26 traditional recipes from nine Naga communities collected for a book

Twenty-six traditional dishes from nine Naga communities were collected for documentation at a one-day programme in Mokokchung on Saturday, October 31, and are set to be compiled into a small recipe book.

The training programme on "Naga Cuisines" was organised by the State Agricultural Research Station (SARS), Yisemyong, with Watsü Mungdang at AOR Kilem, Mokokchung, according to the Mokokchung Times and Eastern Mirror.

Nine communities, 26 dishes

Representatives of the Ao, Lotha, Sumi, Phom, Konyak, Chang, Sangtam, Khiamniungan and Yimkhiung communities took part. The Tenyimi community could not attend.

Each community had been asked to bring two dishes, which would have made 18 recipes, but participants brought more, taking the total to 26, SARS Joint Director I Lipokonen Jamir said. Much of this knowledge has so far been passed down orally, and the programme ended with a community lunch of all 26 dishes.

Food, farms and enterprise

In his keynote, Jamir said the station has been conserving indigenous crops through seed collection, cultivation and gene banking, and that traditional food is closely tied to that work because many dishes depend on locally grown produce. If enterprises are built around traditional dishes, the farmers who grow the ingredients also gain, he said.

He said women were central to keeping cooking traditions alive and passing them on, which is why the station partnered with Watsü Mungdang, and he encouraged participants to look at food businesses based on indigenous cuisine. Nagaland's dances and songs are already well known, he noted, but food tourism remains an untapped opportunity, with dishes varying not only between tribes but within them.

Watsü Mungdang president Tianaro described traditional cuisine as an expression of Naga identity and belonging.

Food safety basics for new businesses

A technical session by N Hamche Phom, food technician with the state Health and Family Welfare department's food safety wing, covered what would-be food entrepreneurs need: FSSAI registration, packaging and labelling, declaring ingredients and allergens, hygiene and sanitation, keeping vegetarian and non-vegetarian items apart, refrigerating perishables like milk, meat and eggs, and keeping production records for traceability.

The session was chaired by Asungla, an executive member of Watsü Mungdang, and C Amei Phom of SARS Yisemyong proposed the vote of thanks. No date has been given for the recipe book's release.