FOOD HABITS OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH

 ARUNACHAL PRADESH     

Arunachal Pradesh is amongst one of the 29 states of India. It holds the most north eastern position amongst the states in the North East zone.

Women dancing during Solung Festival

You must be interested to know about the distinct food culture of Arunachal Pradesh. The first thing you should know about Arunachal Pradesh food is that it differs from tribe to tribe. There are approximately 26 major tribes and more than 100 sub-tribes in Arunachal Pradesh. Cuisines of Arunachal Pradesh vary as per region, according to the tribal influence. Cuisines of this zone of India are really nutritious. Fried food is not very popular here as the people like to eat either Boiled or Smoked food. You would find the culture of Arunachal Pradesh different from the rest of the country.

Bamboo Rice

Rice is the staple food of Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh various varieties of rice are available here. The main source of food everywhere in Northeast is rice but in Arunachal Pradesh people are more focused about rice. People prefer to have rice in the morning, afternoon, as well as at night. Now you can conclude that the Arunachalis are fond of Rice. You would be amazed by knowing that their way of cooking rice is also different from the plains. Arunachalis prefer to cook their rice in the Hollow Bamboo over hot coal to give it a sundry flavor than other types of rice.

Apong (Rice Beer)

Rice is also used for making an alcoholic beverage popularly known as Apong or Rice Beer. Apong is a traditional drink of Arunachal Pradesh and forms an important part of Arunachal Pradesh food. This beer is home-made, light on buds than other commercialized alcohols, and is free from chemicals. It is made from fermented rice. There are varieties of rice been found with different flavours. During festivals, it is drunk out of a bamboo shoot. Mopin is a Adivasi festival held during the month of April in the region of West Siang Dist. From where I belong, in which gallons of apong is prepared.

Boiled rice cakes wrapped in leaves is also a famous snack found in Arunachal Pradesh.

Smoked "Mithun" Meat

Meat is the main delicacy of Arunachal Pradesh. Untill now, I have not met a single Arunachali who doesn’t love meat be it Chicken, mutton or pork. People prefer having either boiled or smoked meat or fish instead of frying it. Pork is cherished with rice by most of the tribal people. They also consume animals like wild rat and deer. And the most common meat which is highly consumed is that of “Mithun” (Bos frontails). You would be amazed to know that People also consume some kind of insects. I remember myself, sometimes even I used to find Tari (a kind of insect) under the stones because my friends loved eating that.

The common feature of tribal mode of preserving meat is roasting it in the fire which makes the meat very hard.

Bhut-Jolokia

Lukter is also the best part of Arunachal Pradesh food. It is made up of cooked dry meat or fish and chilly flakes from Bhut Jolokia. Lukter is a side dish which is to be eaten with rice. It is produced by crushing the above ingredients. And it has a pleasant flavor.

People also consume green vegetables in large quantities. Boiled lettuce is highly consumed by the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

Bamboo Shoot used in a dish

Bamboo shoot is widely eaten through all over Arunachal Pradesh. It is a chief component of Arunachal Pradesh food. The Arunachalis use Bamboo Shoot in almost every dish as a main ingredient. It is also used for making chutneys and pickles. The specialty of Bamboo shoot is that it keeps one very hot in winter; therefore it is very useful for winter as it has more heat than the Beef meat.

I hope, you found the tribal food culture different and interesting from the plains…

Arunachali (man)

Arunachali (woman)