a little salt.
The water will froth. Keep the pan on low heat and wait for the frothing to subside.
Add potato slices and cauliflower florets, stalks and leaves.
Add the green chili
Add the slices of beans and stir it all well.
Add the drained rice and again stir.
Raise the heat and bring the stew to a boil.
Reduce heat and allow to simmer, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is cooked. The vegetables should be tender and the water absorbed.
Check for seasoning and add a little more salt if required.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish.
Serve hot.