Share
In contrast to other cuisines, Manipuri food frequently uses fermented foods, fragrant herbs, and unique regional spices to create meals that have a pleasing harmony of flavours. Manipuri food is known for its uniqueness and cultural significance, and this unusual combination results in a tasty and unique experience.
Here is a list of well-known traditional dishes from Manipuri cuisine:
1. Eromba:
This is a fragrant and traditional dish cooked with fermented fish, a variety of veggies (such as beans, yams, and bamboo shoots), and an indigenous green leafy vegetable. The meal, which combines the earthiness of vegetables with the tanginess of fermented fish, is well-known for its strong flavours and strong scent.
Video Credit: YouTube/ Eat Your Kappa
It also combines spices like garlic, coriander and chillies. In order to get an aromatic, thick curry, it uses a blend of tomatoes and potatoes. Eromba is usually made by cooking the ingredients together and then mashing them. It enhances the complexity and diversity of Manipuri food and goes well with steamed rice.
2. Singju:
A classic Manipuri salad, singju is a treat to eat because of its bright flavour and variety of ingredients. Crisp seasonal veggies like green papaya, cabbage, and lotus stem are combined with roasted chickpeas, herbs, and ngari, a tart fermented fish sauce. A well-balanced combination of crunchy, tangy, spicy, and umami flavours and textures is the end result.
Finely chopped veggies are combined with roasted chickpeas and seasoned with ngari, a fermented fish to make singju. Mint and cilantro, two flavourful herbs, are frequently used as garnishes. Singju is a refreshing and healthy accompaniment to meals and goes well with many Manipuri foods.
3. Morok Metpa:
The spicy Manipuri chilli chutney, Morok Metpa, is well-known for its robust flavour. Made with garlic, fermented fish (ngari), and green chilies, it has a strong, spicy, and umami taste. To make, toast the green chilies, mash them with the ngari and garlic, and combine well. The end product is a colourful, textured condiment that gives every meal a kick. A mainstay of Manipuri cooking, morok metpa has a distinct flavour that goes well with a variety of foods and represents the region's fondness of strong, aromatic flavours.
Also Read: Discovering the Culinary Charms of Manipur
4. Chagem Pomba:
A typical Manipuri meal known for its distinct taste is Chagem Pomba. Made from fermented soybean cooked along with different vegetables mixing with rice and sweet potato leaves of native herbs, spices flavours. The procedure is slow and time taking till it forms a thick gravy. Its powerful flavour profile is enhanced by the use of native spices during the cooking process. For those who enjoy traditional, regionally influenced cuisine, Chagem Pomba offers a fascinating and authentic experience that highlights the rich culinary legacy of Manipur.
5. Alu Kangmet:
A Manipuri speciality called Alu Kangmet consists of mashed potatoes mixed with spices. The flavours of mustard oil, red chills and salt, potatoes to create a balance of flavours. To make, boil and mash potatoes, then add salt, green chilies, and mustard. The end product is a tasty, settle, and subtly spicy side dish that goes well with almost all Manipuri dishes. For those looking for real Manipuri flavours, Alu Kangmet offers a distinctive and basic taste of it, it is mostly served with steamed or fermented rice.
6. Peruk Kangsu:
Roasted peas and boiled pennywort are combined to make Peruk Kangsu. Pennywort is a perennial creeper that grows in wetlands, ponds, and marshes. This perennial herbaceous plant, which is frost-tender, is a member of the Apiaceae family and is locally referred to as peruk in Manipuri. It is thought to be a medicinal plant and is commonly found in Manipur. It can be used as an ingredient in eromba and kangsu, or eaten raw as a salad or boiled with other vegetables to make champhut. Kangsu literally translates to "prepared dry," meaning that no water or gravy is added. Almost similar to the dish singju.
7. Ooti:
A classic sweet delicacy from Manipur, ooti has a distinct flavour and texture. Prepared with soaked peas. It is a very light dish without much spices and masala. Just a light gravy adding cumin in hot oil with bay leaf and chillies along with some ginger garlic paste until the peas cooks properly. This gives a light aroma but great to taste. This can be accompanied with any type of dishes like steamed rice and chapatis. This flavour is kind of similar to green matar ghugni of North Indian cuisine.
