Nalbari youth presented Northeastern cuisines in London

In an attempt to present Northeast Indian cuisines in front of the world, a Assamese youth from Nalbari, Chef Gautam Thakuria took part in an elaborate event in London for presenting and promoting the culinary culture of the state.

The event named 8 Sisters Meet aimed to showcase and celebrate the northeastern states of India. It was organised by the High Commission of India in London and supported by the Women of the North East Support Network along with the Nehru Centre. It was inaugurated on October 10 and will continue till October 14.

Although a majority of items are from Assam, the menu included dishes from neighbouring Nagaland and Manipur as well.

The tasting session kicked off with a traditional cooler. The thekera and pudina mojito was a perfect drink to start off the event. For starters, there was a crunchy dalir bor from Assam. And as a condiment, there was alu-koni pitika and cherry tomato chutney.

The guests had several options for the main course to go with steamed rice. Nagamese lamb stew, magur maasor logot dali (catfish with lentils), kaoi maasor xoite omora tenga (Assamese sour fish curry), Manipuri candied black sesame chicken, paror mankhor jhol (Pegion curry), kolfulor logot xoru guti alu (banana flower and baby potato fry), haahor mankhor logot kumura (Duck curry), mati maahor dalir xoite ou tenga (black lentils with elephant apples) and poita bhat aru pura goroi maas pitika (fermented rice with mashed roast fish).

Payokh (traditional rice pudding) and poka kolor pitha (ripe banana pancakes) were on the dessert menu of the event.

Chef Gautam Thakuria mentioned in a social media post that he prepared more than 14 unique, flavourful dishes from different parts of this region and tried to upgrade the cuisine to the next level for platting and global taste buds.

Educated in the culinary arts from the Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Guwahati, he now works as the Head Chef in a London-based eatery named Bayleaf. He has worked in multiple major hotels and resorts in India before shifting to London.

A gallery to showcase a host of traditional handicrafts, garments and jewellery from the region has also been created in the event.

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