The foodie in me

Food for me is much more than just sustenance. I love food. I enjoy trying out different cuisines. You might say, I am quite adventurous as far as trying out new food is concerned. I am ready to have almost anything that other people eat.

This is not to say that I am an expert or anything on food and cuisines. I do feel though that every cuisine has something to say about its people - its history, its culture, its origin, its geography etc. India, being a large and diverse country has a lot to offer in terms of different cuisines. To be honest, I love them all. I like the South Indian platter - tangy, spicy; I like Punjabi food - robust, buttery; I like Bengali food esp. the elish cooked with mustard seeds. But of course, the food from my region, the North East of India holds a very special place in my heart.

Food from the North East is all about simple yet delicate flavouring. The North East itself is a diverse region with a myriad number of communities and each of them has its own cuisine. Most of us from the NE are dedicated meat lovers esp. of pork. Each community has its own way of preparing various pork delicacies. The Assamese, the Meiteis of Manipur (my community) and the Bengalis of Tripura and Assam also love fish. The sareng thongba, the nga atoiba thongba, the maringkha ngouba are some fish delicacies I remember from home.

But of course, nothing beats pork, which to me has been specially created by God to tickle our taste buds. The Khasis and Pnars therefore have Doh Jem, Doh Khlieh and the ubiquitous Jadoh which taste best when they are made from pork. The Assamese have their pork tenga and the mizos have their voksa chhum. However among all of them though, I guess my personal favourite would be pork cooked in Naga style. For me naga food is all about simplicity. It goes to show that good food is not always about spices and elaborate techniques. Magic can be created with just a handful of ingredients. When I think of Naga food, I think of smoked pork cooked with bamboo shoot, some parboiled vegetables, a little chutney, a bowl of boiled dal/ mashed potatoes, a plate of white rice.... heaven in your taste buds. I also like pork cooked with akhuni or fermented soya beans.

The North East of India offers a diverse range of food habits and cuisines. The food of my own community, the Meiteis of Manipur, is something that I have grown up with. And for me, meitei food is about home, mom's cooking, childhood. Unfortunately, apart from the simplistic kangsoi, champhoot or the morok ametpa, I don't really know how to prepare any of the other dishes. Staying far away from home, sometimes, I crave for home style food. Even though I call up my Mom or my wife to ask for instructions, the finished product never seems to resemble the food at home.