FIVE (NEW-ISH) FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVALS THAT ARE TOTALLY DESI

“Food is not just eating energy. It’s an experience.” – Guy Fieri, restaurateur and author.

enthucutlet asked Anjali Batra, gin-lover, and the co-founder of Gin Explorer’s Club to share her list of epic desi food and drink festivals that are popular with Millennials and Zoomers. Book your tickets already.

Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Celebrate the longest Indian music festival. Hornbill in Nagaland runs from the 1st to the 10th of December. Fifteen tribes come together for local games such as traditional archery, Naga wrestling, flower show, a beauty contest, and more.

Visitors see multiple native food stalls that serve galho (a traditional Naga stew), axone (fermented soybean) with smoked pork and beef, rosep aon (spicy Naga meat curry), pickles made with fresh bamboo shoots, and all things Naga chilli (for the truly brave).

Nagaland’s steamed food tastes even better when paired with zutho, the local, traditional rice beer. It is left to ferment for days, giving it a strong nutty, sweet, and sour flavour. And remember, we don’t say cheers, we say “Boomo!”

Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa

There’s more to Goa than hangovers and food comas. Serendipity Arts Festival, now in its sixth year, is ample proof.

Food is a part of the Arts at SAF. The festival, which happens in December across India’s tiniest state, brings chefs from across the globe to give talks and offer meal experiences. There are art and food pairings, sustainable forward-thinking workshops, street food extravaganzas, and more.

This year, from the 15th to the 23rd of December, be a part of The Locavore’s ‘Doing Good Through Food’ project. From workshops on permaculture and Indian dairy traditions, to recreating pre-metal age feni distillation – there’s going to be lots to learn, and plenty to eat.

Indus Creed is playing this year. If that’s not enough, there’s also Rasa And Rap where nine rappers come together to reimagine a range of rasas.

Magnetic Fields Festival, Alsisar

Most people know Magnetic Fields as an incredible music festival bringing an eclectic mix of Indian and international artists to a grand property in the small town of Alsisar, Rajasthan. For Anjali though, some of her best memories of the festival are from the unique drink experiences she got to have when she visited back in 2018.

“Tucked away in a secret tent No. 47 was an incredible speakeasy run by one of my favourite gin brands, Monkey47. A hush-hush venue known to only a few, it turned out to be a treat for a cocktail lover like me,” says Anjali.  “Another brilliant experience I had was malt tasting in one of the grand armour rooms of the palace, hosted by Abhimanyu Alsisar from the royal family of Alsisar.” This year the festival is taking place from 15th-17th December.

Keep your ears open for similar secret experiences. Also, if festival food is not your thing, step just outside of the venue to binge on the hot Maggi and vadas made by the locals.

Gin Explorer’s Club, Mumbai

A festival where you get nothing but gin? Count us in. We can hop from bar to bar, sampling over a hundred different cocktails. There are also incredible workshops and sessions on a first-come-first-served basis, both for the gin-curious and the gin-obsessed.

Shh, here’s some insider information: GEC is happening again this winter. Early access tickets are now available on insider.in. You can pair your gin with some great music and food. There will be pop-ups by the best restaurants in town. The previous festival held on 7th and 8th January 2023 saw an array of impressive line-ups and bar takeovers including Vikas Kumar (PCO Bar Manager), Shuchir Suri (Founder, Jade Forest), and Pearl Fernandes (Brand Ambassador, Bombay Sapphire).

If you’re cheeky enough, you can walk away with a GEC glass – they make the best tumblers for cocktails and coffee alike.

Ziro Festival, Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

In one of the oldest towns in Arunachal Pradesh, this four-day annual concert is hosted by the members of the Apatani tribe in Ziro. Revellers party amidst charming villages, rivers, rice fields, and landscapes. Beer and local wines are available at the festival bar.

Imagine menu cards handwritten by tribe members featuring dishes such as smoked pork, slow-cooked pork stew, chicken smoked in bamboo,  amin (rice porridge with fermented bamboo shoots and local herbs), and papuk (banana flower with chicken, red chilli and fermented bamboo shoot). Most of the food is cooked in tiny kitchens behind the stalls by family members or a group of friends.

The most crowded stalls are the ones serving smoked meats, especially the meat of the mithun (a special bovine found here). Many dishes are served with rice which is wrapped in a banana leaf, and pehak, which is a chutney made from fermented soya bean and chilli.  Some stalls also sell food from other parts of the Northeast. Try singju, a Manipuri salad made with local vegetables and herbs, as well as choila, a Nepali salad with smoked tomatoes and pork.

For the vegetarians, there is vegetarian chowmein, momos stuffed with cheese, fried rice, and chura sabji – a soupy dish made with fermented cheese (from yak or cow’s milk) and spicy bhut jolokia chillies. There is also regular Indian fare of pav bhaji, biryani, etc., as well as stalls selling fun desserts (like the one selling ice cream rolls and does brisk business). The festival’s being held from 28 September to 1 October, 2023.

Ziro Festival is eco-friendly and tries to generate minimum waste. Everything is served on banana leaves or paper plates.

If you’re not faint-hearted, try local delicacies: fried silkworms and grasshoppers. Also, if you’re missing the fest this year (it starts this week), take heart, and let this year’s lineup inspire you to plan ahead for next year.