The cuisine ofMizoram shares characteristics to other regions ofNortheast India and North India. Rice is the staple food of Mizoram, while Mizos love to add non-vegetarian ingredients in every dish. Fish, chicken, pork and beef are popular meats among Mizos. Dishes are cooked in any available oil. Meals tend to be blander with less oil and more vegetables. Most Mizos love eating boiled vegetables along with rice but the younger generation tends to like fried and spicy food; food from other cultures are also a popularity among many young Mizo. Rice is known as 'Chaw' and Curry as 'Hme', a popular dish isbai, made from boiling vegetables (the ingredients tend to differ from household to household) withbekang (fermented soybeans similar to JapaneseNattō) orsa-um, a fermented pork, and served with rice.Sawhchiar is another common dish, made of rice and cooked with beef, pork or chicken.[1][2]
Thestaple food of most of the Mizo people is rice, with meat and vegetables served on the side, ranging from the homely bai, a simple vegetable stew, non veg stew with sesame, garlic, onion and herbs.[3]
Typical Mizo lunch including chhangban, alu chop, atta and tea
Lunch in a Mizo home differs from house to house. Food eaten in lunch can range from simple biscuits to even noodles and also sometimes "chhangban" (a snack prepared from finely ground sticky rice) which is usually accompanied by kurtai (jaggery) and tea.
Some of the Items eaten during lunch are:
Sanpiau – Rice porridge mixed with meat, sauce and Mizo spices.[6]
^Bungsut, Lalchhanhimi (2023). "Lo leh choka: Conversations on Mizo Food". In Kikon, Dolly; Rodrigues, Joel (eds.).Food Journeys: Stories from the Heart (1 ed.). New Delhi:Zubaan. pp. 211–224.ISBN9789390514427.
