What to Eat in Mawlynnong Today?

What Khasi food tastes like

Khasi cooking is less about chilli and more about ginger, black sesame, onion and fermented flavours. Pork is at the centre, and rice is eaten with almost every meal. Portions are simple and filling. Heat usually comes from a fresh chilli chutney on the side, so you can add as much or as little as you like.

The dishes to try

• Jadoh: red rice cooked with pork, ginger and spices, sometimes with pork blood or offal. The everyday lunch of the Khasi hills.
• Doh-khleh: a salad of boiled minced pork with raw onion, ginger, chilli and lime. Fresh and sharp, eaten as a side or a snack.
• Tungrymbai: fermented soybean cooked with pork and black sesame. Strong-smelling and deep in flavour; try a spoonful before you order a plate.
• Momos: steamed dumplings with pork, chicken or vegetables and a hot chutney. Easy to find near the root bridge.
• Red tea and pukhlein: sweet black tea without milk, served with a fried cake of rice flour and jaggery. The afternoon break of the hills.

Eating as a vegetarian

Pork is in most main dishes, so vegetarians need to ask. Homestays will usually cook rice, dal, vegetables and eggs if you tell them in advance. Red tea, pukhlein and vegetable momos are the easy vegetarian options on the road.

When and where to eat

Village kitchens usually serve from mid-morning to early evening, and many run out of the day's cooking by mid-afternoon. On Sundays the eateries are closed to day visitors, so eat before you arrive or plan around a weekday. If you are staying the night, dinner is usually at the homestay and early, around seven. See where to eat for the kitchens near each sight.

Keep it clean

Food comes wrapped in leaves or paper, not plastic, and the village expects you to bin any waste in the bamboo baskets. Carry a refillable bottle; bottled water is harder to find here than elsewhere.