Kahudi

Overview

Kahudi is an Assam-associated mustard-seed condiment. In the 2022 study it is made with sour Thekera (Garcinia pedunculata), which the paper distinguishes from Garcinia mangostana, also called mangosteen. Kahudi is recorded as a solid-state spontaneous preparation related to Kharoli, with sour Thekera replacing alkaline khar.

Some sources also call it Pani tenga or Panitenga. The reviewed sources do not establish how these names vary between communities.

Household accounts

The 2022 study commissioned preparation from three rural households in Jorhat West. A local resource person reported five to seven days in summer and nine to eleven days in winter, and the researchers sampled on day seven after inspection. This sampling choice does not establish day seven as a safe endpoint.

A 2017 study describes leaf-wrapped mustard portions fermenting over a fireplace for seven to fourteen days. A 2016 home-recipe account describes black mustard mixed with Thekera pulp in a closed container for three to four days. These are different methods and conditions, not one combined formula.

Study findings

The 2017 paper reports a pH decline from 6.8 on day one to 3.95 on day eleven and describes culturable lactic acid bacteria. The 2022 paper reports a pH of 5.92 ± 0.02 in its Kahudi table and a sequencing profile in which Bacillus was the most abundant reported genus. The two studies used different samples and methods, so their results do not define one microbial pathway, starter culture or safe pH target.

Neither study validates a household safety endpoint or storage period. The reported times, sensory checks, microbial findings and pH values are observations from particular sources, not instructions.

What remains open

The mustard species used across the documented methods is not established, and no origin, complete distribution or harvest season is given. The household methods differ in ingredients and duration, and no validated, controlled process or storage limit is established in the reviewed sources. Local practitioners would need to clarify the spelling and naming of the condiment.