Nourishment from the kitchen of Nagas

Spell the word ‘naga’ and the image of headhunters with tattooed-faces brings on a strange feeling. Nevertheless, the minute one mentions Naga food, mouth starts watering with the thought of smoked meat and dried fish boiled to perfection and cooked in herbs from the North Eastern part of the country.

The taste of food is as relishing as the thought at Nagaland’s Kitchen, situated in the heart of Green Park Extension Market.

In addition to authentic food from Nagaland’s cuisine, a pleasant surprise is the
inclusion of Chinese and Thai dishes on the menu. This makes the place popular not just among North easterners but also those Delhiiites who have developed a taste for
this cuisine.

Beware of the drinks and restrict yourself to only food, which is worth every penny. From the appetisers to the mains, all deserve a thumbs up. Especially the appetiser Sliced pork with coriander roots and fresh green chilli which is pan fried succulent slices of pork tossed with coriander roots and bell peppers in a mix of red chilli sauce, soya sauce, sesame oil and Chinese wine. The skilled preparation adds to the exquisite recipe.

A similar experience is to taste Chicken dragon roll that has Thai roll sheets with filling of well-boiled minced chicken, mixed with veggies and chilli paste. It makes one salivate over each bite in contrast to the bland Fish banana leaf. The latter is not as impressive as its name because the steamed Sole fish lacked the spice suited to the North Indian palate. When dunked in the lime juice served along with it, it tasted better though.

The vegetarian appetisers - Chilli mushroom with baby corn and Crispy Thai veg in Nam Jim Sauce, are prepared with common vegetables but stand true to their authentic cuisines, that is, Chinese and Thai. While the former gets its taste from oyster sauce and Chinese wine, the latter gives it fierce competition due to its garlic sauce base.

In mains, the Nagaland cuisine comes into play as Metrolife tries out Chicken Bamboo shoot with Naga Ginger and Fish Robu. Both dishes are plain boiled but the presence of Naga herbs make them peculiar to the place. The aroma of mustard leaves and Naga ginger in fermented chicken tickle the nose while dried yam leaves and Naga pepper make the fish a must try! The accompaniment, Akhuni chutney is average but the Dry fish chutney is an interesting blend of dry fish and yam leaves.

Inclusion of a lot of herbs and absence of oil makes these dishes quite authentic but Metrolife couldn’t resist trying the other cuisines too. Hence, the discovery of Crispy noodle salad, made of fried noodles, tossed in lemon juice and light soya sauce - an extremely tangy version of bhel puri.

With no option to try a Nagaland dessert, one must pop in the crisp Date pancake that has a slightly chewy filling of dates in a sheet, deep-fried and coated with honey and sesame seeds for a perfect finishing! Lest we mention, the service is not very appetising. Thankfully, the food is!