A different kind of Indian food
Travellers who know Indian food from the north or south are often surprised by the North East. The region's cooking uses far fewer dry spices and much less oil. Flavour comes instead from fermentation, smoke, sourness, fresh herbs and chillies, and from ingredients that are rare elsewhere in India: bamboo shoot, fermented soybean, black sesame, wild greens, river fish and pork. Rice, often sticky or red, is the staple everywhere except the highest valleys, where maize, barley and buckwheat take over.
Each state, and often each community within it, has its own food. What follows is a brief introduction by state, focused on dishes you can find and enjoy on a journey with us. Many of the best meals are in homes rather than restaurants, and we arrange family lunches and cooking sessions in every region we visit.
Two ideas help in understanding it. First, preservation: in a wet climate with long monsoons, people have long smoked, dried and fermented food to keep it through the year, and those techniques now define the flavours. Second, the forest: bamboo shoot, wild greens, ferns, herbs, mushrooms and river fish come from the land around each village, so what you eat changes with the season and the place. A meal in November in Shillong will not be the same as one in April in Kohima, and that is part of the pleasure.
Assam: sour, light and rice-based
Assamese food is subtle and comforting. A traditional meal begins with khar, an alkaline dish made by filtering water through the ash of dried banana peel, cooked with raw papaya, greens or pulses. It moves through dal, vegetable dishes, fish and meat, and ends with tenga, a light, sour dish, most famously masor tenga, fish cooked with tomato, lemon or the sour fruit of the outenga, elephant apple.
Duck cooked with ash gourd or black sesame is a festive favourite, and pork with bamboo shoot is common among many communities. Mustard oil and mustard paste give sharpness, and pitha, rice cakes in many forms, are central to festivals such as Bihu. Assam is also home to the ghost pepper, bhut jolokia, used sparingly in chutneys and pickles. Vivanta Guwahati, Diphlu River Lodge and Wild Mahseer all serve good Assamese food, and we arrange village meals near Kaziranga and on Majuli.
Meghalaya: Khasi rice and pork
Khasi food centres on rice and pork. Jadoh is red rice cooked with pork, ginger and turmeric, sometimes with blood, and is eaten at any time of day. Dohneiiong is pork in a rich, dark sauce of black sesame, and dohkhlieh is a salad of boiled pork with onion, ginger and chilli. Tungrymbai, fermented soybean, has a strong, earthy taste that divides visitors. Pukhlein, a sweet fried rice cake, goes well with tea.
The best place to try Khasi food is a small family-run eatery in Shillong, after a morning in Iewduh market, or a home lunch in a village such as Mawlynnong. Meghalaya also grows excellent oranges in winter, pineapples in summer and a local turmeric of high quality. Vegetarians will find simpler options: rice, potatoes, greens and lentils.
Shillong also has a lively cafe culture, with good coffee, bakeries and live music in the evenings, which makes a pleasant change after days of rice and pork. Many cafes serve Khasi dishes alongside Western food, a useful halfway house for cautious eaters.
Nagaland: smoke, ferment and fire
Naga food is bold. Pork smoked for days over the kitchen fire is the defining ingredient, cooked with bamboo shoot, dried or fermented, or with axone, a pungent fermented soybean. Boiled greens and vegetables accompany it, along with sticky rice and chutneys made with the raja mircha, one of the hottest chillies in the world. River fish, snails, and in some markets insect larvae, add variety.
The cooking uses little oil and few spices, and dishes can taste surprisingly clean despite their strength. Kohima's local market is a fascinating introduction, and a cooking session with a Naga family is the best way to understand the food. At the Hornbill Festival, each tribe's morung serves its own dishes. Nagaland is officially dry; rice beer appears only in traditional contexts.
Arunachal: butter tea and mountain grains
Arunachal's food varies greatly between its many peoples. In the Monpa valleys of Tawang and Dirang, food is Tibetan in character: thukpa, a noodle soup; momos; buckwheat pancakes; chhurpi, a local cheese; and a sharp relish of chilli and fermented cheese eaten with almost everything. Salted butter tea, churned in a wooden cylinder, is drunk all day and offered to every guest.
In Ziro, Apatani food is based on rice, fish raised in the paddy, smoked meat and wild greens, often cooked in bamboo tubes, with apong, a rice beer, served at gatherings. A family meal in a Monpa or Apatani home, arranged through your guide, is one of the most memorable food experiences of a journey through the state.
Sikkim: momos and beyond
Sikkimese food blends Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha traditions. Momos, steamed or fried dumplings filled with meat, cheese or vegetables and served with a sesame-tomato achar, are everywhere. Thukpa and thenthuk are noodle soups for cold evenings. Phagshapa is pork cooked with radish and dried chilli; sha phaley is fried bread stuffed with spiced meat; gundruk, fermented leafy greens, makes a sour soup. Sel roti, a sweet ring of fried rice batter, appears at festivals.
Sikkim also has its own tea from the Temi estate and a tradition of fermented millet beer, chhaang, sipped through a bamboo straw. Gangtok's MG Marg has good momo shops and restaurants, and our evening food walks introduce the best of them.
Dishes to look for
The table lists a handful of dishes worth seeking out in each state.
| State | Dish | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Assam | Masor tenga | Light, sour fish curry |
| Assam | Khar | Alkaline dish of papaya or greens |
| Meghalaya | Jadoh | Red rice cooked with pork and spices |
| Meghalaya | Dohneiiong | Pork in black sesame sauce |
| Nagaland | Smoked pork with bamboo shoot | The essential Naga dish |
| Arunachal | Butter tea and thukpa | Monpa staples |
| Sikkim | Phagshapa | Pork with radish and dried chilli |
| Sikkim | Momos with achar | Dumplings with sesame-tomato relish |
Eating well on a luxury journey
The best hotels and lodges in the region cook good local food when asked, and we always ask. At Ri Kynjai, Diphlu River Lodge, Wild Mahseer and the Elgin hotels, we request regional dishes for at least some meals, alongside familiar Indian and continental options. In smaller places, we choose eateries and homes where hygiene is reliable.
A few practical points: most dishes are mild, and chillies come in chutneys you can control; tell your guide about allergies and dietary needs in advance, especially for vegetarian or pork-free meals; drink bottled or filtered water; and be adventurous with fermented foods in small amounts at first. The food of the North East is one of the region's least known pleasures, and one of the most rewarding.
If you want to take flavours home, buy Assam tea at an estate, Lakadong turmeric in Shillong, dried bamboo shoot or axone in Kohima for the adventurous, and Temi tea or local cardamom in Sikkim. Pack fermented products well, as their smell is strong, and check customs rules for your home country before you fly.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
Is North East Indian food spicy?
Mostly not. The main dishes use few dry spices and little oil. Heat comes from chutneys and relishes made with very hot local chillies, such as the raja mircha and bhut jolokia, which you can take or leave. Ask for chutneys on the side.
Is there vegetarian food in North East India?
Yes, though less than elsewhere in India. Rice, lentils, greens, potatoes, bamboo shoot, cheese and vegetable momos are widely available. Assamese and Sikkimese food has the most vegetarian options. Tell your guide in advance, especially for village meals.
What is the most famous Assamese dish?
Masor tenga, a light, sour fish curry made with tomato, lemon or elephant apple, is the best-known. Khar, an alkaline dish, duck with ash gourd and pitha rice cakes are also essential. An Assamese thali shows the full range.
What is jadoh?
Jadoh is a Khasi dish of red rice cooked with pork, ginger, turmeric and other flavourings, sometimes with blood. It is the signature dish of Meghalaya, eaten at any time of day, and best tried at a small eatery in Shillong.
What is axone?
Axone, also spelled akhuni, is fermented soybean used in Naga cooking. It has a strong, pungent smell and a deep savoury flavour, and is cooked with pork or made into chutneys. It is central to Nagaland's food.
What does butter tea taste like?
Salty, creamy and rich, more like a light broth than sweet tea. It is made by churning black tea with butter and salt, and is drunk throughout the day in Tawang, Dirang and Sikkim's high valleys. It is warming at altitude.
Is street food safe in the North East?
Choose busy stalls where food is cooked fresh and served hot, such as momo shops in Gangtok. Avoid raw salads and unpeeled fruit from street stalls, and drink bottled or filtered water. Our guides recommend trusted places.
Can I take a cooking class in the North East?
Yes. We arrange home cooking sessions with families in Shillong, Kohima, Dirang and Gangtok, where you shop, cook and eat together. These are often the highlight of the food side of a journey.
What drinks should I try?
Assam tea, ideally at an estate, Sikkim's Temi tea, Monpa butter tea, and, where custom allows, rice beers such as apong in Arunachal and chhaang in Sikkim. Nagaland and Mizoram are officially dry states.
