Warming Winter Delicacies From The Northeast

Winter, they say, is best savoured on a plate. Be it a nourishing portion of greens or a comforting curry, this season is known to serve up the choicest from nature and your kitchen. The Northeast of India abounds with diverse innate cooking techniques and culinary secrets that are worth unravelling. If you too are among those who have not gone beyond bamboo shoots and momos, we suggest you take some time out to dig into the warming winter delicacies from the region.

Bursting with distinct flavours and smells, these winter foods belonging to the country’s elusive northeastern states are also healthy and wholesome. From runny broths to spice-free sides, tease your taste buds with these intriguing ethnic preparations.

The Monpas love their bowl of Zan - a finger millet porridge made richer with season’s choicest vegetables. A rustic winter favourite in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Tawang district, the recipe for Zan includes chopped beetroot, carrot, green peas, corn, and green Chana, along with a handful of fenugreek and coriander Leaves and some pepper powder. With the temperatures plummeting fast during the cold months of the year, this warm bowl turns out to be quite comforting.

This Manipuri-style vegetable soup is high in taste and nutrition. All you need to prepare this bowl of comfort is chopped onions, red and yellow capsicum, mushrooms, spinach, and mustard leaves, along with a little ginger and chilli paste, soy sauce, and salt. Chi Al Meh is a delicious regional delicacy that can be whipped up in no time. So, you can bookmark its recipe for those lazy winter evenings when all you want to do is curl up and read.

Who can possibly say no to freshly fried yummy banana fritters on a crisp winter evening? Mizoram’s popular Koat Pitha is a bit similar to Kerala’s traditional Unniyappam. Made using rice flour, bananas, jaggery, black sesame seeds, and salt, this flavoursome Mizo delicacy makes for a perfect crispy tea time snack, which is enjoyed by the young and old alike. Many people in the hilly state also prefer this as a dessert item.

Magh Bihu, which falls in the month of January every year, is the perfect occasion to relish freshly made Til Pitha. Packed with the warmth of roasted and ground black sesame seeds, jaggery, rice flour, Tilor Pitha is a popular wintertime delicacy from Assam. An integral part of the Assamese Bihu platter, the making of these jaggery and sesame seeds stuffed rice flour rolls is a nimble art that demands years of practice and patience to attain perfection.

A special dish of Tripura’s ethnic communities, Gundok is a simple yet delicious preparation that resembles Manipur’s favourite delicacy, Eromba. It’s a mashed (or semi-solid) dish that uses fermented fish and loads of vegetables. Traditionally enjoyed by the Tripuris, Gudok is popular among the state’s non-tribal communities as well. The ingredients required for making the dish include yardlong beans, berma/ngari/fermented fish, potato, garlic cloves, green chillies, and salt. This warm, wholesome meal is perfect for wintertime indulgence.

A traditional Garo delicacy, Nakham Bitchi is regarded as a culinary gem from  Meghalaya. It’s a delicious bowl of soup, with dry fish and vegetables as its main ingredients. Also described as a palate cleanser, Nakham Bitchi is often served to guests before meals. Just a handful of ingredients are required to prepare this soup, including dry fish, eggs, cucumber, fresh green chillies, ginger, edible soda, and salt. It’s a nutrient-dense staple food of the state, mostly consumed during the colder months of the year.

Mustard leaves, taro roots, and salt are the only three ingredients you need to make this thick-textured dish from Nagaland. The most interesting aspect of this recipe is that it uses no spices at all, while the colocasia roots do lend a piquant taste to it. Best savoured with a bowl of boiled rice, this flavoursome delicacy originates from hilly terrains of the state, inhabited by people from the Sema community.

Now, who doesn’t know about Thukpa! A hot bowl of noodle soup, filled with the flavours of seasonal vegetables and pieces of chicken, Thukpa is a famous dish from Sikkim that has all the reasons to be your winter evening companion. A delicacy that has its roots in eartern Tibet, this bowl is also loved by the people of Ladakh and Nepal. The recipe includes chicken, egg noodles, whole spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper), onion, carrot, bean, capsicum, spring onion, tomato, coriander leaves, and salt.