The Indigenous Terra Madre: A Feast To Remember
Outlook Traveller|February 2016

A food fest organised by 41 indigenous tribes and attended by another 140 from 58 countries. The indigenous Terra Madre, held in Shillong recently, was a feast to remember. 

Madhulika Dash
The Indigenous Terra Madre: A Feast To Remember

It’s the captain worm,” said chef Joel Basumatari, as he ladled yet another cup of crunchy insect onto my dry leaf plate. The fat saffron-coloured worm looked like a mini yarn as it lay still on my plate, waiting for its turn to be tasted. At Rs. 2,000 a kilo, it was as priceless as good quality saffron. But was it worth a try? Having eaten a beetle and the silkworm earlier—which tasted rather like stiff prawns—it seemed like yet another test of guts, which the Taste Theatre had been so far, with mixed results. I kept inhibition aside as I popped the insect into my mouth like a tablet, with the other hand firmly wrapped around a cup of water, just in case. Then, I instinctively bit the flesh—it was gooey with a burst of flavour, rivalling any good pate at a fine-dining restaurant.

Was it the setting that made insect eating—the second time in my life— such an exhilarating experience, or was it the beauty of being surrounded by indigenous tribes whose traditional diets encompass these foods with ease?

I guess both factors were at work. I was, after all, at one of the biggest food events India has ever seen—the Indigenous Terra Madre (ITM) in Shillong, a city that boasts of a robust ethnic cuisine. In spite of the advent of pizza and burger chains, Shillong remains fiercely rooted in its approach to food—be it the early morning breakfast of laal shaa and red rice pancake, the meal of shaaq, smoked pork, pithal and jadoh in the afternoon or the spicy egg noodle soup dinner at night. If you’re lucky, you may even find home-brewed rice beer or wine.

This story is from the February 2016 edition of Outlook Traveller.

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This story is from the February 2016 edition of Outlook Traveller.

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