Sneha Nair

It’s taken a while for food from India’s easternmost states to reach Mumbai. Now that it has, a handful of restaurants are quietly expanding the city’s palate with fresh ingredients and deceptively simple cooking. There may not be large queues lining outside them yet, and most diners may just stop at momos and king chilli chutney, but those who look further are rewarded with zesty snacks, lip smacking fruit juices, wholesome seasonal vegetables, the joy of smoked pork and the aroma of nutty black rice. The flavours are vast, underexplored, and if you ask us, very much worth a detour next time you're eating out.

Singju mimics the dish it’s named after. Like the traditional snack (a mixture of vegetables and herbs, heavily customised), the restaurant too brings together a delightful variety of flavours and ingredients from the Northeast and across the Himalayas.  Til Gahori pork (Assamese dish with pork in sesame paste) or ooti (Manipuri style gruel) nestle side by side with crowd pleasers like thupka and pork momos. The focus is on keeping the ingredients authentic even while adding modern twists – for instance, the smoked pork (a delicacy in states like Manipur and Arunachal) is imported, but served with coleslaw. Sour, crunchy, brothy notes sing through most of the meals on offer here, like the Sangpiau, a simple congee from Mizoram served with a variety of toppings including fried noodles and humble, local green chillies. With the Manipuri thali, not all flavours necessarily blend with each other, but there’s potential to pair within the plate. As the restaurant grows, it seems to be branching out into finding newer ways to bring exciting culinary experiences from the Northeast to Mumbai.

You have to squint to find Luithui Kitchen. The frosted glass facade only adds to the air of mystery. Step inside and the restaurant settles into the warm, unhurried vibe of a Manipuri rice hotel, not unlike a Maharashtrian lunch home. It's never packed, but the ones who come always come to stay awhile. Page two of the menu alone is reason enough to keep coming back. The chicken is soft and juicy, the fish is fresh, the pork cuts are indulgently fatty (cooked until almost creamy), and the escargot – along with some of the vegetables in the Kangshoi – is brought in fresh from Manipur. The Kangshoi itself is a nutritious vegetable stew, available with or without dried fish. Bamboo mildly underlines almost every stir fry and curry, and the meats are tender and deeply flavoured. Don't just stick to what you know. Appetisers like Bora (Manipuri vegetable fritters) and the fiery Naga Chicken Salad are fun entry points, but ask about the specials and point freely at the menu. That's how you find the Hoksa Sausage: crisp-skinned, generously stuffed blood sausages that are rich, fatty, and addictive. The Seisa (buff) salad delivers crunchy, citrus-bright bites of meat, while the Iromba (fermented, funky, available with mushroom, yongchak beans or snail) pairs beautifully with sticky black rice. The curries are light but full of flavour, and the vegetarian dishes are gems: yams, leafy greens, and vegetables you won't find elsewhere in the city. If you order one thing, make it the Hoksa

In its revamped form, Naga Belly’s decor combines Naga artefacts with a cosy backdrop. That, and the extensive appetiser menu which includes some banger bar snacks from Nagaland, is possibly the reason the restaurant seems so popular with young couples looking for a low-effort date spot.   Bring a curious appetite and try the axone chicken wings for some juicy chicken marinated in the traditional umami flavours of Naga style fermented soybean. The Naga pork bhujia – fried strips of marinated pork, served with a super spicy king chilli sauce – is dangerously moreish, and so is the crispy pork belly. The Naga-style singju, made with spicy chilli and axone, is fierce, but they can mellow it down if you like. It also gives you the perfect excuse to try the fruit ferments. The gooseberry, pear and roselle ferments are refreshing and not too sweet. The Naga rice ferment drink has been a popular choice since it made an appearance on the menu a couple of years ago – you’ll spot it on almost every table when you walk in.  Originally started as a home kitchen to cater to the homesick, the axone and anishi preparations continue to be the pride of Naga Belly. The perilla seeds chicken curry and anishi black curry with pork are star dishes, served with black rice which is fresh, fragrant and flown in from home. Pair it with some veggies for a wholesome meal.