As part of the annual cultural, literary and sports competitions week, Little Star Hr. Secondary School (LSHSS) Dimapur has conducted house – wise cooking competition for high school and higher secondary school students on September 3 and 7 under the theme “Naga Thali” at the school dining hall. The participants of the competition were the members of the “Cookery Club” of the school.
The competition was held as a learning experience for the students and to emphasize the value of traditional Naga food. The competition was judged by one of the master chefs of Nagaland, Joel Basumatary, who is also the owner of Smokey Joe’s.
The teachers in charge of the competitions were Sudha for the high school section and Imnasungla Aier for higher secondary section. Altogether, 48 students participated in the competition. Every house in both the sections were represented by 6 students each. The students brought the ingredients in accordance with the theme of the competition. The preparation, cooking and presentation of the finished product, was done within the allotted time of one hour 20 minutes.
The competition saw the students creating exotic Naga thalis with authentic easily available traditional ingredients. The thalis included rejuvenating drinks like Rhus Chinesis Sumac with ginger etc.
The students prepared healthy dishes like boiled millet, yam curry, dried pork with fermented soya beans, winged beans chutney, black rice pudding, chicken broth, and many more using traditional recipes and recipes tweaked with other traditional items. The dishes were served creatively tickling the taste buds of the onlookers. Each house served 4-5 items on the ‘Naga Thali’.
The winners of the competition were –
High school category: First position (Green House); Contestants – Molungsunep Ozkhum (9C), Wonchio (9C), Sentijungla (9D), Tovikali Sema (9C), Limaakum (10A) and Sentikala (10C).
Higher secondary category: First position (Blue House); Contestants – Temsujang Longkumer (11C Arts), Moivam M Phom (12 A Sc), Mutsilu Nyekha (12B Sc), Yungle L Angh (12C Arts), Pomei H Konyak (11B Arts) and Liani T Achumi (11B Arts).
Cooking competition organised at LSHSS Dimapur
