Hau or red ant chutney, is a sought-after delicacy across Jharkhand, which is relished by the tribal community. What adds on to its popularity is not its tangy taste but its medicinal value.

A group of tribal women from the state assembled to make Hau as part of tribal cuisine programme on the inaugural day of the eighth edition of Samvaad 2021, an annual conclave, at Tribal Culture Centre in Jamshedpur on Monday.

Maya Soren, a member of Sagun Mahila Samity in Jamshedpur, was busy bringing out red ants from a small container before asking other tribal cooks to slice garlic, ginger and chillies. “Yeh chitiyan hum jungle se laate hain. Yeh lal chitiyan ur ped ke patton mein ghar banate hain (We collect the ants from jungles. These red ants make nests on leaves),” said Maya, a resident of Pramath Nagar in Parsudih locality of the steel city.

According to her, ants and eggs are stored in plastic bags and kept in the refrigerator or under sunlight after they are brought from the jungles. “The ants die after two-three days and are later crushed on stone slabs or mixer grinder, garlic, chili, salt and coriander leaves are added to enhance the flavour. Some tribals also fry the ants with ghee and add tomatoes and a bit of sugar before making the chutney. This adds on to taste,” explained Maya.

The tribals savour red ant chutney for its hot and tangy taste, besides it has medicinal benefits. “Red ant chutney is sold in small quantities (mostly in weekly markets in tribal areas). It is priced between Rs 150 to Rs 200 a kg. Tribals usually have red ant chutney with maar-bhaat (starch rice) or mix it with puffed rice or vegetables,” said Salu Kisku, a member of Sagun Mahila Samity.

According to Maya the red ant chutney is helpful in healing cough, cold and acidity. It is also believed to enhance eyesight. “The red ant chutney is one of the key item in tribal cuisine. Most tribals eat this delicacy on a daily basis,” she added.

She said that the red ant chutney will be served to the guests for lunch on Monday during the on-going event. The guests, mostly tribals from across the country, have assembled in Jamshedpur to participate in the 5-day conclave.

Samvaad Fellowship and Tribal art were also part of the inaugural day events of the conclave which was inaugurated with homage to Bhagwan Birsa Munda in the evening.

The annual event is bringing together 187 outstanding tribal artists, home chefs, healers, culture crusaders and leaders in person in Jamshedpur, along with more than 4,000 women, men and children from communities of 87 tribes across 25 states and 5 Union territories in Indian who have agreed to login to the dialogue remotely in a digital format.

ey-1: Maya Soren shows the red ant chutney in Jamshedpur on Monday. Animesh Sengupta.