Beat the summer heat with Auriya – a traditional dish from Jammu's Dogra community

The Indian summer season is notorious for scorching heat with mercury crossing 42-45 degree Celsius, which often leads to heat exhaustion and in severe cases may lead to a heat stroke, too. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already issued a heatwave alert in large tracts of the country as the temperature is expected to soar April 27 onward.

There are multiple ways to protect oneself from the heat and consuming some traditional food items is one of them.

In the Dogra households of Jammu, auriya (औरीया) is a typical summer dish, which is prepared using fermented curd and potatoes along with brown mustard seeds, popularly known as rai. It is also a side-dish served along with calories rich chole-bhature in the eateries of the Jammu region in north India.

Also Read: Bael Sharbat: The coolest drink to beat the summer heat

Our traditional food recipes are based on science and have several health benefits. The same applies to auriya too. It's a curd based side dish where curd is allowed to ferment with ground rai for six to seven hours.

Fermented foods usually act as a probiotic (rich in microorganisms that promote health), which in turn helps build and maintain immunity, and also keep the gut 'cool' in the summer season. This in turn aids digestion.

Rai seeds, which are added to auriya, are known to be loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, which help in slowing down the ageing, are excellent for hair growth, lower the blood pressure and are also rich in fibre.

Auriya is mostly prepared in summers because of its cooling nature. It can be made with either boiled potatoes or pumpkin (healthier option).

Also Read: Bid goodbye to the winters with these sweet and sour Dogra recipes of Jammu

Here's the quick recipe to beat the heat this summer!

AURIYA RECIPE

Ingredients

Brown mustard seeds (rai) – 1 tbsp

Curd – 1 cup

Potatoes – half cup boiled, peeled and crushed roughly into pieces with hands

Salt – to taste

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Mustard oil – 1 tbsp

Procedure

1) Put brown mustard seeds in mortar and pestle, and coarsely crush them. You can alternatively roast seeds a little before crushing if you wish to.

2) Take curd in a bowl. The bowl size should be slightly bigger than the quantity of curd as we will be adding boiled potatoes to it.

3) Add the coarsely ground rai seeds to the curd and whisk the curd well. Let it sit for good six to seven hours for fermentation.

4) Take a small kadai (wok) and add mustard oil and let it reach the smoking point. Reduce the heat after that.

5) Add turmeric powder and salt to it followed by boiled (slightly crushed) potatoes.

6) Let the potatoes get a golden glaze coating on them and then switch off the gas.

7) Once the curd is fermented, add cooled potatoes mixture to it. Mix well and auriya is ready. Enjoy it as a side dish with any meal in the summer season.

Note: Auriya tastes best if you can get the pungent taste of rai while eating it. As per your taste buds, you can increase or decrease the rai quantity, but I highly recommend the strong pungent auriya, at least try it once.

Also, potatoes have to be thoroughly boiled so that it becomes easy to crush them roughly with hands (not a knife).