Gastronomical Odyssey: A Take on Culinary Cultures

 PART II

A Glimpse at the Manipuri Cuisine

This essay will take you to one of the forgotten states in the north eastern region of the country, Manipur, for reasons not related to another Marry Kom victory nor any killings by the insurgents but for a rather mundane thing like the food we casually eat every day. This piece shows a brief insight into the food habits of the Manipuri Meiteis (meaning mostly the Hindus or the non-tribals) and how it interestingly is different from the popularly known “Indian food”, emphasizing on a festival called “Cheiraoba” which is a new year for the Meiteis.

Cheiraoba occurs in the month of April. Preparation of varieties of cuisines in each house is, inter alia, a significant characteristic of this festival, which is first offered to the almighty and then shared among the families and the neighbours. The picture right below shows the cuisines put together in bowls made of banana leaves.

Figure 1: Food offered to the Almighty on the festival of Cheiraoba

Source: http://www.imphalonline.in/city-guide/food-in-imphal

The cuisines are simple, tasty, organic and healthy. Dishes are typically spicy foods that use chili (dry or fresh) rather than garam masala (a mixture of spices) hence healthy, simple and organic. Most of the cuisines don’t use oil as its ingredient. Since the vegetables are either grown at home or obtained from local market, the cuisines are very seasonal, each season having its own 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. There are also ingredients in the cuisines that require an acquired taste, such as “hawaijaar”(fermented soya bean, somewhat similar to the Japanese Natto), “soibum” (fermented bamboo shoot) and “ngaari” (fermented fish).

The principal food items of Manipur (meiteis) are rice, fish and vegetables. One of the favourite food of the Manipuris is ngaari, which actually is a type of fermented fish. To prepare the ngaari, small fresh water fishes are fermented with mustard oil and salt in earthen pots for about six months. The final product is a solid mass with sticky surface and strong pungent smell. It is eaten after elaborate cooking and is often used as an ingredient to prepare dishes like vegetable mix curry or chutney. It can also be eaten as condiment with rice. It is interesting to note that though ngaari carries a distinct smell, it is a taste-enhancer when added to other preparations as an ingredient. 

Most of the delicacies prepared in the Manipuri household involve fish in various forms like roasted fish, dried fish, fried fish and so on. This article gives a glimpse of some of the common dishes prepared on the occasion of Cheiraoba.

Fish Curry- It is the most significant dish of the Meitieis. Various means of cooking fish are used. Mostly, fresh water fishes are eaten which are either caught from the rivers and lakes or reared in fish ponds. Pea, potato, tomato, bamboo-shoot etc. are added for the desired taste. Similar to the people of Bengal and the neighboring north eastern states, people in Manipur love eating fish.

Figure 2: The Meitei Fish Curry

Source: Fish - http://manipurtalks.com/index.php?resources/hilsa-fish-curry.116/

Eromba- Vegetables boiled or steamed with a lot of red chilies or umorok (king chili), ngaari (fermented fish), smoked or roasted fish are mashed together to prepare eromba. Umorok is the world’s hottest chili which is grown in the north eastern states of India which not only gives a spicy taste but also a mouth-watering aroma. It is grown easily in the kitchen gardens of Manipur as well as available fresh in the market. It is garnished with locally available herbs [like Maroinapaakpi (Hooker chives), Maroinaakuppi (Chinese chives), Awaaphadigom (Mexican coriander), Mayang-ton (Lemon Basil), Toning-khok (Chameleon plant), Phakpai (Vietnamese coriander), Chantruk (Wavy Bitter cress)] giving a distinct taste and aroma.

Figure 3: The Delectable Eromba Garnished with Loal Herbs

Source: https://joyrajwaikhom.wordpress.com/tag/manipuri-cuisine/

Singju- It is a type of salad which may be prepared with finely chopped laphu (banana stem), laphutharo (banana flower), cabbage, lotus root, kompret (a kind of scented herb), coriander leaves, ginger and other seasonal vegetables mixed with ngaari. Boiled kidney beans are optional and the dish is seasoned with red chilli flakes, salt to taste, with roasted sesame powder and roasted chick pea powder.

Figure 4: Singju Salad

Source:Singju - http://khonjel.org/arts-culture/125-thambou-singju-a-manipuri-cuisine

Champhut- Nothing explains the item better than the literal interpretation of its name. “Cham” meaning simple and “phut” (or “phutpa”) meaning boil, champhut is mostly prepared with cabbage, cucumber, bottle gourd, green papaya, carrot and so on. People mostly add little bit of sugar to make it tasty. Boiled cucumber with sugar is undoubtedly unimaginable in “mainstream” India. India is indeed a land of diversity.

Ooti- it is a simple pea dish one doesn’t fail to like. It is cooked using the dried peas or fresh peas along with baking soda and the Chinese chives(called maroi in Manipuri). It could also be prepared with non-fermented bamboo shoot. Using fresh peas or adding locally available green leaves could give a beautiful greenish color to the dish.

Figure 5: Simply Peas: Ooti- the Favoured Manipuri Dish

Source: https://joyrajwaikhom.wordpress.com/tag/manipuri-cuisine/

Morok Metpa- It is a coarse paste prepared with green or dry red chilies mixed with chopped onions, coriander leaves and other local herbs for garnishing. The chilies are steamed or roasted with ngaari or simply crushed and then mashed with salt and ngaari; fried fish pieces can also be added to it. This is something which accompanies the meals as a routine side dish.

Figure 6: Morok Metpa: The Spicy Routine Side Dish

Source: http://mingudam.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/morok-atekpa-metpa/

Bora- It is what is known as pakora in mainland India, the only difference being that mostly seasonal herbs and other green leaves are used.

Figure 7: Eating Green- Bora Made of Local Herbs and Greens

Source: Bora - http://khonjel.org/food-zone/176-maroi-khajing-bora-a-manipuri-cuisine

So, these are some of the cuisines with distinctive characteristics and which are must-try for those who visit the small north-eastern state of Manipur. Although this essay talks about the cuisines in relation to a particular festival, one need not wait for the festival to try out the above mentioned cuisines. It could be prepared anytime. The Cheiraoba festival, although has certain other significance since it is welcoming the new year according to Manipuri calendar, it would not be an exaggeration to call it a festival of food at the same time. The picture below is indicative of the statement. A regular dining table is easily too small for all the dishes on the day of Cheiraoba.

 Figure 8: Cheiraoba- Festival of Food and Celebration of New Year 

Source: Taken by the author

Author’s Bio-Note:

Kshetrimayum Maheta Devi is currently pursuing LLB from Campus Law Center, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. She aspires to contribute in rendering social justice.  She has a wide range of interests including reading about various cultures around the globe.