Traditional Food Of Arunachal Pradesh:

Ngatok

, Apong, And More

Churpi

Churpi is one of the most unique ingredients in all of Arunachal Pradesh food, which is a hard, fermented cheese made from yak or cow milk, particularly common in the higher-altitude regions around Tawang and West Kameng. It is eaten raw as a chewy snack, added to curries, or cooked with green vegetables into a dish called chura sabzi.

Ingredients (for Chura Sabzi):

• Chura (flattened rice)

• Churpi (fermented yak or cow cheese), cubed or crumbled

• Seasonal vegetables and greens (spinach or local herbs)

• Ginger, garlic, green chillies

• Turmeric and salt

How It's Made:

The flattened rice is rinsed with water, then drained and rested for a bit. The seasonal greens and vegetables are cooked in hot oil with ginger-garlic and chillies. Then goes in the churpi cheese, which melts to create a curry. Then the chura is added and mixed with spices and salt, and then served. Some homes eat it plain, and some with steamed rice.

Pika Pila 

What sounds like what a desi Pikachu would say, pika pila is another cheesy dish made from bamboo shoots, hot chillies and pork fat. It is the most beloved condiment in the state and one of the most famous foods of Arunachal Pradesh. It is believed that the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh created this pickle to withstand heavy monsoons and harsh winters, which makes food scarce.

Ingredients:

• Tender bamboo shoots

• Pork fat (smoked)

• King chilli (Bhut Jolokia)

How It's Made:

The more aged bamboo shoots are used for this Arunachal Pradesh food, the stronger the aroma. The pork fat is first boiled, then the tender bamboo shoots are added along with the chillies. The whole thing is simmered and then taken off the heat and enjoyed with millet flatbreads or steamed rice. 

Ngatok

Ngatok is one of those dishes that stops you in your tracks, because of an ancient technique used to make it, that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere. Marinated fish pieces are wrapped in leaves and cooked in a stone pot alongside red chillies, tomatoes, and spices – a method still followed exactly as it was a century ago.

Ingredients:

• Fresh river fish, cut and marinated

• Bamboo shoot water (for tanginess)

• Lemongrass and local aromatic herbs

• Tomatoes, ginger, garlic

• Red chillies

• Banana leaf (for wrapping)

• Heated stone

How It's Made:

A stone is wrapped in a banana leaf and kept with cut fish pieces marinated in local herbs and spices. It is then covered in heated charcoal to cook. The unique cooking style renders a smoky flavour to the dish. What sets Ngatok apart is the addition of bamboo shoot water, which adds a unique flavour to the fish curry. It is particularly favoured by the Nyishi tribe and is best eaten with plain steamed rice.

Lukter 

An uncomplicated Arunachal Pradesh food is lukter, which is made from sun-dried meat, typically pork, cooked with dry red chillies, either King chillies or Bhut Jolokia, and local spices. Air drying meat is quite common in the state in every household as a way of preserving meat for when the local weather might make it hard to venture out.

Ingredients:

• Sun-dried pork (or beef, in the Tawang region)

• Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper) flakes

• Dry red chillies

• Salt and minimal local spices

How It's Made:

The meat is first sun-dried over several days to remove moisture and concentrate flavour. It is then cooked, dry, without gravy, with generous amounts of chilli flakes. Lukter has a smoky and spicy flavour and a chewy texture. Due to its popularity, lukter is also available in the marketplace, packed in bottles and zip bags. It is best eaten as a side dish alongside rice and pika pila.

Apong

Where there’s rice in abundance, there is a fermented drink, and Arunachal Pradesh’s version is the rice beer called apong. It is made by the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and the Mising tribe of Assam. The Adi tribe holds the GI tag for Apong. It is poured in offering to spirits before every sip, and no festival or gathering in the hills is complete without it. There are two primary varieties:

• Nogin Apong: Made by fermenting cooked rice with starter cakes made from local medicinal plants. It is lighter in colour and mainly prepared for everyday consumption.

• Po:ro Apong: Prepared with fermented rice and rice straw, which gives it a dark brown colour. Due to its high mineral content, Po:ro Apong is also used for medicinal purposes. It is reserved for weddings, festivals, and special occasions.

The total period taken for producing Apong beer is more than three months, and its alcohol content ranges from 18 to 25%. Beyond their cultural role, traditional varieties of Apong possess medicinal properties owing to the 39-plus medicinal herbs used in the starter cake – known to help with diarrhoea, body aches, inflammation, and headaches. It is served in bamboo cups, and drinking it without offering a few drops to the earth first is considered inauspicious.

Arunachal-ly Good Ending

Like a supportive parent, Arunachal Pradesh's food focuses on bringing out the best of the state’s seasonal produce, with dishes leaning towards boiling, smoking, and fermentation rather than frying. Across tribes, the foundation remains consistent: rice at the centre, supported by bamboo shoots, local herbs, and preserved meats that suit the climate and geography of this lush northeastern state.