Fermented Ethnic Foods Of Northeast India: Potential And Popularization

The process of fermentation is one of the oldest and most economical methods for producing and preserving foods.

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The fermentation process is also known to add flavour, increase digestibility, nutritional and pharmacological values. India is known for its diverse cuisine and food habits all across the globe. It has a multicultural heritage with various ethnic food habits spread across its vast geographical area. For instance, most parts of India have regional preference on using various spices in their food. But unlike other parts of India, north eastern regions have certain fermented food products in their dietary habit. This is associated with several social and cultural aspects of different tribes and communities living there for generations. This is very distinct from rest of Indian states, probably can be linked to their proximity to East Asian countries, where lactic fermentation is quite common.

North-Eastern region of India is comprised clusters of eight states namely, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Sikkim. The region can be physiographically categorized into the Eastern Himalayas, Northeast hills (Patkai-Naga Hills and Lushai Hills) and the Brahmaputra and Barak Valley plains. The people of these states have a very rich reserve of traditional knowledge owing to their livelihood in the hilly terrains. The native population possesses great knowledge of the environment and depends on the forests, plants and plant products for food and other purposes. Such food habits have passed from generations to generations and among their tribes and communities that have changed along with time according to their need and available food sources (Table 1).