My Food Story: A traditional Assamese jelly more delicious than commercial jam

Roselle chutney (Meseka Tenga Phul jelly) is an Assamese preparation. It is delicious jam that is made especially during the winter season. My mother used to make this jelly, and I used to carry it in my school tiffin to eat with puris. This jam was healthy and also tasted far better than the jam bought from the market.

Roselle chutney (Meseka Tenga Phul jelly)

Ingredients

Roselle flowers, jaggery, red dry chilli, bay leaves

Method

Wash and deseed the roselle flowers. Then heat mustard oil in a pan and add panch phoron and dried red chillies. Add the roselle flowers, jaggery, chilli powder, bay leaves, and salt. Stir well, then add water and continue to cook until the mixture becomes thick.

My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).

Sagarika Barman is a veterinary doctor from Assam