Manipuri cuisine


Manipuri cuisine is usually represented by the traditional cuisine of the Meiteis, an ethnic majority of Manipur, a state of North Eastern India. Daily meals are based on rice, with a few side dishes of vegetables and fish. A meal would usually have a vegetable stew called ensaang or athongba, flavored with dried or fried fish; stir-fried vegetables called kanghou; and a spicy item, which could be morok metpa, iromba, or singju. All piquant side dishes are accompanied by a choice of fresh herbs, collectively called maroi. The base and essence of Meitei cuisine is the fermented fish called ngari.
A side of steamed or boiled vegetables with a hint of sugar are also quite common as palate cleansers in most meals. The aromatics of most dishes start with frying bay leaf, chives, onion, garlic, and ginger in mustard oil. The rest of the vegetables follow after that. Oil is sparingly used in most of the main stews but the sides of kanghou and bora make up for that. Fish is also a staple, and appears in every meal, either as ngaari or as roasted or fried pieces. While fish is an essential part of the diet, due to increasing prices, fish curry is prepared only occasionally, or during feasts. The Meiteis live in the valley of Manipur where freshwater fish from lakes and rivers and ponds had been plentiful until recent times. While part of the cuisine has some influences from the cuisines of Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, Siberia, Micronesia, Polynesia as well as from Assam and West Bengal, the essence remains distinct from any other.

Basic diet

The staple diet of Manipur consists of rice, fish, large varieties of leafy vegetables. 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 market, the cuisines are very seasonal, each season having its own special vegetables and preparations.
The taste is very different from other Indian cuisines because of the use of various aromatic herbs and roots that are peculiar to the region and list of these aromatic herbs and roots are listed below.

Aromatic herbs and roots used by the Manipuris

  1. Nungshi hidak
  2. Maroi napaakpi
  3. Maroi naakuppi
  4. Awaa phadigom
  5. Mayang-ton
  6. Toning-khok
  7. Khanghuman / Kanghu-maan
  8. Mukthrubi
  9. Phakpai
  10. Chantruk
  11. Yaipan
  12. Kang-hu mapaan
  13. Takhel-manao
  14. Nongmangkha-mapan
  15. Leipung-khang
Further, many large varieties of the vegetables that are used in daily meals are found only in and around the region and not seen elsewhere. Some of these are as follows:
  1. Yendem
  2. Hangam Pere
  3. Kobi
  4. Hangam angouba
  5. Chawai
  6. Hawai manaa
  7. Koukhaa
  8. Kakthrum
  9. Loklei
  10. kengoi
  11. Punlei
  12. Kolamni
  13. Peruk
  14. Yelaang
  15. Kengoi
  16. Phunin
  17. Yensil
  18. Thaanjing
  19. Yongchaak
  20. Yaipan
  21. khang-mana
  22. Komprek
  23. Hei-ba mana
  24. Yendung
  25. Chengkhruk
  26. Tengnou-Maanbi
  27. Ookhajing
  28. Ikaithabi
  29. Sougri
Various kind of mushrooms also form an important part of the cuisines. These include:
  1. Thangjiyen
  2. leibakmaroom
  3. Uyen
  4. Uchi-na
  5. Chengum
  6. charu-yen
  7. Kanglayen,
  8. Ushoi, etc.
There are also ingredients in the cuisine that require an acquired taste, such as Hawaijaar, Soibum and Ngaa-ri.

Simple dishes

is a chutney that have vegetables boiled or steamed with a lot of red chillies or umorok with ngari, smoked or roasted fish and mashed together. "U-morok" – literally ‘tree chilli’ u = tree; morok = chilli. It is garnished with herbs like maroi.
Singju is a salad which may be prepared with finely chopped banana stem, laphu tharo, cabbage, lotus stem, komprek, kollamni, tree beans, coriander leaves, sinju pan, ginger, heibi mana and many seasonal vegetables mixed with ngari. 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.
Chamthong or Kangshoi is a stew of any seasonal vegetables with coarsely chopped onions or spring onion, maroi - both yennam nakuppi and napakpi, ginger, ngari and salt, topped with ngari, dried fish, or fried fish pieces and water. It is soupy in consistency and is eaten with rice.
Morok metpa 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 ngari or simply crushed and then mashed with salt and ngari; fried fish pieces can also be added to it. This is something which accompanies both the meals as a routine side dish.
Other dishes include kang-ngou or kaang-hou, nganam or paaknam, nga-thongba, ooti, pakoura thongba, chagem pomba, keli chana, alu kangmet, sana thongba which is prepared with paneer in Manipuri style, a-nganba.