Munching on grasshoppers and silkworms at an insect-tasting workshop in Shillong

A fly in my chai used to make my skin crawl. But now that a silkworm and grasshopper have been sampled, I'd let the fly stay. Who knows what bonus flavour it'd bring along.

This awakening towards eating insects was courtesy a workshop at the recent Indigenous Terra Madre (ITM) event by the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) in Shillong. Lesser known food cultures, crop varieties and sustainable practices of indigenous communities that can change the way we eat were the topics in focus.

Insects – crispy appetisers for India's northeasteners – were part of the menu. How these spineless beings could ensure we have plenty on our plates in the future as they easy to find, not to mention the nutritional benefits involved, was what the workshop tried to crunch.

Initially, the sight of those ribbed, glazed bodies with pudgy/toothpick-ish feet, gave wings to my entomophobia. The arrival of each new insect on my areca nut plate left me contorting in disgust and terror. But this collective paranoia bred the instant camaraderie in the room. Like contestants on a reality show, we egged each other to take their virgin bite. Salt, chilli and bamboo shoot helped add flavour to insect-y taste.

Each arrival was formally announced – with information on preying habits, habitat, body mass, mineral stats and techniques of capture. The weaver ant chutney, for instance, was served along with a video showing tribal Siddi women of the Western Ghats picking ants from the forests, shrieking, jumping as ants get into their hair and clothes. Central and northeast India have traditionally consumed this chutney to ward off colds, coughs, joint aches, and also as a supplement to a lactating mother's diet.

Coconut, salt, chilli, cumin, garlic and weaver ants are ground together for this thick, red chutney so you can't identify the ant bits. The granules rub against the tongue, producing a fiery aftertaste that lingers even after drinking water. As for the sharp, pungent scent...those are the ants.

And just when it felt like cakewalk, in came live specimens of what we would 'taste' next – the charcoal grey riverbed beetle from Arunachal Pradesh; our palpitations were revived when they fluttered their wings every so slightly. Locally known as rees / tarri, they were served as a salad. Villagers find these winter hibernators under stones in dry riverbeds, where they are hiding after a feast on rice, litchi or mango. Pound into paste, they are then mixed with onion, garlic, chilli, salt, tomato and carrots to make a zesty, spicy salad with flavours that go well with steamed rice and fish.

From Ri Bhoi, Meghalaya, came deep fried and chutney versions of the eri silk worms, with red and white slices of putharo, local Khasi bread. The fried worms put us off with their ribbed, capsular bodies and stubby legs. So, I was surprised to encounter tender prawn-like. flesh beneath a slim crust. The smoky, yellow chutney had bamboo shoots, lemon and basil.

The show-stopper was a lavish buffet from Nagaland – carpenter worm, honeybees, grasshoppers, spider and various kinds of caterpillars (larvae, bamboo worm, silkworm) with a mash of purple and white sweet potato and herb, bamboo shoots and tomato salad.

I am still salivating over the carpenter worms, grasshopper, larvae and bees. Pink and tender, the carpenter worm was an explosion of juices, especially its dominant earthy flavour of oakwood – the tree is the worm's home and manna.

I got the heebie-jeebies with the grasshopper, as its intact compound eyes stared back at me; its slick oiled body with folded wings and legs seemed menacing, I practically threw it in my mouth before I could change my mind.

A good decision. It was a surround-sound crunchy experience, with sparse yet tough meaty bits. Like prawns fried crisp to the core. The larvae were exactly like tender chicken. The honeybee, its white (nascent form) and black (mature) variants, tossed in chilli powder, vinaigrette and local basil, was another combo of crispy and soft meat.

I scoured for another grasshopper but they had run out of it.