Go gaga in Naga kitchen!

Being and avid eater of all things porcine, in whatever form it is served, it would be hardly illogical for me to love Naga food. One must acknowledge the people of Nagaland for conjuring such simple but fabulous dishes of pork and a variety of meats ranging from Dogs, spiders, beef, crabs, cats, chicken and even elephants. Not exactly a vegetarian’s haven in Nagaland.

What makes their food unique is the stark simplicity in cooking, less use of oil and use of really hot chilies and the employment of a variety of cooking methods like fermenting, drying and smoking. Bamboo shoot is used extensively, dried, fermented or fresh.

My quest for an authentic Naga experience in the city finds adequate satisfaction in Naga Kitchen, in the tiny lane right opposite A.I.D.C. I remember my earliest associations with the restaurant back in my school days, when it was hardly a restaurant. It was just a tiny room in the building with two tables, a sofa and a coffee table run by the owner, pretty much a one man army. From those humble beginnings, it is now a nicely done up eating joint. The restaurant is of a cozy size, with a homely feel partly because of its non commercial looking settings at the ground floor of a house. The interiors are quite unique with hand crafted bamboo work which is really hard not to notice and appreciate. Everything is hand crafted with bamboo or wood starting with the menu card to the lamp shades and curtains. The plates and serving dishes used to be of wood.  They have recently expanded the space in the restaurant with a neo-ethnic style of interiors.

Now comes the best part, not surprisingly, the food. Traditional cuisines of the North East need some acquiring of taste especially with certain recipes and ingredients. As the case with Naga food, one must be able to eat chilli and the more daring can deal with the pungent taste of certain ingredients like akhuni (fermented beans). The proprietor of the restaurant tells me that they import traditional ingredients from Nagaland.

The Naga curry, consisting of crushed potatoes and tomatoes , which comes with either smoked or fresh pork shall be usually found on any table I am eating. So will be the Smoked Pork with Dry Bamboo Shoot, my personal favourite. It comes with shredded dry bamboo shoot which is usually not available elsewhere. One can also go for the non dried bamboo shoot.  Another dish worth trying for the adventurous is the smoked /fresh pork in Akhuni or fermented beans. It is quite pungent but I loved the flavour. There is pork in Anishi which is cooked in fermented yam leaves and has a smokey taste. Other pork dishes like with yam, Lai saag leaves or pumpkin is also available.  Servings of rice are slightly small.

For non-pork eaters, chicken and fish dishes are also available. Chicken comes in the same bamboo shoot variations as pork. I tried fish in bamboo shoot and vegetables which was very hot. A thali is also available that comes at a great value of Rs 75/-. The fried pork, usually had as snacks is also popular.

All in all, if you crave for Naga cuisine but don’t have the time or the resources to travel all the way to Nagaland just for a bite, try Naga Kitchen. You’ll be happy you did!

(published in The Eclectic, August 2010)