Here I am on the road again…
Travelling across India to meet the remarkable people preserving its handmade traditions.
Chapter III
Saucy Joe's - Where Every Bottle Tells a Story
"Some journeys begin with a destination. The best ones begin with people."
🧭 The Journey Trail
📍 Dimapur
↓
🚗 Sadar Village
↓
🏡 Saucy Joe's
↓
🌶️ The Tasting Room
↓
☕ Coffee & Conversations
↓
🌃 Sky Lounge, Dimapur
The previous day had been all about design, creativity and meeting Ikali.
Today... my journey was going to taste very different.
I had first met Joel Basumatari, or simply Joe, during the North East Food Festival in Shillong in 2022.
Some people take time to become friends. Joe wasn't one of them.
Within minutes, it felt like we'd known each other for years.
Warm, grounded, easy to talk to and always smiling, he was the kind of person who made conversations feel effortless.
Over the months that followed, we stayed in touch. Every now and then I'd nudge him,
"Joe... when are we starting business together?"
His reply never changed.
"Not yet, Mango. I'm still getting everything in place."
He and his wife, Viseino, were busy building their dream. They wanted to do things properly, and I respected that.
Still...
I never stopped asking.
For almost a year, I kept telling Joe that one day I'd come to Nagaland.
I don't think he believed me. So when I called him from my hotel in Dimapur and casually asked,
"Joe, send me your address."
There was silence.
Then...
"Wait... you're here?"
"Yes."
"In Nagaland?"
"Yes."
"Now?"
I could almost hear him laughing in disbelief.
Before I knew it, he insisted on sending his car.
"No arguments," he said. "Naga hospitality starts before you even arrive."
The drive to Sada took us along the Dhansiri River through one of Dimapur's busiest commercial areas.
Along the way, the driver pointed towards rows of mysterious stone pillars standing quietly in the distance.
"That's Kachari Rajbari."
At first glance, they looked like giant chess pieces abandoned centuries ago.
Later, I learnt these ancient ruins date back to the Kachari Kingdom, with their mushroom-shaped monoliths remaining one of Northeast India's enduring mysteries. Some local stories even suggest they may have been used in a game resembling chess.
Whether legend or history... they certainly sparked my imagination.
Sometimes the best museums don't have walls.
By the time I reached Joe's home, supper was underway.
His children were happily running around with the family pet, filling the evening with laughter.
It didn't feel like I was visiting someone for the first time.
It felt like I'd been invited home.
"Come," Joe smiled.
"Viseino is on her way, till then let me show you where the magic happens."
Inside his workspace, shelves were lined with bottles, fresh ingredients and recipes that had travelled through generations.
As we walked around, Joe spoke less about business and more about memories.
Growing up across different parts of Northeast India, he had learnt cooking from the best teachers possible, his mother and his aunts.
Every kitchen had a different story. very region had a different flavour.
Those memories eventually became Saucy Joe's.
His dream wasn't simply to make sauces.
It was to make people curious enough to discover Naga cuisine without being intimidated by it.
If one bottle could start that conversation... it had done its job.
He showed me baskets of freshly harvested Naga King Chillies.
We talked about sourcing, preserving, bottling and consistency.
Then came the tastings.
Lots of tastings.
Every few minutes another bottle appeared.
"Try this."
"No, now try this one."
"And definitely don't leave without tasting this."
I'm fairly sure my taste buds were working overtime.
Then something unexpected caught my eye.
A tiny glass jar.
Inside were fresh green peppercorns resting quietly in brine.
Back home, I'd only ever known pepper as those little black grains sitting in a pepper shaker.
Here... I was meeting pepper at the beginning of its journey.
Joe handed me one.
I hesitated.
Then tasted it.
It was fresh.
Bright.
Gentle.
Nothing like the sharp bite I was expecting.
And suddenly every sauce I tasted afterwards seemed to open up in new ways.
Travel has a funny habit of making familiar things feel completely new again.
Among all the sauces, a few quickly became my favourites.
The earthy warmth of the Kasundi.
The sweet tang of the Mango Chilli Sauce.
And of course...
the fiery Naga King Chilli Sauce.
Let's just say...
if you enjoy living dangerously, you'll absolutely love it.
Another jar on the counter drew my attention.
This time, it wasn't filled with spices.
It was packed with deep blue dried flowers.
Butterfly Pea Flowers.
Joe brewed a cup for me and explained how adding a squeeze of lemon transforms the brilliant blue tea into shades of purple.
It felt less like making tea...
and more like watching a little piece of everyday magic.
Sometimes nature puts on the best show.
A little later, Viseino joined us. Over coffee, we spoke about the future.
Their plans.
Our plans.
And the exciting possibility of bringing Saucy Joe's to customers far beyond Nagaland.
At the time, they were still in the process of formally setting up the company that would eventually house the Saucy Joe's brand.
Listening to both of them speak, I realised something.
Building a business isn't only about products. It's about patience. Shared dreams.
And finding people who believe in those dreams as much as you do.
Before leaving, Joe took me around the property.
He showed me where he hoped one day to build a dedicated production facility.
Nearby stood a small church and welfare centre that his parents had helped establish for the local community.
It explained a lot. Kindness, I realised, often runs in families.
As evening approached, Joe asked,
"So... what's your plan after Nagaland?"
"I'll probably take a bus to Darjeeling."
He shook his head immediately.
"No chance."
A few phone calls later, my plan had completely changed.
Instead of another long road journey, I was booked on a train from Dimapur to NJP (New Jalpaiguri).
One conversation had just saved me hours of travel.
Sometimes the best travel agents are simply good friends.
Our meeting wasn't over.
Far from it. Later that evening, Joe and Viseino picked me up again. Destination... Sky Lounge.
I must confess...
I never expected Dimapur to have such a lively rooftop bar.
Good food.
Great conversations.
Lots of laughter.
The kind of evening where nobody notices how quickly time disappears.
Looking back today, every bottle of Saucy Joe's sitting on the shelves of Darjeeling Connection reminds me not of a business partnership...
but of an evening in Dimapur.
Of friendships.
Of trust.
And of a promise that we'd build something meaningful together.
Some promises...
taste better with time.
🌿 Beyond the Journey
Did you know?
- Naga King Chilli (Raja Mircha) is one of the world's hottest chillies and has been awarded a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, recognising its unique origin and qualities.
- Fresh green peppercorns are simply unripe black pepper berries. Their flavour is milder, brighter and more aromatic than dried black pepper.
- Butterfly Pea Flower tea naturally changes colour from blue to purple when lemon juice is added, thanks to plant pigments called anthocyanins.
- Traditional Naga cooking relies heavily on smoking, fermentation and fresh local ingredients, creating flavours that are bold, distinctive and deeply rooted in the region's culture.
🎵 Mango's Road Playlist
Every road leaves behind a memory. Every memory finds its song.
Music has always been my travelling companion. These aren't necessarily the songs I was listening to at that moment, they're the ones that capture how this chapter feels whenever I look back on it. The sheer intensity and spice of Joe's sauces hit your palate like a high-octane guitar solo, leaving an unforgettable, fiery mark.
Theme: Friendship, Good Food & Open Roads
- The Doobie Brothers – Listen to the Music
- Van Morrison – Into the Mystic
- Little Feat – Dixie Chicken
- Steely Dan – Peg
- Joe Cocker – Feelin' Alright
- Iron Maiden – Powerslave
- Metallica – Fuel
Next Chapter...
The road now leads to a story of reinvention.
From handcrafted woodwork to a welcoming café, the next stop is Msere : where passion found a new purpose, proving that sometimes changing direction is the bravest journey of all.
Until the next road,
Mangesh Shinde (Mango)
Co-Founder, Darjeeling Connection