Smoked pork cooked with anishi — fermented sun-dried taro or yam leaves — creating the most intensely flavoured combination in Naga cooking.
Ingredients
400g smoked pork — cut into 3 cm pieces
3 to 4 pieces anishi (fermented dried taro / yam leaves — a uniquely Naga preserved ingredient with an intense funky flavour; available at Naga and some Northeast Indian stores; if unavailable use 2 tbsp axone plus 1/4 cup dried taro leaves)
4 garlic cloves — crushed
1 inch ginger — sliced
2 dried Naga chillies
2 cups water
Salt
Method
Rehydrate anishi by soaking in 1/2 cup warm water for 15 minutes until softened. Crumble or chop finely.
Rinse the smoked pork pieces briefly under cold water to remove surface ash or excess smokiness.
Place smoked pork in a pot with 2 cups water.
Bring to a boil. Skim foam. Add crushed garlic, sliced ginger and dried Naga chillies.
Add the rehydrated anishi. Stir — the anishi will begin to dissolve and darken the broth dramatically.
Reduce to medium-low. Simmer covered for 30 to 35 minutes until smoked pork is completely tender and the anishi has fully melded into a deeply funky, complex broth.