Kohima: Nagaland’s prominent chef Rovi Chasie released the new edition of her book “Naga Cuisine” which was originally published in 2003.
The new and expanded edition of the book covers includes not just new recipes but also highlights important factors of food and some aspects of Naga cuisine.
“The declaration of the year 2023 as the year of millet by the United Nations prompted me to republish the book because millet is one of my favourite food grains,” she said.
The new edition of the book is dedicated to her three children-Ving, Seyieno and Pho. Speaking to EastMojo, chef Rovi recalled how the first edition of the book made no mention of her son.
“In the old edition, I had dedicated this book to my two daughters and excluded my son (Pho) thinking that it may not be appropriate to have a boy’s name in a cookbook. Now two decades later, I have no qualms in doing so. Young boys too, have since been aggressively venturing into the kitchen,” she shared.
Besides Naga food recipes, the Naga chef also highlights how the influence of foreign culture, fashion and food have influenced the locals, leading to the disappearance of traditional Naga food from their daily diet.
In the book, she also points out how there has been a cultural revival over the recent years. “The need of the hour is to bring out healthy and tasty innovative recipes to suit the modern Naga palate using Naga traditional ingredients especially for the younger generation,” she said.
The republished book was launched privately by the chef’s mother and Seno Vihienuo. Copies of the book are available at Little Niceties, Kesa market in Kohima town.
Rovi Chasie is a pioneer in the area of creating innovative recipes using Naga food ingredients. A graduate from IHM Pusa, New Delhi, she did her management training with the Ashok group of hotels, ITDC and was a member of the Indian Prime Minister’s catering team.
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The judge at Nagaland’s renowned food competition-Naga chef has also catered her unique recipes during prominent state events like the G-20 summit and during visits of VVIPs in the state including the visit of former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
During the first session of the state legislative Assembly this year, Chef Rovi served millet cakes and cookies to commemorate the International Year of Millets.
her published works include two cookbooks- Dine with Confidence (1997) and Naga Cuisine (2003); and a book of short stories titled ‘The quaint little village’ (2016).
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