Cuisine in Nagaland

There is no denying the fact that Nagaland has unique cuisine compared to other Indian states, from silk worms to ghost pepper, and 'no' momo is not a Naga dish. If you are a foodie looking for a grub in Nagaland, the state provides a plethora of dishes that may look bland but are full of flavours. Delicious non-vegetarian items stuffed in your plate would ideally be pork infused with the spices and ingredients like bamboo shoot and axone/akhuni. There are different ways to make pork, smoked pork is simply hung to dry above a big fireplace (ideally outdoor fire) and after a week long wait it is finally ready to be consumed by slightly burning them making it crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Smoked pork stew is similar to dried pork (smoked) only they are thinly chopped and added in gravy along with potatoes, tomatoes, and chillies. The most famous and favourite pork dish is when made in dry bamboo shoots.

Naga dish does not start and end with the pork itself; there are also vegetarian dishes that make a perfect meal. There are a number of boiled vegetable dishes mixed with cabbage, long beans, and melon complimenting the meat and rice. In this case, mixed beans and bitter melon make a great side dish, a healthy mixture of beans, tomatoes, peas, cabbage and other varieties. Nagaland is fond of chillies and Naga ghost chilli sauce will simply make you blow fire from your mouth. There are another assortment of chilli sauce as well such as Eel chilli sauce and Crab chilli sauce. These two spice up a meal giving that lip smacking feel, it is a guarantee just a spoon will be more than enough. Not only does pork and vegetables play a huge part in Naga cuisine even fish are prepared with great enthusiasm. The Naga style steamed fish is simple yet authentic and it is not difficult to make. With a hint of ingredients such as bamboo shoot or akhuni your delicious fish curry is all set to be consumed. Rather, small fishes are stocked inside a bamboo tube which is a traditional way to cook in Nagaland. The trick is to store the fishes infused with varieties of spices and dig it deep under the ashes of the fire to cook.