Across the highlands
Aloo Tama
Nepali curry of potatoes, fermented bamboo shoots and black-eyed peas
60 min·4 servings
Fermented bamboo shoots
Young bamboo shoots, cut into strips or slices and lactic-fermented, distinctly sour and strong-smelling.
Fermented bamboo shoots are young shoots that are cut and lactic-fermented for several weeks; in Nepal they are called tama, in Sikkim and Darjeeling also mesu. They taste distinctly sour with a pungent, slightly sulphurous aroma that seems very strong straight from the jar and mellows with cooking. Their texture stays fibrous and slightly crisp, and it is this sourness that carries dishes such as tama curry with potatoes and beans. If you want to tone down the smell, give the shoots a quick rinse before cooking. You can find them in jars or pouches in Nepali, Indian and well-stocked Asian grocery stores, as well as online.
Substitute:
There is no real substitute, because the funky, pungent fermented aroma is the whole point. At a pinch, canned bamboo shoots with a little lime juice or light vinegar give the texture and some sourness, but the dish will taste fresher and flatter. Fresh bamboo shoots only work if they are thoroughly boiled first, since raw they contain compounds that release cyanide.
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