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| Collection of bai - a Mizo cuisine Pic Courtesy to Ei-in Siamna leh Hmangchang Facebook Group |
'Bai' is a Mizo food item that has been practiced since time immemorial. To prepare traditional Mizo bai, four essential ingredients are indispensable: salt, chilies, saum (fermented Mizo pork typically stored in dried gourds), and chingal (lye derived from wood ashes collected from the fireplace).
Definition from Dictionary:
According to Pu Buanga Dictionary (Dictionary of Lushai Language, 1940), "bai" is defined as:
- Verb: to boil in water with the addition of salt, chingal, and sa-um (occasionally with salt only)
- Adjective: boiled in water with the addition of salt, chingal, and sa-um
- Noun: anything so boiled
Seeing the above dictionary definition, we may define 'bai' like this: "Bai is a traditional Mizo dish, characterized by a flavourful boil of various vegetables, herbs, and sometimes meat, seasoned with local spices and ingredients mostly with salt, chilli, chingal and saum."
Ingredients:
To cook bai, various vegetable leaves, herbs, wild edible plants, and locally grown plants are used. There is no specific item required, and families can choose ingredients based on their preference. Commonly used items include:
- Vegetable leaves (maian, behlawi hnah, etc.)
- Herbs (bahkhawr, runhmui, etc.)
- Wild edible plants
- Locally grown plants
- Bamboo shoots
- Various leaves and greens
- Spices and seasonings
- Maian (pumpkin leaves)
- Behlawi hnah (cowpea leaves)
- Bawkbawn (eggplant)
- Samtawk (mock tomato/bitter tomato)
- Changkha (bitter gourd)
- Mautuai/rawtuai (Bamboo shoots)
- Bahkhawr (culantro)
- Runhmui (Hoary Basil)
- Lengmaser/lengser (Elsholtzia Griffith)
- Bawrhsaiabe (ladies finger)
- Bepui (Hyacinth bean/Indian bean/lablab)
- Purunzung (spring onion roots)
- Hmarchapui (chili pepper)
- Hmarcha (Mizo chilli)
- Sawhthing (ginger)
- Purun (spring onion)
- Purunvar (garlic)
- Purunsen (onion)
- Baibing (alocasia fornicata)
- Chingit (Szechuan pepper leaf or Indian Ivy-rue or Michiga patta)
- Bal (taro roots)
- Dawlzik (taro shoots and leaves)
- Sapthei hnah (passion fruit leaves)
- Behlawi rah (cowpea bean)
- Be (beans)
- Alu (potato)
- Khanghu (climbing wattle)
- Bepui thla nei/bepui pawr (winged bean)
Optional non-vegetarian ingredients include:
- Arsa (chicken)
- Vawksa (pork)
- Bawngsa (beef)
- Vawksarep (smoked pork)
- Bawngsarep (smoked beef)
- Ramsa/Ramsarep (wild animals
/smoked wild animal meat)
- Vawklu (pig's head)
- Dried fish
- Chakai (crab)
Notable Variations:
- Vawklu Bai: A highly popular variation made with pig's head, often served in home and various restaurants in Mizoram and considered one of the most beloved and iconic forms of bai.
Cooking Method:
Regular Method:
1. Boil water in a cooking pot.
2. Add harder ingredients first.
3. When water reaches boiling temperature, add softer ingredients.
4. Add chingal or sodium bicarbonate powder, sa-um (fermented pork fat), salt, and chilies (chillies can be added more for extra kick).
5. Stir well in reverse motions.
Smelly Method (for stronger flavour):
1. Boil water in a cooking pot.
2. Add harder ingredients first.
3. When water reaches boiling temperature, add softer ingredients.
4. Add bekangro (sundried fermented soybean) and dried fish for added flavor.
5. Add chingal or sodium bicarbonate powder, sa-um (fermented pork fat), salt, and chilies (chillies can be added more for extra kick).
6. Stir well in reverse motions.
Mizo cuisine is characterized by a predilection for traditional flavours, particularly in the traditional dish bai. Typically, Mizos enhance the flavour of bai by incorporating an abundance of chilies, emphasizing the importance of heat in achieving optimal taste. This cultural preference is reflected in the common saying: "Bai thak lo te chu a tui lo," which translates to "Bai without hot taste is tasteless."
Cooking Time:
Bai cooking usually takes 15-30 minutes, but this depends on the ingredients. Some items may require only a few minutes, while others may take up to an hour.
Cultural Significance:
Even in modern times, Mizo food is never served without bai, especially during feasts and grand celebrations like Wedding, Christmas and New Year community feasts. Bai holds significant cultural importance and makes Mizo food distinct.
The cultural significance of bai, a traditional Mizo dish, extends beyond its culinary value. Notably, all its constituent ingredients - salt, chilies, saum (fermented pork), and chingal (wood ash lye) - are locally sourced and produced, exemplifying the community's reliance on indigenous knowledge and self-sufficiency. This symbiotic relationship between food culture and traditional practices underscores the profound importance of bai in Mizo cultural heritage, highlighting the intricate connections between foodways, community resilience, and cultural identity.
Personal Significance:
For Mizo people, bai evokes nostalgia and longing. Those living far away often yearn for its taste, saying "Bai ka va ei chak e" ("How I am longing to taste bai"). Upon return, family members typically often serve bai as a welcome gesture.
Legacy:
Despite global food influences, bai remains cherished by the Mizo community, although younger generations, such as Generation Z and Alpha, may not appreciate it as much as their older counterparts. However, its unique flavour and simplicity continue to captivate. For non-Mizos, bai offers a distinct culinary experience that requires practical exploration to fully appreciate.
- Written by Dr. Lalzarzoa, Department of History, Government J Buana College.
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