The history
Eight states, hundreds of communities, and a food culture closer to Southeast Asia than to Delhi. Bamboo shoot ferments, smoked pork, sticky rice and fermented soybean have been eaten here for centuries, largely untouched by the Mughal and Persian currents that shaped the plains.
Boiling, steaming and smoking over frying. Very little oil, almost no garam masala. Heat comes from raja mircha (ghost chilli), depth from fermented bamboo shoot, akhuni and fish. Foraged greens and herbs do the work masalas do elsewhere.
