Pudoh - a dish enjoyed during tea time

On the first day of the Locavore's two-day Celebration of Millets event in Shillong in 2023, five talented, local chefs from Shillong (Artet Kharsati, Ahme Birian, Ben Wankhar, Samanbha Mawroh and Jemy Diengdoh) and our very own ChefTZac got together with indigenous krai farmers from over 11 communities from all across Meghalaya to spend a day of interactions, sharing ideas, and cooking!

During the knowledge exchange workshop, we got to hear from the indigenous farmers about the issues they face pertaining to krai production such as the difficulty in processing millets for sale, having easy access to organized food systems and markets, decreasing land area allocated to krai production, as well as a lack of interest among the youth and the current generation to consume millets which thereby reduces the confidence and will amongst these millet growers to continue their work.

To make Krai Pudoh use the recipe below:

Time 20 Mins
Yield 10 Portions

Ingredients
● Sticky Rice Powder 300 gms
● Ragi Flour 200 gms
● Salt To Taste
● Water 250 ml
● Pork 100 gms
● Jaiur Leaves 50 gms
● Banana Leaves 10 pcs

Method
1. Combine sticky rice, ragi flour and salt
2. Add water gradually and form it into a soft dough
3. Cook the chopped pork with the jaiur leaves until well done. Add salt to taste
4. In the banana leaf, add a handful of the ragi and sticky rice mixture
5. Add the cooked pork in the middle of the mixture
6. With the banana leaves, fold the mixture around the pork into long cylinders
7. In a pot, place the banana leaf parcel
8. Cover with water and bring it to a boil. Boil until the leaves color change to golden yellow
9. Take it out from the pot, serve hot

Recipe, courtesy The Locavore