Akhuni

Akhuni (Assamese: আখুনি), also known as axone, is a fermented soybean product commonly used in Naga cuisine. The word Axone is from Sumi dialect, and is a combination of two words Axo-ne, Axo which means "aroma" or "smell" and the word ne or nhe (similar word "tho") which means "deep" or "strong". So it may literally mean as "deep Smell" or "strong smell". Axone is perhaps the most commonly used fermented product of Nagaland and the North Eastern Region of India. It is prepared year-around from soyabeans by people of all tribes, but most notably the Sumi Nagas of Nagaland. Soyabeans grow up to an altitude of 1,500 m and in rainy conditions, making it extremely suited to the Naga hills. It is also a protein-rich legume in an otherwise traditionally protein-sparse diet.

Smoked pork with axone

Axone is prepared by picking and cleaning the soyabeans well in fresh water, and then boiling them until they are soft, but still whole. The excess water is drained and the soybeans are placed into a pot or degchi and put either out in the sun or next to the fire to warm and ferment. This takes three to four days to ferment in summer and around one week in winter. [1]

As with the majority of fermented products in Nagaland, it is judged to be ready when it “smells right”. The soybeans are then placed in a wooden pestle and smashed with a mortar. They are not mashed completely but instead smashed as you would with garlic. A handful is then scooped up and placed in the center of a banana leaf, and the edges closed to make a parcel. The package is sold or stored next to the fire and can be used immediately or kept for some weeks, darkening in colour each day.

The process — proteolysis of soya protein to amino acids — results in a distinctive umami taste. Axone is then used in a huge variety of dishes. An example of just two is fire-smoked pork and axone and nula (snails with axone).