ROOPAK GOSWAMI
Guwahati, Jan 31: Ingredients sourced from the hills and forests of Meghalaya and Assam featured prominently within the Republic Day diplomatic menu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, spotlighting the Northeast’s indigenous meals traditions at one among India’s most formal state events.
The multicourse menu, ready by NAAR below the management of Chef Prateek Sadhu, was served to visiting European Union dignitaries throughout Republic Day 2026. It marked the primary time an impartial restaurant curated a Republic Day meal at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Among the many standout dishes was jhangora ki kheer with Meah loon and white chocolate—a dessert carrying a refined but important imprint of Meghalaya. The ending aspect, Meah loon, is a salt infused with the Meah berry (Rubus ellipticus), a wild, seasonal fruit regionally often known as soh-meah and historically foraged throughout the Khasi, Jaintia and Ri-Bhoi hills.
Explaining the ingredient, Chef Kamlesh Negi of the NAAR staff mentioned, “Meah is just like the sumac berries of Nagaland, and loon is salt from Uttarakhand. Meah loon merely means berry-flavoured salt.” Used sparingly, he added, it lends mild acidity and mineral depth with out overpowering the dish.
Assam was represented by means of one other dessert—espresso custard with dates and uncooked cacao—made utilizing espresso beans sourced from Dima Hasao. The velvety custard was layered with dates, whereas uncooked Indian cacao ice cream launched a measured bitterness, illustrating how area-particular espresso and cacao from the Northeast might be elevated inside a nice-eating context.
In accordance to the cooks, the menu was conceived to showcase India’s dwelling Himalayan and Northeastern culinary heritage, drawing on forest ingredients, historic grains, fermentation, and gradual-cooking traditions.
For Meghalaya and Assam, the presence of Meah berry and Dima Hasao espresso on the Rashtrapati Bhavan desk signalled rising recognition of the area’s ecological and culinary range inside India’s diplomatic hospitality.
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