A TASTE OF LIFE FROM THE NORTH-EAST

“Catch a dog, kill it, roast it and eat it, and what you have is a north-east delicacy” , a colleague from North India once remarked jovially. While I was shocked and offended at her ignorance about north-eastern delicacies, I was also made to understand in my tenure of seven-years in Delhi, that just like their topographical beauty, the gastronomic fare of the seven sister-states remain by and large hidden from the rest of the country. Of course, food from the north-east is much more than just dog’s meat---it boasts exotic delicacies that are not a part of the mainstream Indian Fare. The rest of India knows very little about the people and cuisine of North-east India: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. (Though Sikkim is considered a part of the North-east, it is not yet officially declared a member state by the govt. of India). This segregation has more to do with lack of marketing than inadequacies in the cuisine itself. Also you need an acquired taste to enjoy this cuisine. So, these delicacies continue to be prepared and appreciated only within the confines of the North-east.

The dishes of the North-east are not laced with oil and spices, yet they are delicious, and the use of the locally grown aromatic herbs, make them nutritious as well as exotic. They are light, healthy and easy to prepare. In fact, simplicity is the hallmark of north-eastern cuisine. The basic components of a north-eastern meal are steamed/boiled rice, accompanied by a gravy-based fish or meat/chicken dish, a green-herb chutney washed down with a soup of boiled vegetables. The best way to relish a northeastern meal is to eat it with your hand, (though the new generation uses spoons and forks) . Unlike the oily rich food in some other parts of India, which cannot be had again, you keep coming back to the simple fare of the north-east.

There are differences in the items consumed and in the preparation of the food, based on religion and culture among the people of the north east . The tribes that are not influenced by Hinduism, relish red-meat & pork while the hindu communities like ‘Axomiyas’ of Assam eat fish, chicken, ducks and mutton, and the ‘Meities’ of Manipur eat fish at the very most. The people of the predominantly Christian states such as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and about forty percent of the Manipuris, do not have any religious restrictions in their diet . Tribes like the ‘bodos’ of Assam consider a meal incomplete without pork and the tribes of Tripura must have fermented fish to complete their meal. The style of cooking also differs from one state to another in the North-east. Each of the sixteen naga-tribes, for instance, boasts of a distinct delicacy. The ‘angamis’ cook a chunky meat-dish with raja mircha (jungle chillies) and a paste of ginger and garlic. While the ‘ao tribe’ uses little small green round chillies smaller than peas when they make their chutneys. This ensures that the meal will be good. The ‘Tangkhul’ nagas of Manipur are so fond of pork that they have a special earthen pot called ‘hampi’to cook it, which imparts a unique flavour. Some tribes like the ‘himar’of Manipur and ‘garo’of Meghalaya are known for their love for chillies and tangal (indegenous soda). The ‘axomiyas’ of Assam relish fish curry in a tangy flavour, which is cooked with gourd and tomatoes, garnished with coriander and lime juice. They also use unripe papaya and 'khar'(an alkaline liquid made by burning the dried trunk of a banana tree) to enhance the flavour of duck-meat. Potato is used as a thickening ingredient in chicken and mutton curries. Except for the ‘meiteis’ of Manipur, who rustle up a delicious fish curry using oil and spices, the non-vegetarian dishes are rarely cooked with too much oil or spices. Pork or chicken cooked with bamboo-shoot and akhuni (fermented soyabean) is very popular amongst most of the north-eastern tribes. Chilli powder, ginger, garlic and garden-fresh turmeric, mint-leaves and holy-basil are widely used ingredients as flavouring agents, along with fermented fish, soya-beans and bamboo-shoots (known in different regions by different names). Green leafy vegetables are seldom cut with a knife in the native villages. They are torn or shredded by hand, as it is believed that a knife spoils the taste. Also, when boiling vegetables, they do not cover the pan, in order to retain the natural colours. Sometimes these greens and vegetables are cooked ‘al dente’(semi raw), which adds to the flavour and nutrient value.

A typical north-eastern kitchen is very spacious. In olden days, people entertained their guests in the kitchens. Most of the hill tribes are great meat eaters. Chicken, pigs, cows, goats, ducks and fishes are reared at most village homes for consumption. To make sure they never run out of meat, almost every kitchen in the north-east, especially in the hilly states, stocks dry meat. Wedding ceremonies and religious functions are the best occasions to sample traditional dishes. At the weddings among most of the tribes, it is almost customary to serve as many non-vegetarian dishes as possible.

A north-eastern meal is quick to cook and does not involve elaborate preparations. It is served with all dishes placed on the table at the time of dining, rather than in courses. The dessert, of course, comes at the end of the meal, but it is not served daily, and only during special feasts. Though milk-rice-kheer(paayox), coconut laddoos(naarikol-laaru), rice pancakes stuffed with sweetened coconut gratings (pitha), sesame-jaggery stuffed pancakes and sesame-jaggery laddoos (til-pitha and tilor-laaru) are some of the festive sweet dishes in Assam, when it comes to sweets, the people of north-east cannot match their counterparts from the rest of India. They do not necessarily round off their meals with sweets. While they enjoy sweets, they'd rather prefer the natural flavor of fruits. Almost every home owns a banana, a guava, or a mango tree, so they are seldom bought from the market. Seasonal fruits such as papaya, pineapple, guava, mango, jackfruit, peach, lychee, jamun and pomegranate, usually complete the meals.

With rice taking the centrestage of the meal, and the abundant use of fresh vegetables, leafy greens, herbs and fruits, supplemented by meat or fish, north-east cooking is high on nutritional value, less on calories, and is actually a high-fibre diet. Experts correlate this diet with low rate of cancer in the people of this region. The north-eastern women are also known for their exotic ageless looks with clear baby-soft skins and lustrous tresses. A north-eastern meal is always balanced and for every spicy dish there is a bland one. Among the hill tribes, no meal is complete without plain boiled vegetables, to go with the more spicy dishes. It is the soup of these boiled vegetables that gives the tribes men the strength to climb the lofty mountains and walk the miles to their fields.

In this age of health freaks and diet watchers, the answer to most problems is a low-calorie high-fiber diet which is what north-east cuisine is all about.

Often, we find the Tibetan momos and 'indianised' greasy-spicy chowmein being consumed by some North-Indians, associating them with northeastern or chinese food. But in reality, there are some local vendors who are just cashing in on these borrowed items in the name of northeastern or chinese food, while experimenting with the traditional dishes adding oils and spices to their own whimps and fancies.

But I believe, it wont be very long before the northeastern flavors start getting popular. Northeastern cuisine is just waiting to be discovered and this article (most detailing of which has been taken from the preface of a book I once read, about some north-eastern recipes...i don't remember the writer's name) is just an attempt to introduce the flavors of my native place to the readers of this blog.