In the remote Chug Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, a small restaurant is keeping centuries-old culinary traditions alive. At Damu’s Heritage Dine, nine women from the Monpa community (believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India) have come together to safeguard recipes that were at risk of fading away. Since March 2024, under the leadership of head chef Rinchin Jomba, the eatery has been serving a seven-course menu that celebrates the flavours and techniques of Monpa cuisine.
On the menu are dishes deeply tied to the land—buckwheat noodles, millet tacos, millet momo, buckwheat pancakes, red rice with yak, and aara (also spelt ara), a local wine made from rice and millet. “Most of our dishes rely on ingredients sourced from our surroundings. Everything from the rice and vegetables we use to the ghee we prepare the dishes in is either grown or made by us,” explained Jomba while speaking to OT Eats.
The meal begins with phursing bombu—a round corn flour tart filled with yak ghee and the oleoresins of the Chinese lacquer tree (phursing). Once a childhood favourite for Jomba, the dish was nearly lost. “My mother used to prepare it for me, but we were slowly losing it to the ravages of time. We are trying to revive it so our children also know what it is,” she said. Today, only one person, Chochong Tashi, retains the traditional knowledge of extracting the phursing oil, a skill he has now passed on to his son.
For Jomba, the journey to becoming a chef began modestly. Before the restaurant, she ran a homestay, learning to prepare tea and coffee for her guests. Curiosity pushed her further into the kitchen until one day she experimented with millet momo—a dish that not only won her local acclaim but also the Millet Recipe Contest organised by Krishi Vigyan Kendra in 2023.
Now, through Damu’s Heritage Dine, Jomba and her team are ensuring that Monpa cuisine continues to thrive: telling the story of their community, one plate at a time.
