I keep travelling to North
East, almost all the states, excepting Arunachal Pradesh, for official work. In
the last few years, as my work demanded, I have been travelling quite extensively
to the North Eastern states. During these trips I have been privileged to have
the opportunity to see the varied natural beauty of the states, experience the rich
culture and savour some of their finest cuisine.
Being a typical
gastronomically adventurous Bengali, I make it a point to taste the local
delicacies wherever I travelling to. Thus
my love affair with North Eastern cuisine started. Over the years it’s only
deepened and it’s so diverse, so different and so delectable, it makes me go
back again and again to try newer varieties.
Now ‘North Eastern Cuisine’ is a
rather generic term. Each of the seven states has their own variety of foods
which is quite different from other, just as unique as their respective cultures.
This has given a unique diversity of the culinary culture of North East and
this is what I like and I am still exploring. You will note that while cuisine
of Assam mainly revolves around rice and fish, In Meghalaya, Mizoram &
Nagaland it’s more of Pork and Beef. Dog meat is also popular among locals in
Mizoram and Nagaland. Duck and Pigeon meat is very popular in Assam and almost
all restaurants specializing in Assamese cuisine serve them. There are different
varieties of rice as well. Apart from traditional aromatic ‘Joha rice‘, one can
taste ‘red rice’ as well as ‘black rice’ which retains respective colours after
preparation. These are majorly produced in neighbouring Meghalaya. Also in
Assam, sesame seeds, pepper and mustard are used as major ingredients for
cooking. However the beauty is none of the preparations are rich, so digesting
them is easy and I never experienced the usual heartburn a man on the wrong
side of forty would normally feel after a heavy meal. In Mizoram, Manipur &
Nagaland most of the preparations are just boiled. The flip side is most of the
preparations would be bland for the taste of average Bengali. Also for pork
preparations and preparations with Bamboo Shoots, or Akhuni (fermented
soyabeans) the pungent odour is present which may not suite everybody. Lots of
pickles made of dried fish, smoked meat, fermented seeds etc are used in the
cooking. So largely I would say that you need to have an acquired taste to
appreciate most of the preparations and if you are avert to boiled, soupy food
you might not find them to your liking. However this changes when we look at
lower Assam & Tripura. Tripura, a state dominated largely by Bengali
population migrated from Sylhet district of Bangladesh, has a very strong
influence of Bengali cuisine that is so unique to Sylhet. Same trend can be found in lower Assam in Kachar
district which is again dominated by the migrated Bengalis from Sylhet. Even if
you look at the culinary history at Bangladesh, Sylheti cuisine holds it’s own
distinct identity among all Bangladeshi cuisines and this also holds true when
it comes to extremely rich cultural heritage of
Sylhet. A typical Sylheti cuisine will have abundance of fish and
‘Snutki’ or the sun dried fish takes centre stage. The variety is just amazing.
And the preparations are rich and most often very hot, leaving you panting and
gasping from breath and you could feel smoke coming out of your ears after
tasting them. So a Sylheti preparation need to be approached with due respect
or else it could have the unsuspecting go red like tomato on the face. Also
every fish imaginable is turned into ‘Snutki’ and various preparations are made
from them. Another unique item would be the ‘Nona Iilish’ where the revered
Hilsa will be dried in quite different manner. To make ‘snutki’ normally the
fish is laid out open under the sun till they are bone dry. However Hilsa fish
is treated in a completely different manner to create the ‘Nona Ilish”. After
the fish is caught, specifically the small sized Hilsa, fishermen put them in
in large earthen pot in layers. One layer of fish is put at the bottom then
it’s covered with layer of salt and then further layers are created with fish
and salt alternatively till it reaches the mouth of the earthen pot. Then the
mouth is sealed and it’s buried under ground. A typical place would be the sand
beds of the river which gets ample sunlight. The salt acts as preservative
while the fish gets dried up inside. Once its ready the pot is dug out.
However my experience is rather
limited to restaurants in Guwahati and other places which offer good local
cuisine. I have shared my experiences at some of these restaurants which I
really liked. But if you experience the real taste and the famed Sylheti
hospitality you need to look elsewhere. If you are lucky enough and have the
chance of getting invited by locals on
their festivals or you know somebody local who can invite you home and treat
you with traditional home cooked food those would the best food journeys of your life. I got one such opportunity when my
colleague in Aizwal had cooked dog meat at home and that’s one unique
experience for me. The quest is still on and I will keep sharing my experience
in this blog.
SANGEI MANIPURI
RICE HOTEL:
Paltan Bazar, Near Ulubari Flyover,
Guwahati
During February 2015 when I was
in Guwahati, I had a great lunch at ‘Sangei Manipuri Rice Hotel’. This is at
Paltan Bazar, on the main road near Ulubari Flyover. It’s a rather
inconspicuous place and you really need to look hard to locate the modest entrance
amongst the jumble of shops hanging their merchandise all over. The restaurant
is on the first floor and offers traditional Manipuri Thali. More than a
restaurant, I felt that this is akin to the famous pise hotels of Kolkata. A
Manipuri version you can say and it also claims to be a ‘rice hotel’. The
interior is modest with plain décor but it’s painted in bright colours and
clean. They also have beautiful photographs of natural beauty of Manipur including many pictures of the famed 'Loktak Lake'.The waiters silently moved about in bright yellow shirt and red dhoti,
further brightening up the place.
There is no menu card. You have
look up the signboard as a point of reference, though the names of the items
will sound alien. But don’t let that bother you. The waiters here are very
polite and helpful.
The First thing you get is the basic thali, a steel plate
with banana leaves neatly laid out on it. This contains a neat heap of rice and
other assortments like pickles and salads made with bamboo shoot. You will also
get bowls of dal and other vegetable preparations.
They have rather strange
names like ‘pokora, kangsoi, singju and champhut for them and I could not also
identify the preparations and ingredients. Some of them I liked, some not so
much, but overall it’s quite different from the vegetable preparations that we
are used to and it’s a different experience. But the interesting part is when
it comes to selection of the non-veg items. The waiters will silently bring a
large tray where multiple bowls containing various preparation of fish of
different species. You can pick and choose from Rohu, Hilsa, Pabda, Chital, Aar
& Borail. The preparations range from plain jhol, Sorshe bata, Bhaja to
bhapa. Also I found small fishes, like kajri or Mourola, deep fried and another
preparation closely resembling our own ‘Muri Ghanto’.
Next comes the assortment of meat.
This had everything, chicken, mutton & Pork. I could see boiled pork, fried
pork, pork sausages, pork curry. Pork liver and also fried chicken wings,
boiled chicken, mutton curry etc.
This was quite exiting, I almost
felt a childlike glee. We had to pick and choose. The bowls on the tray were
only for display. We had to point out the items we wanted and then it would be
served hot. I admit we went overboard with ordering. It’s the same temptation
you feel while in a supermarket when your good sense is clouded by the alluring
displays and you end up spending much more than planned.
Nevertheless all the items tasted
great and I will surely come back here on my next visit.
The pocket pinch for two should
not exceed Rs. 500/- .The basic thali will cost you Rs. 60/- and there is a
more elaborate one costing Rs. 80/-. Fish preparations range between Rs.100
& Rs.200/-. Chicken between Rs.100/- & Rs.150/- and pork items will set
you back for anything between Rs.80/- & Rs.200/-. Check the photo of the
menu board.
If any one of you is visiting
Guwahati you can definitely try this place for a taste of authentic Manipuri
cuisine and you won’t be disappointed.
BHUT JOLOKIA:
Above Baskin
Robbins, Zoo Road,
Near VIP Namghar, Zoo Tiniali.
Guwahati.
I had a rather sumptuous dinner
of Traditional Assamese cuisine at “Bhut Jolokia” at Zoo Tiniali in Guwahati. And
I made it a point to consume everything that swims, walks and flies at one go.
At around 8:30PM in the evening,
when we walked in we found the restaurant quite empty. The décor was basic but
neat. They had the tables and chairs made out of Bamboo, Jute with glass tops
in typical Assamese style.
We started with “Brail Maas
bhaja” (deep fried Borail fish). This was followed by “Para mangkhar alu
torkari (Pigeon meat with potato), “Hahar Mangkhar matimah torkari (Duck Meat
with black grams), Gahori tilor torkari (Pork with sesame seeds and all the
gravy to go down with “Aijong joha steamed rice”.
All the preparations were nice.
Though none which I ordered came with the fiery Bhut Jolokia’ (Ghost Chilli) which
is ranked as one of the hottest chilli in the world. There were preparations on
the menu which are prepared with Bhut Jolokia, but I really did not have the
nerve for ordering the same.
Burrrrrrrpp…
This restaurant was started by
Chef Atul Lakhar. The food was generally good. One word of caution though. You
need to have acquired taste to appreciate North Eastern cuisine. If you have
it, do try whenever you are at Guwahati.
But if I have to rate, I will
choose another restaurant specializing in Assamese cuisine called “Maihang” at
Bhangagarh above Bhut Jolokia. This was the one I tried out in my previous
visit to Assam. “Kharika” restaurant at Ulubari also serves good Assamese food
and probably owned by the same chef.
TRATTORIA:
Policce Bazar, Opposite Choudhury Pharmaceutical,
Shillong
Trattoria is a place to go if you
have the taste for some authentic Khasi cuisine. During my trip to Shillong I
was asking around for some nice joint to taste the local food and this
restaurant was highly recommended by my colleagues who are locals there. This
is situated right at the heart of Shillong, at Police Bazar, on the ground
floor of the same building housing Centre Point hotel and opposite to Chaudhury
Pharmaceuticals which is a kind of landmark there.
This is not exactly a fine
dining place but if I wish to compare, this will be a close replica of the
famous ‘Pise hotels” of Kolkata who serve authentic Bengali cuisine. This place
had the same flavour, serves authentic Khasi cuisine, the interiors done up in
wood as is the norm in the hills and has wooden tables and benches (not chairs,
mind you). I reached here at around 1 PM and the place was already abuzz with
locals thronging in.
But surely it was devoid of any Bengali tourists who
normally flood the city of Shillong and one would bump into them almost
everywhere. After good fifteen minutes of waiting I could park myself on a
bench. The menu was written on the wall (in literal sense) so I didn't get a
menu card.
Looking around the people and the photos of the food on the wall I
could make out that rice and pork takes the centre stage here. The photos of
the walls you see are the menu card and the Khasi names for them did not make
any sense in my head. To make matters worse, all the waiters were ladies
dressed in the typical chequered Khasi traditional wear, and a moment’s
interaction proved that they did not understand a single word either in English
or Hindi. All they could do is to point at the photos on the wall and hoping I
would place the order. I looked quite dumb and confused sitting on the bench
with not a plate in front of me where true to a pice hotel tradition, dishes
were appearing and disappearing before people in lightning speed. Then I
noticed the man at the small wooden counter near the entrance. He was in his
late thirties, dressed in jeans and a Bluetooth device firmly struck in his
ears. He was running around, chatting up people at the counter, collecting
payments, taking orders and probably talking on the blue tooth device as well.
That’s fine example of multi-tasking. Finally this man took notice of me as
obviously I was sticking out like a sore thumb in the local crowd, looking
silly in a tie. The ladies could have also reported to him that there is moron
who just walked in and occupied a seat with nothing to order. Thankfully this
man, Rinchen, who is also the owner of the joint, spoke fluent English and I
gladly communicated that I am quite ready to take on a gastronomical journey
basis his suggestion. Immediately he took the worries out of me, and he was
quite delighted to hear that I have special interest in trying out his pork
creations. What he suggested is basically a mixed platter of his pork delights
with accompaniment of rice.
The plate that came in looked
quite interesting as you can make out in the photo below. There was yellow rice
and various assortment of pork , salads and pickles. Some looked familiar like
the green chutney made of garlic and mint. I could see three types of pork
preparations, couple of pieces of cooked meat with a delightful layer of fat.
There was pork liver and a meatball. The salads were the interesting part. You
see the whitish one on the plate, it was a mixture of boiled pork and fat mixed
with shredded vegetables of varieties unknown to me. The blackish stuff that
you also see on the plate is made of pork intestine and both tasted like heaven
with the yellow rice which was laced in what I believe oil from the pork fat.
The whole combination is out of the world and I was relishing every moment. The best part is, nothing is fried
(excepting the meatball) so you can eat your heart’s content. Whew what an
experience.
An word of caution though to the
readers. Please remember, to savour this kind of food you really need to have
acquired taste. If you are someone who would hunt out a ‘Bengali Maach Bhat’
joint wherever you travel then definitely stay away from this place. But then
if you are by nature adventurous in your gastronomical exploration and love
pork and the North Eastern way of cooking, do try this place. You will not be
disappointed. The owner Lasaraba Suiting is a very enthusiastic, friendly and jovial
person and would happily assist you to select your food. The names in Khasi
language might look Greek and Latin so better go with Rinchen’s suggestion and
you won’t be disappointed.
Do feel free to share the BLOG so
food enthusiast visiting Shillong might take note of it.
Of ZAWLEIDI and
HOT DOG:
My experience in
Aizwal, Mizoram.
This time I have reached the
pinnacle of my food adventure. Before my trip to Aizwal, a few friends of mine
had jokingly warned me as not to have meat at restaurants due to high
possibility of being served with DOG Meat in the guise of mutton. I had read
and heard that Mizos, like their Nagamese counterparts love Dog meat and this
is served as delicacy in their custom. Serving dog meat is also considered as a
mark of respect and good hospitality shown to guests of honour at Mizo
households. So I had made up my mind to have a taste of this meat.
Unfortunately and contrary to
popular belief, dog meat not served at restaurants and definitely not in guise
of mutton. At least I had visited a few prominent restaurants in Aizwal city
and none of them serve dog meat. I asked around and learnt that dog meat is
generally prepared at home by the locals. Then my dear friend and colleague
Konkham Kheleshwer Singh came to my rescue. Kheleshwer is not a Mizo but hails
from Manipur. He is a very competent cook and I had the chance to taste the
results of his culinary skill, mostly mutton, at Dharmanagar in Tripura where
he was earlier posted.
Raw Dog meat is sold freely at
the market places albeit at limited no of shops. Dog meat is not sold the way
goat meat is sold here by hanging the Carcass, but meat cut in chunks are kept
in glass boxes. Pork, which is the most popular meat here, is also sold in same
manner. Kheleshwer made all the arrangements and fresh dog meat was procured
@Rs.300/- a KG. I had asked him to pick up only a small quantity just for taste
as I was unsure whether I would be able to have this as a whole meal for
dinner. So chicken was the main dish and about 300gm dog meet was bought for
tasting.
At evening we gathered at
Kheleshwer’s place who was leading a Bachelor’s life as his wife was away at
Imphal. The culinary experiment had started. I had requested Kheleshwer to
prepare it with liberal doses of onions, garlic and those extremely potent Mizo
green chillies. It would not have been possible to have it typical Mizo way as
in Mizo culinary science nothing is fried. They only have boiled food and all
there dishes, be it pork or vegetables, everything look like thukpa basically
floating in soupy gravy. The raw mutton (you see the photo here) looked more
like goat meat and to be precise “rewazi meat” (laden with fat). This is red in
colour and had lot of fat which surprised me a little. Had I not been told
about it’s origin I would have mistaken it as goat meat.
And to bring the Mizo flavour in
the whole affair we decided to wash it down with “Zawleidi” the local grape
wine. This has an interesting history and I will share more details about it.
The cooking was done and finally
it was time to taste and eat. Honestly I had my apprehension when I had my
first bite but this quickly dispersed and I found the taste quite similar to well-cooked
hot mutton preparation. This was made in pressure cooker and after 6 whistles
the mutton was pretty soft and it wasn’t very fibrous also. The green chilly
made it hot and even more delectable. These chillies are very small but once to
take a bite it will make your brain go dizzy and your lips will be puckered if
you are not careful. Anyway what I did not like was the ‘fat’ in the mutton.
While the mutton was absolutely fine the fat tasted odd and sticky on the
tongue and definitely not like goat meat or pork fat. It’s when you bite into
the fat you realize something is amiss. This is the part I could not have. But
overall this was a unique experience for me.
Now coming to “Zawleidi”.
Some of you must know that
Mizoram is an alcohol free state. The majority of the population here are
Christians and Church has a very deep influence in their lives. Due to the
influence of church, the state govt has banned liquor in the state. The city
doesn’t have a movie hall (apart from some &D theatres) as this is also not
approved by the church. It will come as a surprise particularly if you see the
lifestyle of the locals. It’s completely westernized. People, particularly
youngsters go around in fancy clothing and highly modified expensive bikes. But
they are basically Church Going people and Sunday for them is a time for prayer
and the mass. There are many churches in the city and every village would also
have a church. Christmas is the biggest celebration here and the city shuts
down for about 10 days during the Christmas period.
Anyway lets go back to the original discussion. During the year
2010, the Govt. of Mizoram, after 13 years of prohibiting grape cultivators
from producing wine, has brought out Zawlaidi, the locally manufactured grape
wine, by making amendments to the MLTP Act 1997. Hence it is only “Zawleidi”
which is allowed for sale and consumption in the state as an alcoholic
beverage. Though this is a wine the locals take it as just another aerated
‘drink’ and this is available at all restaurants.
The Zawlaidi is produced at
Hnahlan, which is a small village in Champhai district, famous for its
production of grapes. In Mizo language Zawlaidi means “Love Potion”. Although I
can not vouch if this has any aphrodisiac qualities. About 80% of the families
at Hnahlan are grape growers. Owing to this, it has become one of the most
well-to-do villages in Mizoram and is aspiring to be the largest grape producer
in India throwing competition to Nashik. Grape growers of Hnahlan village in
Mizoram earn average of about Rs 150 lakhs annually as per the Hnahlan Grape
Growers Society.
However poor infrastructure to
export and dwindling local demand is putting the wine produces under financial
stress and they are looking for active Govt. support to promote this. May be
the Govt. should think in the line of Geographical patents like Scotch or
Darjeeling tea closer at home.
Though I am in no way a
connoisseur of wine, this tasted good and had a sweet pungent taste. Thought
the alcohol content is not very high (about 15% if I am not wrong) but I was
advised not to have more than a glass and I obliged. Having two exotic items
(wine and dog meat) may prove to a become a challenge for the stomach.
So the dinner ended with the
excellent chicken curry and rice and that feeling of elation to have the guts
to taste out two Mizo delicacies which normally remains out of gastronomical
overtures of average Bengali.
MAIHANG:
Shanti Palace, 1st
Floor,
Near Bora Service Station,
Ulubari,Guwahati.
In Assamese this word depicts a
special plate made of bell metal which was used by the nobles of Ahom dynasty.
Tradition is to serve food on this kind of plate only to the head of the family
or to a very special guest.
It was my third day in Guwahati
when I actually found some time to venture out of my hotel to try out some
North Eastern cuisine for dinner. It was usual boring business trip where I had
to make do with working lunch during the day and I was returning so late it was
always the typical, Indian or Chinese menu at the hotel which tasted same like
every other hotels in small cities that I travelled. I was dying to try out
some North Eastern cuisine, especially pork dishes, which was high on my
priority list.
Maihang restaurant is now
situated on GS Road at Ulubari. When I had food there the restaurant was at
Bhangagarh on GS Road but it got shifted from there. This was recommended by my
colleagues so I decided to try my luck there.
The restaurant is quite spacious,
with typical Assamese décor complete with bamboo and mats. The staffs were
courteous. True to the name they serve food on bell metal dishes and bowl which
is a nice touch. The menu card was quite elaborate with a large array of pork,
fish, pigeon, duck and chicken preparations with choice of different kind of
rice including the “Red Rice” and “Black Rice”
After some serious discussion
with the waiters over the choice I had decided to order for Pork, Duck and
Fish. I chose to give the Pigeon meat a miss as I had tried this before but did
not like it. Less of meat and too much bones. The choice of fish was quite
interesting, most of them were known species to me but some were new. There was
choice of Boreli, Ari, Chital, Goroi, Kawoi, magur, Moa, Tenga and Hilsa. Boreli
is a favourite in North East and found in Bramhaputra. I choose a preparation
with mustard, or ‘sorse bata’.
Pork preparations came with
choice of Axoni, Mejinga, Bamboo Shoot, Black Dal or bitter gourd. There was an
option of ‘Pork Patot Diya” which the waiter explained me is smoked pork that
came wrapped in banana leaf. I had also ordered for Duck Meat with Gourd which
bore a warning sign of ‘three red chillis’ on the menu card. I had also ordered
for “Red Rice” which is actually dark red in colour and broken, something akin
to the rice used in Chinese fried rice. I asked the manager if they mix
something to produce this colour but I was told that it’s the natural colour of
the rice. This kind of rice is produced in Meghalaya and they get it from there.
The preparations were great. The
Duck meat was HOT and I mean real HOT, so much so I could feel smoke coming out
of my ears. The pork meat was amazing. The pieces were soft and succulent, with
a smoky taste with half meat and half laced with fat. The fish was rather
uninspiring. I was served a large ‘ring piece’ but Boreli is something like
‘Aar’ and unlike Hilsa or Bhetki, doesn’t have taste of it’s own. But the
mustard curry tasted real good. I read on the menu that in English “boreli’ is
basically “Fresh Water Shark”, hardly had bones and fatty and bit sticky meat.
Good dinner and the restaurant
carries my recommendation for anyone with a taste of North Eastern cuisine.
PARAMPARA:
Paradise Hotel, 1st Floor,
Near Goswami Service,
Silpukhri, Guwahati.
This is another traditional
place for typical Assamese cuisine. Also this is a place which gives pork
preparations a miss. Situated at Silpukhri this is a part of the Paradise Hotel
and situated on the 1st floor. As you enter paradise hotel, there is
a restaurant at ground floor that my confuse you but you need to go straight
upto 1st floor.
The restaurant is spacious
with comfortable seating arrangements. This is a ‘Thali’ special restaurant and
you will see everybody is ordering the ‘Thali’. The thali comes in various
prices and varieties. They do have separate non veg and veg items which include
some Chinese varieties but all are part of the one Thali or Other. It also
works out to be cheaper to order a Thali so you get to taste all the varieties.
There was a ‘welcome drink’
part of the thali. This turned out to be gooseberry or ‘Amla Juice’. Though it
didn’t taste all that bad but the green colour of the juice somehow puts me off
as it reminds me of ‘Dabur Amla Hair Oil’ of similar colour. Nows that’s not
exactly become an appetizer if your mind force you to think that you are
drinking amla hair oil instead of the juice that it was.
Anyway the ordeal was soon over and massive thalis and a huge
assortment of bowls landed in front of us. I felt like a ‘Jamai’ on his first
‘jamaisasthi’ at his in-laws place. The waiters silently and mechanically
started landing bowl after bowl on our tables.
A neat white heap of fine aromatic rice was placed in the middle and
apart from the typical Dal (lentil) and Alu Pitika (Alu Chokha) most of the
vegetarian dishes looked unfamiliar to me.
So we caught hold of the rather unwilling waiter and proceed to do a thorough
reconciliation of the visual with the printed data on menu card.
So one by one we went. There
was something that looked like mixed vegetable sautéed together which turned
out to be ‘Khar’. The designer fries that you see in the photo were probably
‘Kumro Phool Bhaja.
There were two more stuffs which looked like paste and
pickle. One was made from mustard paste, mustard oil and tamarind and called
“Kahudi”. Another pungent smelling & hot paste turned out to be “Khorisa”
which is essentially a mix of fermented bamboo shoot seasoned in mustard oil
and red chillies. There was “Mahob Guri’ which is powdered gram lentils with
salt, lemon juice and chillies.
We had ordered for Duck meat. Pigeon
meat was also a choice but I never liked pigeon meat because the previous
experiences were never pleasant. It only lots of bones with very less meat and
by no means value for money. Duck meat was prepared with pepper but somehow I
am not too keen on preparations with pepper. I prefer chillies to make dishes
hot. The steamed fish was good, wrapped in leaf as is our very own Paturi but
tasted quite different.
But the killer punch was at
the end and it was the sweet dish. Perhaps for this one dish only I will go
back again and again. This is Assamese called “Jalpan Pitha”. This is basically
fine translucent puffed rice spread over thick cream and topped with fine
‘nolen gur’ served in a separate container. The puffed rice was unique. I have never
seen similar translucent and crisp puffed rice in Kolkata.
So the ending sweet note was
simply great. This one is definitely recommended if you are in Guwahati.
KUNGA RESTAURANT:
51 Gandhi Road, Darjeeling
Though it is not North Eastern
but I thought I will include it here for the awesome Nepali & Tibetan food.
Kunga Resturant is small,
almost non-descript little eatery situated on Gandhi Road, Darjeeling. This is
the road near Keventer’s which leads to the Planter’s club.
Small it might be,
but this little restaurant offers one of the best Tibetan dishes on this part
of the country. Set up in 1993 by a Tibetan couple, this 24 seater joint offers
a wide array of Tibetan cuisine. If your mind is somehow restricted to Momos
and Thukpas when it comes to Tibetan cuisine you should have a look at their
menu card. If you are a connoisseur of meat, particularly Pork and Beef, this
place will enchant you. Before I came to Darjeeling I was generally making
enquiries about good eating places and I wanted to get beyond Glenerys and
Keventers. This place was recommended by at least four of my friends but none
of them could recall the name. However they were able to provide a pretty clear
idea about the location of this restaurant and I did not have much difficulty
in locating it. I saw the Trip Advisor certificate hung on the wood panelled wall
which proclaimed that the place is rated with four and half (out of five).
There was quite a crowd waiting for their turns during midday and I noticed a
significant population of foreigners amongst the waiting customers. We got our
place after half an hour since there were nine of us. We started with the
standard Pork Momo and the taste was awesome. The secret of tasty steam momo
lies in it’s juiciness and they sure have mastered the art. Other items on the
menu were Beef Noodles, and Thukpa Gyanthuk. You will also get Thenthuk and
Bhagthuk soups with a choice of Chicken, Pork or Beef. The noodles were
succulent and long which you can keep meandering up on the fork. A rarity these
days as all noodles taste dry and broken, even at some famed eateries in Kolkata.
The dumplings in the wonton soup also tasted great. So much so we went back on
the next day and had our fill with Beef & Pork Curry rice followed by some
thick and creamy mango milk shake.
This place had surely
maintained the quality from day one and Aunt Diki still cooks and supervises
the kitchen personally. She is a quite affable lady and you are likely get a
warm welcome from her as you step in. I liked the modest décor and the overall
ambiance. The good part is on a chilly night the proximity of the kitchen will
keep you warm and cosy, accentuated by equally warm hospitality of Aunt Diki.
The NAGALAND Experience:
CHINGTSUONG at Kohima
It was time to set foot in Nagaland.
I have been looking forward to trip for
a long time. Though I had been to most other states which are part of seven
sisters, I never had a trip to Nagaland before. Nagaland is exotic in every
sense, the scenic beauty, it’s people, it’s unique culture and of course the
Naga cuisine. All of it sets it distinctly apart from the rest of the country.
For a gastronomically adventurous person like me, Nagaland is like a wet dream.
It’s a land where anything that walks, crawls, slithers, swims or flies are
included as food, to the extent that cannibalism was not uncommon among few
warrior tribes.
It’s an insane world as far as food is
concerned. I did taste of Naga cuisine quite a few times at Guwahati.
There are several restaurants which serve good Naga food. The restaurant chains
like ‘Naga Kitchen’ & ‘Nagameez’ to name a few. However you can never
beat the authentic, so I was looking forward to an exciting &
gastronomically enriching journey in Nagaland.
My first stop was at Dimapur, at Assam,
Nagaland border. However Dimapur is just like another dusty, dirty commercial
town in Assam. It is too close to Assam border and you can’t hope to get a
flavor of real Nagaland at this border town. So all I did was to have
vegetarian food at a ‘Marwari Basa’ which I must say was awesome.
Next day it was time to climb the hills.
Kohima was some seventy odd kilometers drive from Dimapur through beautiful
winding ghat roads. As the car climbed up, the beauty of Naga Hills unfurled
before my eyes. The weather turned crisp and I could feel the nip in the air,
definitely a welcoming change after the sweltering heat of Dimapur.
Our branch manager at Kohima is Ruuvilie
Angami, an ever smiling guy in his mid-thirties. He belongs to the Anagami
tribe, the largest and most prominent of all Naga tribes. His ancestral home is
at a village called ‘Khonoma’ situated some 30 kms away from Kohima. I couldn’t
find a better person to accompany me on the food journey and he gladly took
charge. Ruuvilie himself is a foodie and a good cook. His only regret was he
could not cook for me and let me have a taste of authentic Naga cuisine as time
was a huge constraint. I couldn’t help but feeling sad. I had very little time
in hand as it was practically a day trip. So upon his suggestion, we decided to
have lunch at a small joint near our office where he said that I could have a
taste of authentic Naga cuisine.
It was a short walk from our office,
almost inconspicuous among a maze of ill planned and shabby looking buildings
at a street corner. The restaurant was on first floor. We climbed on the
rickety wooden staircase, ducking our head so as not to get bumped on the low
ceiling. It took couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust and focus in the
semi-darkness once we were inside the room. It was a rather small room with
plastic tables and chairs laid out to accommodate approximately 25 odd people.
Apart from a couple sitting at a far corner, the restaurant was empty. The room
was done up in wood and what first struck me was the décor. There was a small
counter at one end, giving the appearance of a tiny thatched hut. A small skull
of a monkey hung from a rope made of bamboo stripes in the middle. Around the
skull head a strange mane like décor made of dry leaves hung, giving it a
grotesque look. Just behind the skull, in a thin wooden frame the name of the
restaurant was made out using thin pliant cane which read ‘CHINGTSUONG’. I
couldn’t pronounce it and readers are free to draw their own conclusion.
Looking around I could see a galore of
skulls, mostly of small animals which looked like deer, lined up across the
walls near the thatched ceiling. On the lower part of the walls there were
skins of animals and birds stretched out. One I could identify as armadillo at
the cash counter. On one corner there was an array of large feathers which I
would presume of some large bird of prey. At the far end, on the wall, crossed
and decorated spears typical to Naga tribe were on display,. The décor gave me
a sense that this one is going to be different.
A look at the menu card confirmed my
hunch. It was a short two pager menu card, but the contents will either make
you puke or salivate, depending on your attitude towards different food habits,
even before sighting the actual food. And I presume the faint hearted or a
vegan wouldn’t dare venturing out at a Naga eatery. For me the general feeling
was ecstasy.
Yes it was everything imaginable, I am
not even mentioning chicken, who would travel to Nagaland for chicken? The menu
had the whole nine yards, pork and beef, both in fresh, smoked and dried
variety. Frogs are available, so is dog meat. Fat, Juicy worms & insects
will be served fried or boiled as you would prefer. A variety of
Fish including dry fish is available with ‘eel’ as special mention. For the lover
of organs, they serve beef innards, brain & tongue.
Another Naga delicacy is meat (pork,
beef or chicken) marinated with herbs and put into the hollow of the bamboo
nodes and slow cooked over fire. This is probably common in many tribal food
habits across India. The tribal communities of Andhra & Southern Odisha
also have the same preparation, though the process of marinating the meat and
herbs used may vary.
In Naga cuisine there is hardly any
concept of frying, mostly the meat is boiled or had in dried smoked form.
During long and bitter winter in the mountain, chunks of meat anointed with
salt are hung over the wooden stove at the kitchen of Naga households, and get
smoked over days. The meat gets preserved that way and the family continues to
survive on it, when they couldn’t go out hunting. Meat is often combined with
Axioni, or the fermented soyabean, Anishi, dried paste of Yam leaves and also
with bamboo shoots which are quite popular in the hills. The smell of fermented
soyabean combined with smoked meat can be overpowering for people not
accustomed to such cuisine. Not to forget the liberal use of famous
King Chilli and this makes some of preparation exceedingly hot to have.
Probably that’s why Naga cuisine is never so widely popular and only people
with acquired taste can appreciate the finer side of Naga cooking.
The menu also included ‘wild meat’ which
is said to be served only basis availability and price can only be decided at
time of placing the order. On inquiring what could be ‘wild meat’ the owner
simply replied anything that comes from the forest. Later Ruuvilie told me that this could range from
jungle fowl, wild boar, dear and even bears (yes you read it right, not a
typo).
But then isn’t hunting prohibited? I
asked in astonishment.
This is Nagaland sir, and hunting is in
the blood of the tribes and part of the tribal culture. So they cannot do away with
hunting.
That settled it for me I guess and I
turned back my concentration on the menu.
The sad part was most of the exotic
items were available against prior order and depended on availability. And I
was on a short notice, my neck on leash as I was on a business trip.
So I had to settle with the pork
preparations which were readily available. I choose pork with bamboo shoot and
smoked pork with ‘Anishi’, along with rice.
The main menu was simple. Rice was
served on a salver made of interwoven bamboo stripes with a large leaf laid out
on it. There was a heap of sticky rice, made out of locally produced rice
accompanied with boiled brinjal and boiled cabbage leaves. A small plate
contained pickle made from the fiery Naga Chilly. With over one million
Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) count, if taken carelessly this can make you end up
with teary eyes, running nose, burning tongue and lips and hiccups which will
refuse to stop.
Three other bowls were served. One bowl
contained a clear soupy liquid, with bits of vegetable floating which is called
‘thangma’ in the dialect of the ‘AO’ tribe. The other two bowls contained pork
with bamboo shoot (the whitish preparation as in the photo) and smoked pork
with ‘Anishi’ (the dark coloured preparation). Both contained mild gravy and
delightful chunks of pork with right balance of fat & meat. ‘Anishi’ is
prepared from the leaves of ‘Yam’ plant. The leaves are first pounded to make
into a cake and then dried over fire till it becomes hard and dark in colour.
‘Anishi’ is used as a delightful accompaniment with smoked meats, pork, beef
and even ‘eel’.
We mixed the ‘thangma’ and pork gravy
with the sticky rice. As goes the name, this is prepared from small, broken and
slightly aromatic rice produced locally and water is not fully extracted after
cooking so the grains become sticky. Both the pork preparations tasted great
and as I expected they were different from ‘pork with Bamboo shoot’ which I had
at Guwahati restaurant. I wouldn’t rate it good or bad but it was just
‘different’.
While I enjoyed both the preparations, I
repeat that it’s not upto everybody’s taste and most people may find the smell
of smoked meat, offensive.
The small course was followed by black
tea with lemon, served in wooden glasses. This was locally grown and brewed,
which Ruuvilie said, is taken as a digestive drink after a heavy meal.
The meal ended with special Naga
‘churan’ served in a wooden platter which one needs to take with a pinch of
salt. You can see the black powdered stuff in the photo. Again this is a Naga
version of Hajmola.
It was an amazing experience no doubt
and I promised to myself that I will come back here with more time to taste the
really exotic ones on offer. I just hope I will have the guts to go through the
meal.
