Khasi Food Trail, Shillong

Khasi cuisine is hearty, flavourful and centred on rice and pork, though there is plenty for other tastes too. A guided food trail through Shillong's neighbourhoods and markets is a delicious way to explore the city.

Signature dishes include jadoh, rice cooked with pork or chicken, turmeric and spices; doh khlieh, a fresh pork salad with onion, ginger and chilli; doh neiiong, pork cooked with black sesame; tungrymbai, a pungent fermented soybean paste; and pumaloi, soft steamed rice cakes. Small family-run eateries known as 'jadoh stalls' around Laitumkhrah and Police Bazaar serve the most authentic versions.

The trail usually includes the bustling Iewduh (Bara Bazaar) — one of the largest traditional markets in the Northeast — with its stalls of fermented fish, bamboo shoots, local herbs and the region's tiny, fiery chillies, followed by tea and local snacks. Vegetarian travellers can try rice dishes, pumaloi, potato and greens.