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Minil songa
Minil songa: Garo sticky rice roasted inside green bamboo
The Garo of western Meghalaya make minil songa for festivals, hunting trips and family picnics, packing soaked sticky rice into lengths of green bamboo and roasting them in the embers until the rice comes out fragrant, firm and faintly smoky. At home, a hot oven or a grill gives a very good result. The mistake to avoid is sealing the bamboo too tightly: steam must escape. Chef's tip: if you have no bamboo, roll the rice in a double layer of banana leaf and foil.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rice
- 10 ½ oz sticky (glutinous) ricesoaked overnight and drained
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup water
- 1 banana leaffor plugging the tubes
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F or light a charcoal grill.
10 minStep 2: Mix 10 ½ oz sticky (glutinous) rice with ¼ tsp salt. Pack loosely into the 3 fresh green bamboo tubes, 30 cm long, one end closed tubes, two-thirds full, then pour in ¾ cup water to just cover the rice.
5 minStep 3: Plug the open end loosely with a twist of 1 banana leaf.
2 minStep 4: Roast the tubes, turning every 10 minutes, until the outside is charred and the rice inside is fully cooked and sticky; check one after 40 minutes.
45 minStep 5: Cool slightly, split the bamboo with a heavy knife and slice the rice log into rounds.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does minil songa take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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