Food of Idu Mishmi Community

Key Takeaways

• The staples of the community are rice, millets and corn.
• They also eat meat, fish and other vegetables.
• They follow indigenous way of cooking, such as smoking and usinf bamboo tubes and leaves to cook the dishes.

The staple foods of Idu Mishmis are rice, millet or Etale, corn kernels, rice grains, bamboo sprouts, and fresh dried fish and meat. Sweet potatoes are a popular snack. They brew local rice beer called Ebu. It is a regular and popular drink in the community and is commonly made and consumed in ceremonies and festivals. Like other tribal communities in these areas, Idus store food by smoking, drying and storing in the fireplace. They build a wooden three- or four-layer hanging shelf that hangs above a roof-mounted chimney. Each section has a specific purpose. At the bottom is a perforated shelf through which the smoke rises from the hearth to dry and smoke stored meat and fish. The other sections are used to store grains, seeds, firewood, etc. The main wooden frame of this structure is used to hang different types of bamboo containers for different materials and foods. Cooking of Idu dishes includes leaves, Anbu and bamboo. The main ingredients of their cuisine include raw spices and herbs collected from the surrounding forest.

Idu traditional rice

Cooking process

Traditional rice pack