Month: November 2016

My Experience at Nagaland Hornbill Festival 2014

Our reader Priyanka Mhatre from Mumbai, shares her Hornbill festival with Roots and Leisure. In December 2014, one of my friends Radhika asked me to join her on a trip to Nagaland. It was a random plan with a fleeting mention about a festival called Hornbill. I always loved impromptu plans, so I agreed to go with this one as well. Luckily, we had a friend from Nagaland, who helped us book our tickets to reach the festival through a convenient route. With just a week left for the trip, I thought of looking up the web to learn more about Nagaland and the Hornbill festival. My Google search results threw up pictures that looked amazing. Apparently, the festival was organized in a hilly area where the local tribes participated to showcase their culture and lifestyle. I also came to know that our Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi was scheduled to grace the festival with his presence. This wasn’t some obscure festival after all. I was going to be a part of something big! I …

Come, Be a Part of Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival 2016

Published by Roots & Leisure

Hello there! It’s time to set sail on a journey to discover the undiscovered. The “festival of festivals”, Hornbill Festival 2016 is set to enthrall visitors from across the globe in the mystical North Eastern state of Nagaland. About the festival The Hornbill festival is named after the Hornbill bird, one of the state’s most venerated bird species that finds mention in a number of tribal cultural expressions. As one of the largest celebrations of indigenous warrior tribes of Nagaland, it is only fitting that the festival draws its name from Hornbill. The Hornbill Festival is held at Naga Heritage Village at Kisama near Nagaland’s capital city, Kohima. The Nagaland state government organizes the Hornbill festival every year from December 1 – 10. The first festival was held in the year 2000. This year, three other districts in the state : Dimapur, Mokokchung, Phek– will be given the opportunity to host the mega festival this year – so the festival will be spread across multiple districts this time. The aim of the festival is to revive and protect …

Recipe | Fried Spider with Curry Leaves

Published by Vilme

Are you feeling adventurous? Have you ever tried eating spiders? We recently tried it and added an Indian twist by incorporating curry leaves into the recipe. Despite some initial hesitation, we found the taste to be surprisingly delicious! Ingredients: (From top left – clockwise): Fresh king chili, bamboo shoot juice, garlic, ginger, curry leaves Ingredients: 3-4 cloves of garlic 3 tablespoons of bamboo shoot juice 1 king chili (bhut jolokia) 250 gms of Spider (here we have used edible spider from the local market) Fresh curry leaves 500 ml water Salt to taste Directions: Add the spiders, the bamboo-shoot juice, and crushed garlic into a saucepan and keep stirring for 3-5 mins Add water and salt, and let it come to a boil. Cook for 20-25 mins When the water is drying out, put in the curry leaves and cook for another 2 mins

Meet Anen | ‘The Little Baker’ from Nagaland

Published by Roots & Leisure

Today we chat up with Anen Imti – the baker behind ‘The Little Baker‘ in Dimapur, which is quite the talk of the town with its assortment of cakes, breads and doughnuts. Tell us something about ‘The Little Baker‘ The Little Baker (TLB) was started in the summer of 2016 and is based out of Dimapur. TLB is all about baking. Every item in the menu is baked with love. It is also the perfect creative outlet for someone like me, as I have been passionate about the culinary arts and baking for as long as I can remember! We serve all kinds of freshly-baked comfort food like breads, cakes, doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies, pies, desserts, etc. How did it all start? Did you get any formal training? Well yes, I got a formal training in culinary arts from New Delhi, post which I completed an industrial training from one of the top hotels. Then I got the opportunity to work full time in a 5-star resort in Goa – which sort of helped me kick off my career in baking. “After having …