The Taste of Travel: the Khasi kitchen

Khasi cooking, the best documented of Meghalaya's cuisines, relies less on spices than on fermentation and smoking. Three dishes appear in almost every guide. Jadoh is rice, often red rice, cooked with meat, usually pork or chicken. Dohneiiong is pork cooked in a black sesame paste, often eaten alongside jadoh. Tungrymbai is a fermented soybean dish, stir-fried with onion, ginger, garlic and often pork; a pork-free version can sometimes be arranged, so ask.

Many meals are served with tungtap, a chutney made from small dried fish. Sources differ on whether dohneiiong is always made with pork, so ask what is in a dish before ordering.

Where to try it: Shillong has restaurants specialising in Khasi food, and a homestay will cook for guests if asked. Vegetarians should say so early; many dishes involve meat or fish.