Author: Imtee Jamir

RootsandLeisure_Artist_Temsuyanger Longkumer

Meet Temsuyanger Longkumer – London Based Multimedia Artist from Nagaland, as He Talks About His Naga Roots and The Art Scene in London

Published by Imtee Jamir

“A tree without roots is just a piece of wood.” This quote by famous chef Marco Pierre has got us thinking, and we have to admit that there’s indeed a lot of truth to that. Especially at a time and space where creators/artists are trying to outdo each other with new ideas – often with borrowed inspirations that are aplenty. We love creativity of all sorts – no doubt. But the ones that are truly going to stand out and leave an impression are the original works of art – whose ideas come from a place that is pure and deep rooted in the creator’s own origins. That being said, we are truly excited to meet with one such artist from Nagaland – Temsuyanger Longkumer, a multimedia artist based out of London, whose original works of art – mostly created with inspirations from his Naga roots are enchanting London art lovers. This year in April, he held a solo exhibition “QUINTETTE” at the Standpoint Gallery, London; and his work ‘Tattooed Memory’ was recently acquired by the …

“My Mom’s Galho Restaurant Inspired Me to Open This Cafe” Pelevotuo Solo, Owner of “Mom and I” Cafe in Kohima

Published by Imtee Jamir

Growing up in Nagaland, dining out meant visiting the local “Chow & Momo” restaurants or being invited to a friend’s or relative’s house for dinner or tea. However, the food scene has significantly evolved over time, with new cafes, restaurants, lounges, and bakeries popping up every month. Today, one can be spoiled for choice with the abundance of options available. What’s interesting to note is that most of these places have been founded and managed by passionate youngsters in Nagaland. It’s pretty fascinating and cool, isn’t it? The best part is that these founders often have interesting personal stories behind their food ventures. Today, we meet with Pelevotuo Solo, who runs a Galho restaurant in Kohima called ‘Mom and I’ Cafe. We chat with Pelevotuo Solo, owner of “Mom & I” cafe in Kohima Nagaland, to find out why all love this humble cafe. R&L: Hi Pelevotuo, tell us the story behind your cafe “Mom and I” in Kohima. Pelevotuo: I was born and brought up in Kohima, Nagaland and I have a Master’s Degree in …

Recipe | Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Published by Imtee Jamir

Celebrating the festive season isn’t half as fun without some delicious desserts. Ring in the New Year with this super-indulgent Chocolate Raspberry Tart. Dark chocolate, cream cheese, icing sugar, heavy cream, it doesn’t get any better than this! What better way to start off the new year than with a slice of this divine chocolate tart, right? Today’s dessert recipe is contributed by our lovely friend, Kutshou Therie. Let’s get baking! Ingredients : For the shell: Plain Flour 1&1/2 cup Powdered sugar 1/2 cup Cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp Salted Butter 120g Baking powder 1/4th tsp Ice cold water 2tbsp For the filling: Dark chocolate 150g Heavy cream 270 ml Raspberry pie filling 200g Cream cheese 100g Icing sugar 2-3 tbsp For the topping: Few Raspberry or pomegranate kernels Method: Sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder together. Combine butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl and stir until evenly incorporated. Add the flour mixture and sprinkle ice cold water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough and place it over a 9-inch tart pan …

Naga Dish Recipe | Kidney Beans Curry With Napa

Published by Imtee Jamir

Today, we have a special authentic Naga dish prepared by Sungdi Imchen from Roots and Leisure team. It’s a simple, traditional and easy-to-cook homemade dish mixed with ‘Napa’ (Naga basil leaves), giving you that extra Naga-spice flavour in your mouth! Here’s your recipe guide to a quick, nutritious comfort food at its best: Fried Kidney Beans (‘Kholar’ beans) curry. Ingredients : 1 large tomato 1 medium onion 4-5 green chillies Napa (Naga basil leaves) 2 cups kholar beans ( Naga kidney beans) Salt (to taste) Directions to Cook: Pressure cook the kholar beans, and let it cool Sauté the onion, tomatoes and chillies, for about 10-15 mins. Now add the kholar beans and cook in low flame for a few minutes When the onion and tomatoes are tender enough, put in the Naga basil leaves (Napa) and let it simmer for another 5-10 mins. Your savoury kholar beans dish is now ready to serve. Enjoy it with a hot, steaming bowl of rice! Bon appétit! Hit Like, Share and Subscribe to Roots and Leisure on Youtube …

RootsandLeisure_Recipe_AppleCinnamonCake

Recipe | Eggless Apple Cinnamon Cake

Published by Imtee Jamir

Feeling the Christmas spirit yet? Celebrate this holiday season with a heavenly rich and moist apple cinnamon cake! We have a special sweet treat for you guys which you can prepare this festive season with your friends and family. All you need to make this cake are a few simple ingredients and steps to follow, a festive mood and some Christmas cheer!  Our recipe today is contributed by one of R&L’s lovely followers, Tribeni Pegu (@thenomnomlady). Scroll down to learn how to prepare this delicious delight! Ingredients: 1 apple, skinned and diced 1&1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp cinnamon powder 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup milk 1 tsp vanilla essence Process: Step 1: Butter the cake mould/loaf pan with a brush and dust it with flour and keep it aside. Step 2: For the cinnamon mix: Mix brown sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl and keep it aside. Step 3: For the dry mix: Sieve through flour, baking powder and …

Recipe | Nepali Sel Roti

Published by Imtee Jamir

Sel Roti, a delicious traditional Nepali fried delight, mostly prepared as a festive snack during Dashain and Tihar in Nepal and Darjeeling. It is essentially a fried sweet bread prepared using pounded rice, flour, butter, milk and a mixture of fennel seed (saunf) and cardamom for flavoring. Simple yet delectable. Today’s recipe is contributed by our lovely people at PaliGhar from Kalimpong. The making of this snack is a skill and an art in itself. Let’s get started on how it’s made! Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 15-20 minutes Ingredients: Rice: 1 kg Maida (flour): 100 gms Sugar: 100 gms Butter: 100 gms Milk: 1 cup Water: 1 cup Oil: 1 litre Sael roti masala: mixture of saunf (fennel seeds) and cardamom Directions to cook: Soak the rice for a minimum of 3 hours. Drain and pound it into fine powder. Sieve the powdered rice. Mix the rice powder with maida (flour), sugar, butter, and masala thoroughly and then add milk to make a semi-thick batter. Use a deep frying pan to heat oil. Once the oil is …

Rootsandleisure_Chiang Mai_Thailand Travel

Faces | Traveling Like a Local In The City of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Published by Imtee Jamir

“On a hot afternoon in Chiang Mai, my friend and I were wandering about and exploring the old city area of Chiang Mai. All we needed after walking around in the sun for a while was definitely a cold and fresh coconut drink. On our way, we spotted an alley with lots of graffiti wall art and a phone kiosk along the lane. To the locals, this phone kiosk might look vandalised, but to me, it was this super cool spot with an amazing aesthetic appeal to take a nice photograph in! Plus, my coconut drink seemed like the perfect prop to use in this picture to blend in with the city and get a real sense of the life out here. Why not travel like a local but take pictures like a tourist, right?” ~ Manki Lai, @ohmanki

Recipe | Manipuri Dish: Paan( Colocasia/Arbi) Eromba

Published by Imtee Jamir

Eromba is one of the most popular dishes Manipuris prepare for their lunch/dinner. It is a local-favourite dish, enjoyed by people from other parts of Northeast as well. It’s usually made with boiled vegetables mashed with ngari (fermented fish) and chillies. Vegetables like yongchak (tree beans), soibum (bamboo shoots), yendem (buckwheat), belandri (lady’s finger), lafu (banana stem) and Paan (colocasia/arbi) are commonly used to make different varieties of eromba. Our recipe today, is the Paan (colocasia/arbi) eromba contributed by our lovely R&L follower, Impala Ayekpam. This is a simple dish you can easily make using ingredients available around your kitchen! Paan (Colocasia/Arbi) Eromba Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 15-20 mins Ingredients: 250gm of Paan/colocasia/arbi (washed and peeled) 10-12 Dried red chillies/1-2 king chillies (whichever is preferred) 5-6 Ngari/fermented fish 2-3 smoked fish (optional) Salt to taste. Garnish : Fresh 1/2 u-morok/ghost pepper (thinly sliced) and Spring onions/corrainder (chopped) Directions to cook: Add 4-5 cups of water in a pressure cooker and boil the arbi and chillies. Let it whistle for about 4-5 times Cool it down and drain the water Roast the …

A Quick Tour Through the Food and Craft Stalls At The Hornbill Festival 2017, Nagaland

Published by Imtee Jamir

The food, art and crafts stalls are a big part of Hornbill Festival; locals and tourists flock in to indulge themselves in some local food and drinks every year, experiencing the rich culture and traditions of different Naga tribes. The food stalls offer some delicious food items prepared by chefs who are ardent food enthusiasts themselves! For the arts and crafts junkies, the Bamboo Pavilion displays a variety of handicrafts, decor products, handmade necklaces, books by Naga writers, etc. for sale. Here are few of the MANY interesting stalls we came across this year at the festival. Chefs Asin Shurhozelie (Left) and Asen Jamir (Right) of ‘The Bowl’ welcoming visitors to their food stall at Kisama Heritage Village, Nagaland Volunteers Paudwa Elunglung (Left) and his friends from the ‘Benreu Students Union’ preparing some mouth-watering barbecued food at the Kohima Night Bazaar food stall. Macramé (patterned lacelike webbing made of hand-knotted cord,yarn) curtains by Lem on display inside the Bamboo Pavilion stall at Kisama. The ‘LEM’ stall offers a range of beautiful macrame wedding backdrop products, home decor supplies like macrame wall hangings, hanging chairs …

RootsandLeisure_Faces_HornbillFestival2017

Fashionable People Spotted at the Hornbill Festival 2017 in Nagaland

Published by Imtee Jamir

The Hornbill Festival 2017 kicked off on the 1st of Dec in Kisama, Nagaland – officially welcoming the festive season! Amidst the excitement of the festival goers, the stall operators, the dancers and the tourists from all over the world, we spotted some really well-dressed people in the crowd – making the festival even more colourful! Check out these fashionable locals spotted at the Hornbill Festival 2017!