 | |
| Type | Fermented soybeans |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | India Myanmar |
| Region or state | Nagaland Kachin state Sagaing Region |
| Associatedcuisine | Naga cuisine,Kachin cuisine,Thai cuisine |
| Created by | Naga people |
| Main ingredients | Soybean |
| Similar dishes | Thua nao,kinema,ngari,tungrymbai,other fermented products |
| Culture of the Nagas |
|---|
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Akhuni (alsoaxone) is a fermentedsoybean product commonly used inNaga cuisine of India and Myanmar.
The wordAxone is from the NagaSümi language, and is a combination of two words.Axo means "aroma" or "smell" andne ornhe (similar word "tho") means "deep" or "strong". So it can be literally translated as "deep smell" or "strong smell".
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It is prepared year-round from soybeans by people of all tribes, but most notably theSümi Nagas of Nagaland. Soybeans grow at an altitude of 1,500 m and in rainy conditions, making them well suited for the Naga hills. They are also a protein-rich legume in an otherwise traditionally protein-sparse diet.[1]
Axone is prepared by rinsing picked soybeans in fresh water, and then boiling them until they are soft, but still whole. The excess water is drained and the soybeans are placed into a pot ordegchi and left either out in the sun or next to the fire to let them ferment. This takes three to four days to ferment in summer and around one week in winter.[2]
As with the majority of fermented products in Nagaland, it is considered to be ready when it "smells right". The soybeans are then placed in a wooden pestle and mashed with a mortar. They are not mashed completely but instead crushed comparably to garlic. A handful is then scooped up and placed in the center of a banana leaf, its edges closed to make a parcel. The package is sold or stored next to the fire and can be used immediately or kept for some weeks, darkening in color each day.
Akhuni fermentation results inproteolysis giving it a distinctiveumami taste.Axone is then used in a wide variety of dishes. Two examples are fire-smoked pork andaxone andnula (snails withaxone).
A 2019 Indian Hindi/English film titledAxone, directed byNicholas Kharkongor, deals with a day in the lives of a group of friends getting ready for a wedding and cooking axone in a Delhi neighborhood which does not allow them to cook axone because of its strong smell.[3]
Piak ofArunachal Pradesh, Nepalikinema,tungrymbai ofMeghalaya, hawaijaar ofManipur and bekang um ofMizoram.
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