During a recent visit to Coimbatore for a lecture, I met 2 students who belong to a tribe in Manipur.  An interesting discussion on their food habits followed.  Their staple is rice.  They also eat fish everyday.  Their diet includes lots of greens which are not commonly grown in other parts of India.  Other vegetables, fruits and meat form a part of their regular meals.  They do not take much dairy foods, but eat fermented fish, soy and bamboo shoots. The students said that although they enjoy the south Indian meals, on weekends they prepare some of their traditional dishes.  Here’s the best part – they eat rice regularly but they are not fat!  My cliched statement – Rice is not fattening!