Khushbu Kirti says the amalgamation of North Eastern cuisine with that of North was a unique experience at the culinary and cultural festival at Oudh Restauarant, Ashoka Hotel

My colleague and I entered the Oudh Restauarant at Ashoka Hotel to be greeted by an eye-catching tribal dance performance by regional troupes. Handicrafts and organic spices were displayed by the local artisans, showcasing their rich  heritage, while the ceiling was decorated with colourful flags.

While during the pre-covid times, Ashok had hosted the Arunachal Pradesh Food Festival, this time, they went a cut above with their North-Eastern Cultural Festival. The festival celebrated the unique gastronomical delights and heritage of the ‘seven sisters’ states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura — and Sikkim.

Inside the lounge, it was a well-lit buffet system and we quickly indulged in the wide variety of dishes it showcased.

In the starters, the soup warmed up our insides, and in a good way. It was very balanced with black pepper, spring onions, and noodles.

On the side, we had Singju which was basically salad made with banana stem that was chopped finely and banana flower, while Iromba was dry fish chutney that we paired with almost everything. Even though it was extremely hot, not exactly spicy, we couldn’t stop eating. As my friend said, “I cannot get enough of it.”

We started the main course with Puta, buckweed noodles that were bland, save one specific spice that made it taste well. It was excellent in the combination, along with the potato and cheese preparation.

The Assamese duck roast had the flavour of warm duck distributed nicely, with very subtle spices. It was a speciality of Nagaland.

While Chura pa was fundamentally potato in yak cheese, Kholar a Naga-style kidney beans preparation, Uti was a dry peas preparation, which tasted average, I especially enjoyed the fish — all variations of it.

Khorika was probably my favourite. It was an Assamese delicacy and not only looked delicious but tasted just as scrumptious. Server Vaishnav Kastoori informed us about how the dish was prepared with papda fish which was marinated in ginger-garlic paste and some spices (red chilli powder, turmeric and salt).

The fish had a bony structure, but it was very soft and since it was small, it was served whole. It mingled well with the Manipuri cooked rice they served in a banana leaf.

Chef Sanjay, the head chef at Ashok, explained, “To bring authenticity to the taste and give the Delhi-ites the authentic flavours of the rich North Eastern cuisines, we took help from the regional chefs who had organised some demos for us. They showed us the popular food items they had. From those, we picked some. This process took about a month and a half.”

He added, “The main challenge was to source the ingredients, like milk cheese, dried bamboo shoot flakes, since you don’t get them here. But overall, it was a lovely experience to learn something new and unique and blend the cuisines.”

We observed that 90 per cent of their food did not contain any oil. They used only organic food and ingredients they reaped for their food. Another aspect was that the food did not use any spice at all.

Haah pura, a colourful duck roast, with bones and dark-brown duck. It was soft and warm, and chewable.

Out of the desserts, the Chak-khao kheer or Manipuri black rice pudding triumphed the others by a huge margin. They were served in wine glasses and the luscious flavour of the kheer was soul-warming. It incorporated smashed sabudana in thick milk and the goodness of rice.

There was Koat pitha from Mizoram which tasted a lot like gulgule. The Sel roti had a tangy spice in it but mixed with sugar.

Khapse was like a sweet biscuit, from the Twang region. however, unlike the North, nothing had the pinaccle of sugar we were used to. The sweetness was extremely subtle. Probably good for health, eh?

Chef Arvind Rai, executive chef framed it well, “For someone who loves experimenting with food, Northeast India has a lot to offer, so much more than momos and noodles.”