Exquisite and unique: On a Northeast India street food trail

Northeast India is a gorgeous part of the country, brimming with natural beauty. Besides natural attractions, the northeastern region is also talked about for its unique cuisine. The food here is rich and healthy at the same time. For a hungry soul who loves experimenting with food, Northeast India has a lot to offer. From Nagaland’s delicious pork chops and Manipur’s fragrant red rice, the seven states’ cuisine is absolutely delicious and so much more than momos and noodles! Here are some of the main street food dishes from each state that define their unique culture and tradition.

Nagaland is a paradise for non veg food lovers. The destination has a plethora of options when it comes to non veg delights and one among this is smoked pork. It is served as a soupy noodle dish with the brown sauce topping. Remember all the dishes in Nagaland are served with Raja Mirchi and Bhut Jholokia, the hottest chillies known in the world!

Phagshapa is a spicy but extremely healthy street food dish of Sikkim. The dish is made of pork, radish and a lot of interesting chillies and spices. Served hot with chapati or rice, this dish will tingle your taste buds like never before!

For those who love eating rice, this dish is an absolute delight. The dish is made using bamboo shoots, rice flour and fermented fish and tastes amazing. Bamboo shoots are considered extremely healthy and the dish uses no oil.

This one is locals and visitors’ absolute favorite Assamese dish! It is a soup made of rice noodles and mixed with chicken, prawn, pork or fish. A whole lot of coconut milk, tamarind and local herbs are also used to cook this soulful broth.

You’ll find several vendors selling kelli chana or spicy peas on the streets of Manipur. There’s an interesting tale about how the dish got its name. As per locals, there was an old lady whose name was Kelli. She would sit under a large tree and make this spicy chana dish, using homemade spices and herbs. Soon, she started selling them on a lotus leaf and these became everyone’s favourite. Now kelli chana is one of the most popular street foods of Northeast India.

This is a famous rice dish and locals prepare it in brass utensils. The serving of the dish is quite unique as once the rice is cooked, it is wrapped in leaves and served hot. The aroma of this steaming rice will make you hungry even if you are in no mood to eat!

This one is among the most popular Mizo street food delicacies, which is prepared with steamed vegetables, pork, spinach and bamboo shoots. This pork dish uses a lot of local vegetables too, and can also be prepared without pork for vegetarians.