A stall at the Ghazipur fair is drawing curious crowds with a sweet preserve nobody expected to see there, a murabba made from tender bamboo shoots instead of the usual mango, amla or bael. The vendor, Santosh Kumar Gupta, who has come from Assam, prepares it with honey instead of sugar, and that combination alone is enough to stop visitors in their tracks.
Not just any bamboo
Santosh Kumar Gupta says ordinary local bamboo will not do for this recipe. He uses the tender shoots of a specific bamboo species found around Assam and Nagaland, and only after the bamboo has grown to roughly 8 to 10 feet does he consider its shoots ready for picking.
From raw shoot to preserve
The process starts with peeling the fresh, soft bamboo shoots and cutting them into small pieces. These pieces are washed repeatedly in water to cut down their natural bitterness, then boiled for 20 to 30 minutes, a step that many traditional methods repeat 2 to 3 times over. Santosh Kumar Gupta explains that during processing the shoots are cleaned and their fibre is separated out, after which they are boiled again before the final preparation begins.
Why honey replaces sugar
A syrup is prepared separately using honey and water. The boiled bamboo shoots are then added to this syrup and cooked on a slow flame until the syrup soaks all the way through them. Sugar never enters the recipe at all, honey is added instead. According to the vendor, honey does more than sweeten the murabba, it also extends its shelf life.
A health claim without scientific backing
Santosh Kumar Gupta says this murabba has been eaten in Assam for a long time and is considered part of the region's traditional food habits there. He also claims that eating it regularly benefits the body, and that people may even notice a difference in height over a long period of consumption. However, there is no scientific confirmation available for this claim, so it should be treated purely as the vendor's personal claim for now.
The talk of the fair
Most visitors at the Ghazipur fair are seeing a bamboo murabba for the first time, which has made the stall a hub of curiosity. Many stop to ask about its recipe and taste, while others are going a step further and buying it to try for themselves.
