In the forests of northern Odisha, a meal can begin with a sting.
High above the ground, red weaver ants stitch leaves into tight green nests that sway with the wind but rarely fall apart.
For generations, tribal communities in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district have climbed these trees, gathered the ants by hand, and turned them into a fiery chutney, which to them is food, medicine, and memory.
To outsiders, the idea of eating ants may sound unusual. But entomophagy, the practice of consuming insects, has long existed across many Indigenous and traditional communities in India and around the world.
In Mayurbhanj, it is neither a novelty nor a survival gimmick. It is part of everyday life.
Now, this centuries-old food tradition has received wider recognition.
The chutney and soups made from the ants are also commonly consumed during flu, coughs, and seasonal illnesses. Locals say it helps improve appetite and supports overall health. Photograph: (royalbeebrothers)
Odisha’s Similipal Kai chutney, made from red weaver ants locally called kai pimpudi, recently received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, in 2024, a certification that acknowledges products deeply tied to the identity and heritage of a region.
But for the communities living around the Similipal landscape, the chutney was never just about taste.
A chutney rooted in the forest
The preparation itself is very simple.
The ants and their larvae are collected from leafy nests found across the forests of Mayurbhanj. They are then cleaned and ground with salt, garlic, ginger, and chillies into a pungent paste that is sharp, smoky, sour, and intensely spicy.
The red weaver ants — scientifically known as Oecophylla smaragdina — are available throughout the year. They build intricate nests by weaving leaves together using silk produced by their larvae. Some nests are small enough to fit in a palm, while others stretch over half a metre in length. Strong enough to withstand rain and wind, the structures hang like living architecture across the forest canopy.
Among the tribal communities of Mayurbhanj, kai chutney is consumed not only for nutrition but also for wellness. Photograph: (istock Photos)
Inside these colonies, thousands of ants live in organised groups with workers, major workers, and queens. The ants are known for their painful bite, through which they release irritants containing formic acid.
That same formic acid is one reason local communities believe the ants possess healing properties.
More than food
Among the tribal communities of Mayurbhanj, kai chutney is consumed not only for nutrition but also for wellness.
Traditional healers use oils infused with red weaver ants to treat fungal infections, ringworm, and localised skin inflammation. The oil is also massaged onto joints to ease rheumatism and gout. The ants are believed to possess antibacterial and antiseptic properties because of their high concentration of formic acid.
The chutney and soups made from the ants are also commonly consumed during flu, coughs, and seasonal illnesses. Locals say it helps improve appetite and supports overall health.
Scientists studying the ants have found that these beliefs are not entirely disconnected from nutrition science.
Researchers from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology found the ants to be rich in proteins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper, and vitamin B-12. In regions where access to diverse nutrition can be difficult, the ants have long acted as a natural dietary supplement.
Deepak Mohanty, senior scientist and head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Jashipur in Mayurbhanj district, told Down To Earth that the red weaver ant remains an important source of health protection for local tribes. Besides chutney, the ants are also consumed as soups and medicinal preparations.
A sustainable source of protein
At a time when conversations around climate-friendly food systems are growing louder, the red ant chutney offers another lesson: sustainability often already exists within Indigenous food traditions.
Insects are increasingly being studied worldwide as an alternative protein source because they require significantly fewer resources than conventional livestock farming. Compared to meat production, insect consumption is associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller ecological footprint.
The chutney and soups made from the ants are also commonly consumed during flu, coughs, and seasonal illnesses. Photograph: (Kisan Tak)
For communities living near forests, harvesting red weaver ants is also deeply connected to local ecosystems rather than industrial food systems.
The GI tag has now pushed this local food into national conversations around nutrition and sustainable eating.
The application for the GI tag was filed in 2020 by The Mayurbhanj Kai Society Ltd, a collective that has spent years promoting the chutney beyond tribal communities through food festivals and awareness campaigns.
Speaking to Down To Earth, Nayadhar Padhial, secretary of the society, said the organisation was formed in 2018 to popularise kai chutney and create awareness around its nutritional value.
But the real story of Kai chutney is not about shock value or culinary curiosity. It is about a community that understood sustainable food systems long before the world began packaging them as climate solutions.
