Northeast Indian

Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens)

Name: Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens)
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Northeast Indian
Ingredients: 3 cup yam, peeled and cubed; 2 cup mustard greens, chopped; 2 tbsp akhuni (fermented soybean); 2 dried red chili; 1.5 cup water; 1/4 tsp salt

Bandana Gogoi @bandana_ghy

Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens) is Northeast Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre and the cooked vegetable. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.

25 min Easy Heart healthy Diabetic friendly Low sodium Vegetarian Vegan Halal Gluten free Dairy free Pescatarian

Ingredients

Serves

The quantities follow this count.

3 cup yam, peeled and cubed
2 cup mustard greens, chopped
2 tbsp akhuni (fermented soybean)
2 dried red chili
1.5 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

How to cook it

Peel the yam and cut it into small cubes.
Bring the water to a boil in a pot and add the yam and the crumbled dried red chilies.
Cover and simmer until the yam is nearly tender, about 12 minutes.
Break the akhuni apart with your fingers and stir it into the pot along with the mustard greens.
Simmer uncovered a few minutes more until the greens wilt and the yam is fully soft, mashing a few pieces against the side of the pot to thicken the broth slightly.
Taste before adding salt, since the fermented soybean already carries a strong savory edge, and serve hot with rice; this boiled, low oil plate is genuinely quick, everyday Naga cooking, not the smoked pork version most outsiders picture.

Watch how to cook Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens)

Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.

Serve it with

A Northeast Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.

The protein alongside
- Lauki Chana Dal (Bottle Gourd and Lentils)
  
  45 min
What it is eaten with
- Galho (One Pot Rice, Greens and Chicken Porridge)
  
  40 min

A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.

Safe at your table

Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens) carries soy. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.

Every tracked allergen in Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens)
Allergen	In this dish	Cook this instead
Peanuts	No
Tree nuts	No
Dairy	No
Gluten	No
Shellfish	No
Eggs	No
Soy	Yes	Aloo Pitika (Mashed Potato with Mustard Oil)
Fish	No
Sesame	No
Coconut	No

These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.

What it brings to the plate

Estimated, per serving

Calories: 110 kcal
Protein: 2 g
Carbs: 24 g
Fat: 1 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 140 mg
Saturated fat: 0 g

Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.

When to cook it

Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens) takes about 25 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.