Now that you know axone, it’s time to learn about these other North Eastern ingredients

Real food of India has always been more than butter chicken and naan. And nothing reinforced that more than the new Netflix movie Axone by Nicholas Kharkongor. Set around a “smelly” North Eastern ingredient made out of fermented soybean paste, axone (pronounced akhuni) is typical not just to India but also other south Asian countries. It’s a more potent version of miso, which is used to add a massive dash of umami to stews and gravies. The way the movie unfolds around axone shows how little we know about ingredients from the seven sisters. To delve deeper, we looked to The Essential North-East Cookbook (Penguin Random House India) by author Hoihnu Hauzel, to throw light on other ingredients from the region that make up the cuisine.

Raja chillies

Fiery hot, round, red chillies, the size of gooseberries, they are found only in the jungles of Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. 

Repchi

These are small, green, round chillies, smaller than a green pea. They are found in the jungles of Nagaland and frequently used by the Ao tribe, often dried and preserved like any other chilli. When the Ao make their chutneys, a little repchi is always added.

Tangmo

A sour powder made from the bark of a tree whose botanical name is Rhuft semieliata, it is not available outside of the North East. You can use lime juice as a substitute if you see a recipe call for it.

Lengmaser

This herb from the tulsi family is found in the jungles of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. The flower of the plant is used in cooking, and it can give the blandest dish a fresh flavour and aroma. It grows as a shrub and many people of the North East cultivate it in their kitchen gardens. It is a seasonal plant, and in season, fresh flowers are used, which are also dried and stored for future use when the plant is not flowering.

Angoithi seeds

These are jungle chillies; use black pepper as a substitute.

Bamboo shoot

Bamboo shoot is an essential ingredient of North Eastern cuisine and is now available in the markets of many large cities across the country. In case fresh bamboo shoot is not available, you can use the canned ones. They are also available in fermented form.

Fermented fish

Fermented fish is prepared locally by many tribes of the North East, and the Tripuris and Meiteis are particularly fond of adding it to their preparations to add zing to the dish. Fish, preferably river fish, is washed and packed into an airtight container—as much as can be pressed in. It is then left untouched in a corner of the house for a week. In this time, as the process of fermentation completes, it develops a certain pungency.

Indigenous soda 

Many tribes of the North-east, like the Hmars of Manipur, Garos of Meghalaya and Bodos of Assam use an indigenously prepared alkaline liquid that they call soda. It is made by burning the dried trunk of a banana tree and mixing the ashes with water in a container.

Parkia

The fruit of the parkia tree, which is found almost all over the North East, is used as a herb. It is long, light green in colour, and has a strong aroma. It is called by different names by the different tribes. In Manipur the Paites call it zongtah, Meiteis call it yongchak while the Mizos call it zongtrah. It is called satau in Thai. Since it is a huge tree, it's not easy to pluck the fruit. 

With permission from Penguin Random House India

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