Northeast India’s cuisine is known for its time‑honored tradition of its pickled, smoked, and fermented meats — a practice born from necessity and cultural pride. From the Ao Nagas to the myriad tribal communities in the misty hills, preserving meat through fermentation or curing was essential for survival during harsh seasons. But these meat pickles are also vessels of collective memory, echoing communal gatherings, harvest rituals, and the warmth of family who passed down these techniques through generations.
Through Oya’s Umami, this delicacy finds a new audience. 'Oya', meaning elder sister among the Ao Naga, reflects not just familial bonds but a guiding, nurturing spirit, while 'umami' captures the rich, savoury fifth taste that defines their offerings. Founded by Imli Ati Aier, who carried her Naga upbringing from Delhi to Goa, Oya’s Umami originated as a home‑based kitchen. Over six years, it evolved through cloud‑kitchen orders, pop‑ups, and community meals, before finally opening its first brick‑and‑mortar café this year in Panjim, Goa.
At the heart of the brand are its artisanal pickles and snacks, a homage to traditional methods. Their Ghost‑Chilli oil, infused with Bhut Jholokia, dried shrimp, fermented crab, and black sesame seeds, paints a true portrait of Naga umami. Complementing this is their shredded meat jerky, available in chicken, pork, and buffalo. It's prepared in small batches that are protein-rich yet free from additives; perfect as a guilt‑free snack or a culinary accent in salads, rice bowls, stir‑fries, tacos, and more.
The café’s menu brings Naga‑inspired Asian street food to life with soulful and deeply personal interpretations. Their smoked pork chilli, a crowd favourite, conjures imagery of long drives through Upper Shillong. Their soupy beef noodles come together in a bowl with slow-cooked ribs, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and a deep broth laced with house-made togarashi. Their smoked pork with axone reimagines a classic, marrying the intense, fermented funk of axone with a creamy, spicy twist that's paired with poached apple salad and a sprinkle of salted perilla seeds for texture.
In a seasonal celebration of Moatsü, the Ao Naga festival of gratitude, Oya’s Umami came up with a special pork thali centred around smoked pork with anishi (fermented yam leaves). For the dessert, their mango sticky rice brings together sticky rice from Nagaland, sweet mango and coconut milk from Goa, and the umami crunch of perilla seeds — a Thai classic with a special Naga twist of nostalgia, offered only while mangoes are in season.
With pickles and snacks you can take home and meticulously prepared meals at the restaurant, the story of Oya's Umami remains rooted in ancestral memory, but unafraid to evolve. In culinary a landscape where 'fusion' often feels like dilution, it offers something more honest: a dialogue between geographies; between homegrown techniques and street-side spontaneity.
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