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| Peanuts and Soybeans Fry~Indian State: Manipur |
To me Manipuri was always a dance form, not for once have I thought before this marathon as Manipuri food! Maybe because I am mesmerised by their dance form!!
Do you know that Manipuri classical form of dance is not only to be one of the chastest,
modest, softest and mildest but the most meaningful dances of the world. It’s a
treat to see the Raslila in this dance form!
So what is the cuisine in Manipur like?
Manipuri cuisines are simple, organic and healthy. Dishes are typically spicy foods
that use chilli pepper rather than garam masalas hence
healthy, simple and organic foods. Most of the cuisine does not use oil as its
ingredients.
The staple diet of Manipur consists of rice, large varieties of
leafy vegetables (of both aquatic and terrestrial) and fishes.
Manipuris typically raise vegetables in a kitchen garden and rear fishes
in small ponds around their house. Since the vegetables are either grown at
home or obtained from local markets. The cuisines are very seasonal, each
season having its special vegetables and preparations. The taste is very
different from mainland Indian cuisines because of the use of various aromatic
herbs and roots that are peculiar to the region.
Common foods are Eromba a vegetable, Singju is a salad, Chamthong or
Kangshoi is a stew
of any seasonal vegetables, Morok metpa is a routine side dish ,it is a coarse
paste prepared with green or dry red chilies mixed with chopped onions,
coriander leaves and other local herbs for garnishing.
Other dishes include kang-ngou or kaang-hou (various vegetables stir fried with
traditional spices), nganam (prepared with fish and maroi on a pan) or paaknam (sort of a pancake prepared with a
mixture of pea flour, maroi
napaakpi, laphu tharo, awa phadigom, and ngari wrapped in turmeric and banana leaves
and baked in a pan or steam it first and then roasted it for sometime), nga-thongba (fish curry), ooti (a typical Manipuri vegetarian dish), pakoura thongba, chagem pomba (made with fermented soya, mustard
leaves, roasted or smoked fish and other herbs), keli chana, alu kangmet (boiled potato mashed with fried red
chilli and nakuppi with salt and/or dressed with mustard
oil), sana thongba which is prepared with paneer in
Manipuri style, a-nganba (steamed vegetables, such as pumpkin,
peas, carrots, French beans, etc.).
