Dec. 20: Citizens wishing to taste the varied ethnic food of different indigenous communities of the Northeast should drop by at Shilpgram this weekend.

The Ethnic Food Festival, which will begin tomorrow, will not only provide gastronomic delight for visitors but also showcase the culture of the indigenous people of the region through colourful folk dances.The festival, which will continue till December 23, is being organised by the North East Zone Cultural Centre in association with Venus, a city-based organisation, to promote ethnic food as well as the culture of the different indigenous communities residing in Assam.

Be it the food of the Mising, Tiwa, Deori, Tai Ahom or Karbi communities, one can taste different flavours at the same venue. Each community will prepare their traditional dishes.

Visitors will also be able to see the unique way in which the indigenous communities prepare their food.

“Like last year, we are organising a three-day festival of ethnic food, where participants from five indigenous communities will showcase their indigenous recipes in different stalls set up for the purpose. Each group, which comprises four persons, will cook their traditional dishes and serve them hot for visitors,” said Nirup Rajkumar, secretary of Venus.

“The best part about ethnic food of the Northeast is that the flavour of food items differs from one community to another. Moreover, each community has its own way of preparing dishes. The food festival will give the participants a chance to showcase their culinary skills. This in turn will help them improve sale,” said Rajkumar.

“The food festival will also be accompanied by cultural programmes in the evenings. On the first day, dancers from the Bodo community will showcase their folk dance. On the second day, dancers will present a fusion dance that will have elements from different folk dances. Dancers from the Hajong community will present their traditional dance on the concluding day,” he added.