A glimpse of Meghalaya through its cuisine

To the residents of Navi Mumbai and the cityrsquos food lovers in general Meghalaya House in Vashi is a bit of a delicious puzzle For the state bhavanrsquos canteen serves food that is predominantly from Kerala and attracts as many customers as the neighbouring Kerala House does mdash customers who crave for a helping of red rice a scoop of avial or a slice of karimeenGitika Saikia who promotes Northeast Indian cuisine through workshops popups and cookery shows with Meghalayan dishes Daineiiong Nakham Bitchi and Dohneiiong at her Malad residence PicsSayed Sameer AbediBut as the current canteenrsquos contract with the bhavan draws to a close the House as of now plans to serve more Meghalaya dishes at its new canteen which will be open around next month says an official from the state bhavan The move will no doubt warm the heart of the experimental food lover for as we learnt the hard way during the course of this article catching a whiff of the food let alone tasting it is a task that can leave even the most determined food lover frustratedGinger used in the Northeast is of a smaller kind Right Pork stew with mustard leaves PicMandy NongkynrihChutneys sesame seeds and dried fishOver a meal of Meghalayan dishes such as Nakham Bitchi a dried fish based souplike dish Dohneiiong smoked pork made using sesame seeds and Daineiiong black spicy dal made with sesame seeds and green chilli at Gitika Saikiarsquos Malad residence the 36yearold who promotes Northeast Indian cuisine through workshops popups and cookery shows remembers her earliest exposure to the cuisine at Cotton College Guwahati where she spent many days attempting to roast dried fish over the flame of a candle with her roommates ldquoEvery girl from the hills had a bottle of dried fish with herrdquo chuckles SaikiaSaikia grows a kind of coriander unique to Northeast Indian cuisine at home RightDried fish is very popular in MeghalayaTiny dried fish is roasted and then ground in a mortar and pestle It is most popularly consumed as a chutney called Tungtap made using other ingredients such as onions and dried chillies There are other chutneys as well which are intrinsic to the cuisine Bamboo for instance is moulded into a chutney and consumed with a side serving of red sticky riceSaikia points out that clubbing the cuisine under the convenient but misleading umbrella term lsquoNortheast Indian cuisinersquo is not politically right as even within Meghalaya food habits differ depending on the tribe you belong toUnabashed love for porkThe state of Meghalaya comprises predominantly three tribes mdash the Khasis Jaintias and Garos Slight variations aside Garos for instance use sodium bicarbonate in chicken and dried fish dishes the tribes are united in their love for sesame seeds dried fish rice beer and of course smoked or boiled meat especially porkAnd while on the matter of pork Saikia talks about Jadoh mdash the word that can apparently make any Khasi Jaintia or Garo salivate ldquoWhat dosa is to Tamil Nadu Jadoh is to Meghalayardquo says Saikia Jadoh literally means rice and meat mdash in the authentic version of the dish rice grains are soaked in animal porkchicken blood and is cooked along with the animalrsquos offal ginger onions and minimal spices Another Khasi delicacy is Dohkhlieh For this the pigrsquos head is cleaned well before boiling The tender meat is then chopped into tiny pieces The brain of the animal is boiled in a banana leaf and added to the meat with sliced onions chillies gingerOf herbs and bambooMandy Nongkynrih a Santacruz resident and a Khasi remembers her numerous expeditions to the hills as a child to pluck mushrooms which are widely available in the hills ldquoBut you have to be careful while choosing them as some of them are poisonousrdquo she adds She also explains that stews much like the cuisine itself are low on spices but high on meat and boiled vegetables Consumed with steamed rice stews form a part of every Khasirsquos staple diet ldquoThe quality of the pepper ginger and turmeric that we get in the state is excellent and of export qualityrdquo she points out Other local favourites include the ricebased Pumaloi and Putharao which according to Mandy visually resemble idlis and appams respectively While Pudoh is made from rice powder and pork Pukhlien made out of fried rice batter and jaggery is another popular snackAnd then there are the herbs that add a zing to the food Shillongbased entrepreneur and baker Ribhamon War says that some herbs are readily available in the backyards of residentsrsquo cottages where they maintain their own kitchen farms ldquoOne such popular herb used is Jamyrdoh People eat this in saladsrdquo explains War Delhibased Emarine Kharbhih also a Khasi is popular among friends for her cooking skills She adds that people use the lsquobamboo hollow cooking methodrsquo wherein meat and rice are stuffed into a bamboo cylinder ldquoTungrymbai which is fermented soya beans cooked in pork fat is also another Khasi delicacyrdquo she addsComplain to Saikia that Meghalaya food is not readily available in the city and she bemoans the fact that people have deeprooted misconceptions about the cuisine ldquoWhen I say Northeast Indian cuisine people either think we only have momos eat anything that crawls or that the cuisine is Bengali foodrdquo she shrugs helplessly But with the new outlet at Meghalaya House herersquos to changing those notions