Having said that, there are very few if any places that serve dishes from places like Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and areas surrounding them.
At St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, the sizeable number of North-Eastern students set out to showcase a well put together variety of speciality dishes from their home towns, which were appreciated and enjoyed by the large crowds of visitors and students attending the festival — dishes that are commonly cooked and eaten in the lovely verdant regions of the ‘Seven Sisters’.
A walk around the stalls and a sampling of the unusual dishes on display, gave one a fascinating insight into the kitchens of North-Eastern homes.
“The food of Meghalaya has plenty of meat dishes in the daily cuisine. One important ingredient is the specially preserved fish or meat, which is either sun-dried or smoked over the fire, and widely used in a variety of cooking methods. A typical meal would consist of rice, one or two meat and fish dishes and of course a relishing dry fish soup that is a staple accompaniment,” say the students manning the stall and explaining
the exotic sounding names on the menus.
Overseeing the Khasi stall was a kindly matron, who runs a hostel for girls mainly from the North East. A large vessel held a rice dish called Jadoh. Cooked with pork gravy, onions, ginger and turmeric, it is characteristically yellow and also called khasi biryani.
Also on offer was Dohsiyar Chicken, cooked with different spices, notably the small round Khasi peppers which give the dish a distinctive taste and flavour.
Dohkhlieh, a type of salad made with boiled pork, onions and a sprinkling of chillies, was also an interesting side dish to go with the Jadoh.
True to form, the Tibetan stall had their ever popular momos and tupaks, while the dainty Manipur girls had their specialities in large plastic buckets and containers ready to be dished out.
“We put together a balanced menu for the event. Singju is a salad we made from shredded cabbage, cauliflower, methi leaves and fermented fish. The chicken curry here is cooked with our special spices from home and tastes very different. The dry pork dish with its peppery flavour goes nicely with the rest of the items,” said Payal, one of the volunteers.