Introducing Nei-lieh
Khasi Perilla seeds are called ‘Nei-lieh’ in Khasi or Khasi White Sesame. The funny part is that this seed is neither sesame nor white! In Khasi – ‘nei’ means sesame and ‘lieh’ means white. The reason it is called white sesame, though it does not look white, could be because there is another variety called Nei iong, or black sesame, which is much darker in color.See the difference for yourself in the images below! This simple yet refreshing salad recipe using radish with Khasi Perilla seeds is a common and very popular salad that you are sure to find at weddings and banquet halls!
The Simple and Refreshing Salad Recipe Using Radish With Khasi Perilla Seeds
Nei-lieh is a blend of aroma and flavor with a nutty and crunchy taste that adds a unique balance to dishes. Join us for a 10 minute crash course in making one of the best and delicious salads ever!Grab a copy of the unique spices of Northeast India
What you will need for the salad
- Nei-lieh* - 4 tbs
- Onions - 2 (chopped fine)
- Chillies - 1 (chopped fine)
- Lemon juice - 3 tbs
- Fresh Radish - 400 gms. (Finely chopped)
- Salt to taste
S
tep 1: Lightly roast Nei-lieh for 3 min under low heat. Once they crackle and release a nice aroma, set aside to cool. Pound with mortar and pestle or dry grind in a grinder (for a few seconds).
Step 2: Get the Ingredients ready.
ingredinets for neilieh salad includes neilieh chopped onion lemon salt bhut jolokia chilli chopped radish
salad recipe using radish with Khasi perilla seeds
- Squeeze out the watery part from the chopped radish.
- Take care while roasting the seeds. Use low heat. Do not over roast.
4 comments
Elisha Sangma
Hi Poonam thank you for reading our article and glad to know that it was helpful for you. I hope you have tried out the recipe let us know how that went for you. About the Nei-Leih (Perilla seed) it can be found in Meghalaya and in other parts of India as well. You can read more blogs about it on our website or you can subscribe to our newsletter to know more about Meghalaya and its flora.
nitu
Yes this is one very popular salad we have here and personally as radish does not figure in my list of favorite vegetable, this is the only way I can have it. Its also one of the salads which all my out station friends enjoy immensely. Its only now i have come to know neih is known as perilla seeds. Another recipe similar to this is using squash or locally what we call Biskot the same way except we can substitute the radish with squash. Rest of the ingredients all same. Take d squash and grate it and follow the same steps as given here for preparing with radish. It tastes great.
Badal Nyalang
Hi Nitu,
Thanks for writing,
As for the recipe, radish gives a crunch to the salad and we wanted to show some local or shall I say unique local delicacies! We ourselves discovered recently that Nei-Lieh is actually known as perilla seed. As for your advice, Biskot or Chayote does give us similar crunch so we’ll definitely give it a try the next time we are preparing some salad with perilla seed. And to add to the list, I’ve had similar salads with cabbage, banana stem and even boiled bitter gourd, perilla seeds are just so versatile.
Thanks again really appreciate your thoughts on this!
Poonam
Thank you so much for the post.I brought nei leih sorry I can not pronounce,when I visited shillong five years back after I tasted similar radish salad there .I have book marked for other recipies with nei leih.I was looking for the name for years. Someone told me these are also found in hilly areas of uttrakhand with different name.Can you tell me other locations in India about there availability.Thanks.