The Seven Sister States, also called ‘Paradise Unexplored’, is the name given to the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in north-eastern India. It is mainly because of their geographical features and volatile political conditions that these states have remained largely inaccessible.
Just like the culture of these states, their cuisine and food habits have also remained more or less unknown. My journey through this part of the country brought me into contact with India’s estranged brothers and sisters. I connected with them through the languages I know best—love and food. As always, I came home enriched. This soup from the state of Mizoram is an example of that unexplored yet exceptional cuisine.
Spice paste
2 (large) onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 piece ginger, roughly chopped
3 dried red chillies
Soup
1 tbsp oil
2 stalks lemon grass, crushed
1 tbsp curry powder (p. 22)
1 tsp fresh turmeric, crushed
200 ml coconut milk (p. 16)
1 tsp salt or to taste
½ cup fresh button mushrooms, quartered
1 cup noodles, boiled
½ cup American corn
½ cup cucumbers, cut into batons
½ cup spring onions, finely chopped
½ cup carrots, cut into juliennes
½ cup sole fish, steamed and flaked (optional)
Soup In a blender, combine spice paste ingredients with about ¼ cup water and grind to make a smooth paste. Put oil in a pan over medium heat. When hot, add lemon grass and ground spice paste and sauté for 1 minute. Mix in curry powder and turmeric and continue frying till aromatic. Reduce heat to low and stir in coconut milk with 200 ml of water and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Mix in remaining ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.