Food culture of North Eastern India

When I was posted at Kolkata I had chance to visit whole of North eastern sector of India having seven smaller states with rich food traditions. One of the topics which generated lots of curiosity among many of my local friends was that of their food culture. There were always endless questions of what and how they ate, how they prepared their food and how it tasted and so on. I did not eat some of the items because those were not the ones meant for me although I was still a non vegetarian.

They were also intrigued to see the packets of fresh and sun dried herbs which we brought with us whenever I returned from my home city or back from my head office/regional office and was glad to see their happiness. Same was the case when I took some of the items to my area from there as many of our friends and family members had never come across those food items especially the herbs from north eastern area or were seeing them for the first time.

Unlike in other parts of India, people in North eastern states do not relish very oily or very spicy food. The traditional dishes consist mostly of steamed, stewed, sautéed, baked or stir fried seasonal vegetable which requires very less oil for cooking. So, smoked fishes and aromatic herbs are often used to increase the flavor of the food. Besides their culinary uses, many of these herbs also serve as a home remedy for different ailments. Here, I share some of these herbs that form an important part of our traditional food. Here are some of the items I would like to present perhaps you would be able to relate with them.

Hooker chive the Allium hookerii

In Imphal, the capital of a north eastern state Manipur it is also known as Maroi Napakpi in local language where I first saw this wonderful vegetation. It has a grass like appearance with broad succulent leaves. The roots are fleshy, long and fibrous. It grows round the year though but Hooker chive is more abundantly available during summers. A fully mature plant produces small white flowers but as it is mostly the roots and the leaves of the plants which are used as a spice, flowering of the plants is delayed as far as possible. Leaves are always handpicked from the outer side.  The roots of the plant have a strong earthy smell which is known to effectively repel insects.

The Culinary uses of Hooker chive

In local areas here the leaves of hooker chive are used as substitute of onion in preparation of mostly stewed curry and non vegetarian foods. In case of dishes like fish curry, lentils, chicken etc the shredded and grounded roots are used along with the leaves of the plants. The roots are however not used in the preparation of stew though. The leaves are also used as a main ingredient in some dishes like vegetable stuffed items like sandwiches and other local food items and most of local dishes prepared by baking gram flour with hooker chive, fermented fish, chilly, spring onion etc. The leaves of hooker chives are succulent and splatter oil when put directly into the oil. So, the washed chive is crushed thoroughly with hands before putting it on oil.

They say that Hooker Chive has certain health benefits though not much is known regarding as the medicinal uses of Hooker Chives, some ailments such as high blood pressure and stomach ulcer are known to be cured by the regular use its leaves.

Image source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_hookeri