Hendri G Momin, a food entrepreneur from Darechikgre village, West Garo Hills recently participated in the first ever Me•gong festival at Babadam, West Garo Hills from the 18th to 20th November 2021. Known for his delightful innovation cuisines using indigenous ingredients, Hendri also runs a cafe called Aman A•Song Cafe (Mother Earth Cafe) which was set up as part of the Mei-Ramew Cafe initiatives under NESFAS.
While Hendri has been trained as a chef and exposed in many food festivals over the years under different programs and initiatives, his participation in the Me•gong festival this year was solely on his own initiative. With his cafe acting as the only source of income for his family, he, along with his wife and daughters set up their stall in the festival selling their signature innovative cuisines. As has always been the case with his food, they made their mark on the very first day itself where VIP’s thronged at his stall to try his cuisines made with local ingredients. Most of the customers were extremely impressed with the use of underrated crops such as tapioca which was used for making fritters, croquettes, extruded products (Indian name bhujia), pita, and traditional steamed cakes.
Hendri also made teas with Roselle flower (red) and bael fruit. Martin Rudelle Greig, a tourist from Australia was full of praise for the food and the beverage Hendri served. “The Roselle tea is good; it’s soothing. I also tasted the fritters made with tapioca and love the fact that food is sourced from chemical free production.”
Apart from the snacks, Hendri also prepared a platter of rice with traditional dishes and salads made with pumpkin, chayote and pumpkin seeds. Avette Chen, from Kolkata, tasting Garo food for the first time revelled in the taste of the food as well as the way in which the food was prepared. –“First time having Garo food, I loved the way it is cooked inside the bamboo. It enhances the taste and comes out quite different (but nice).”
Faith Margnar, a customer from Nongstoin rated the food as the best food in the festival: “The best lunch I ever had so far since I came to this festival. The food is delicious and we love it.”
The CM of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma, himself introduced the cafe to other dignitaries stating how Hendri’s stall sells only organic products and how he has been promoting local food which is underrated in the market. The CM also acknowledged the huge role NESFAS has played in promoting indigenous food systems.
Hendri made sales of ₹ 6,470 on the first day (18th November) with an increase to ₹ 9440 (19th November) on the second day before rounding off the festival with a big sale of 16,250 on the final day (20th November).
