Delicious Arunachal thali attracting food enthusiasts in Delhi

GUWAHATI: Delicious traditional food items served to the visitors at the Arunachal Bhawan located in Delhi have been becoming a centre of attraction for the food enthusiasts.

To experience the flavor, one normally orders the traditional authentic chicken boil thali, fish fry and – on the recommendation of the chef, Rahul John – chicken boil with bamboo shoot.

The traditional dishes available there includes rice, dal, boiled potato mashed and mixed with raw onion, some boiled vegetables and the quaintly named, chicken boil.

The chicken gets its name from being boiled in chicken stock with no oil and very few spices and salt. When asked about the ingredients and from where they source it in the capital, Chef John said that the food in Arunachal is very low on spice and can be prepared with basic ingredients like garlic, salt, tomato and some green chilli unlike other states in the country.

“The only ingredient that we source from Arunachal is the fermented bamboo shoot as it isn’t prepared here. The shoots that we bring are first dried in the sun and then we soak them in water overnight or so to use it in the canteen so that the authenticity is maintained”, the Chef said.

While the thali was mouth-watering and unique in its flavors, the chicken boil bamboo does take a little getting used to for someone who has never tried bamboo shoots. The taste did grow on me, though.

The quaintly named Chicken Boil, a healthy portion of bamboo shot and a whole lot of flavor altogether turn the thali a delicious one. This Arunachali thali basically pairs the rice with meat, fish, green vegetables and other organic herbs.

It must be mention here that the food items in Northeast are staple and much like its landscape - simple, pristine and memorable.

One can have the taste of these traditional mouth-watering dishes on the occasion of Solung. Solung is celebrated by the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh in the first week of September. Solung is basically an agriculture festival where gifts of meat and local rice beer are exchanged, and offerings of crops are made to the local goddess for a good harvest and prosperity.

Hence, during this festival, the ingredients, spices and additional flavors will be an extravaganza in Arunachal Bhawan, Delhi.