Aheli Moitra
At a friend’s wedding in Mon, there were 20 different meat dishes for guests. The animals that made it to the lunch table had been bred on different types of grain, various kinds of meat had been dried using different methods, some had been cooked in spices found on jhum fields, some had the aroma of assorted jungle leaves, others had the essence of the fermented. In addition, the menu had different kinds of boiled, and boiled down, beans and vegetables – despite the mass cooking, they remained fresh. The rice and millets on offer held together the flavours deliciously. And then, there were the chutneys - tomato, chives, chillies, dry fish, ground meat - pestled and enmeshed into one another, in multiple ways, with slow care.
Naga food is rich in variety and flavour. Not having easy access to it outside Nagaland is enough to produce heartache in some, and loss of appetite in others. Not only are the ingredients difficult to find beyond the western shores of the North East, there are few recipes available on the web to make cooking these healthy slow foods easier.
Unlike, say, Korean food. One of its most popular YouTube ambassadors, Maangchi (moniker), makes Korean food accessible by making it fun to attempt in a regular urban kitchen. A YouTube sensation, Maangchi has also published her own cookbook—her channel is religiously followed by millions, some of who just enjoy the charming instructor she is, while many have successfully made Korean food a part of their culinary experience at home. Her work, however, entails more than helping people across the world access Korean food; it is also to innovate. She constantly updates her recipes, makes awesome motherly jokes, cooks in an assortment of kitchens, including outdoors, with just as many utensils and tools. On YouTube since 2007, Maangchi’s channel has more than 3.5 million subscribers and her videos have had more than 390 million views! Imagine her contribution to popularizing Korean culture!
Simple activities like these not only demystify cultures but also integrate the people of the culture with the world community, drawing warmth and love as food and beverage is shared over mass media.
There are several videos of Naga cuisines on YouTube too. One of the most consistent uploads is from ‘Apei Eats’ but her work entails cooking and eating, often with her husband, food from all over the world—her anecdotes and chats are fun to watch. ‘Nagaland Foodie’ is more regular with Naga food recipes; there are others like ‘Becky Makes Stuffs’. Most other videos on Naga food exoticise it, remaining either stunned or so madly impressed that they forget to tell us where to procure ingredients from or how to cook a dish.
With no bar on technology today, Naga cuisine can become the tastiest item on the slow food international menu, even exporting ingredients only found in these hills. Nonetheless, kudos to the people who made this contribution to the planet!
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