Khardwi is an
alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
liquid used in the cuisine of the
Bodo people.
It is produced as the
filtrate of ash powder formed through burning dried
banana stems,
bamboo,
coconut coirs or even
potato plants. It tastes like strong soda and used in small quantities as an ingredient in
gravy. Khardwi is a common favorite drink in
Bodoland,
Assam especially among the
Bodos. Khardwi is one of the important part of the Bodo cuisines. It is use in making Bodo
curries like lafa (local name for
green vegetables) kharwi, mwitha bangal (local name for green leaf vegetables) kharwi, sojona bilai (local name for green leaf vegetables) kharwi and many other green leaf kharwi. It is also used to make some curry like
onla Onla ( Bodo word) is one of the bodo cuisines made from rice flour, khardwi (alkali) and spices. Chicken or pork is sometimes added. Some of the famous onla dish are Aouwa Mewa onla (bamboo shoot with rice flour), sojona bilai onla( drumstick leave ...
, sobai kharwi, etc.
References
{{India-cuisine-stub
Bodo cuisine
Assamese cuisine