Maroi Nakuppi ga Khajing Kanghou (Chinese Chives and shrimps fried)

Maroi Nakuppi is an important part of Manipuri cuisine, we use it as an alternative to onion esp for tempering in vegetarian dishes and many people from the older generation prefer this than onion. This recipe is an age old recipe and one of my all time favourite, my mother makes it really well like more other things but since I love to eat, this was one of the first things I learned to make on my own. Its easy to make and taste really good. If you are in Delhi you can buy it from the INA market and if abroad most Asian food and grocery stores sells it. In Sweden I buy it from the Asian store which is a bit expensive but during summer we get the locally grown chinese chives which is not only cheap but taste far better.  I am looking forward to next month when we will get it in the local market. The ingredients bellow will serve about 2 people. 

Ingredients:

1. A small bunch of chinese chives or about 250 gm.

2. 2-3 green chillies 

3. Few garlic cloves 

4. Shrimps ( I used the dried shrimps, soaked in water for 10 mins and drained , one can always use the fresh ones as it tastes better)

5. 2 tbsp mustard oil.

6. Turmeric powder

6. Salt to taste 

Steps:

1. Take a frying pan and put it on medium heat, add the mustard oil and once it is smoking hot add the crushed garlic and chopped chillies. Fry for 2-3 mins and add some turmeric powder and stir it well.

2. Add the shrimps and mix it well, fry for another 5 mins on medium heat.

3. Add the chopped chinese chives and mix well. The chives gets cooked real quick so continue cooking on medium or even low heat. Mix it well with the other ingredients. 

4. Dried shrimps are normally salty so don't add a lot of salt. If you are using fresh shrimps you can add little more salt. Taste and remember never to cover it while frying this will retain all the moisture and make it a bit soggy. 

Serve hot with steamed white rice and with some eromba will be really good. 

Super happiness wala food

Sometimes I think I get to eat more Manipuri veggies and food in Hague then in other part of India. The Oriental supermarket sells many vegetables we eat in Manipur. Hanggam, Yongchak Maru (though a lil different), Ekai-thabi, Thambou, Chile's simillar to Ou-morok, Yendem, Yai-ngangla, Marou-Nakuppi, Marou-Napakpi, Sa-Maroi, Kolamni, Ousoi and much more. The other day I went to The Oriental supermarket, I bought hanggam and Yongchaak maru it tastes the same but the only difference is the price, a packet of hanggam cost 1.5 euro where as back home it will cost just about 10 or15 bucks......I know I should stop this conversion business but my mind is stuck to the Rs and refuses to adapt to Euro....hahaha.  

I also went to another store as suggested by my Chinese floor mate called "Wah Nah Hong", which also sells things similar to The Oriental but a little cheaper and I found Wai wai and Ou-chi na at the store, food and ingredients wise I've no complains in Hague....my happiness is at max now with these food discovery.

In the evening for dinner I made "Nga ga Hanggam ga thongba & Yongchaak maru singju",  though thousands of miles apart, I felt closer to home.

Yongchaak maru, hanggam and Wai wai....happiness food

Yongchaak Singju

Yongchaak Singju is a very popular Meitei dish, its not a main dish but one of the all time fav, side dish. I like it spicy and the best is with Oumorok...worlds ex.hottest chillie. The Picture and Recipe is below.

Ingredients:

• 2 Yongchaak (Peeled and thinly chopped as the pic. above)
• 1 Oumorok  or 10 Dry Red chillies.
• Ngari
• 1 piece Fried fish (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Onion for garnish.

Method:

• Peel the yongchaak and chop it into thin pieces.
• Prepare a paste of Oumorok with Ngari & Salt (One can steam it by putting Ngari and chillies in a small steel container inside a pressure cooker or alternatively what most Meitei's do is we put the Ngari and chillie in a small steel bowl and let it cook by steam while cooking rice in a Handi or Rice Cooker)
• Mix the Chillie paste with yongchaak.
• Garnish it with onions.

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Serves: 4-5

Yongchaak Singju

Yongchaak kang-hanbagi steps

Yongchaak

1. Peeling the Yongchaak- To take out the green cover

2, One needs to cut both the sides of yongchaak after peeling.

3. Yongchaak Peeled and ready to be cooked or sun dried

Manipuri's....esp. Meitei's just love to eat Yongchaak...it can be Eromba, Singju, Kanghou or in Mixed veg. Yongchaak holds a very important position in the list of vegetables that Manipuri's eat. It is a winter vegetable, available only for 4-5 months in the year. The season starts from November and continues upto March "Ningol Chakouba" I guess will not be complete without "Yongchaak Eromba or Singju".

So how do Manipuri's manage the other part of the year without it....well its a simple thing that we do...we sun dry it and preserve it to have it during months when its not available. When the Yongchaak maru gets big its peeled and cut into pieces for sun drying. Sun drying yongchaak is not a very pleasant thing and I am sure most of us would not like it to do it...it involves peeling the yongchaak...which in itself is a huge task...the green cover needs to be peeled using what we  Meitei's call "Yongkhot" (Picture's above) the green cover is very sticky and it makes our skin very dry when it sticks to our palm. I use a really good quality kitchen glove while peeling .... and it sure saves me from the trouble. 

The above pictures demonstrate the way we eat yongchaak, after peeling the cover its cut into big n small pieces, the bigger pieces are for eromba and smaller are for singju...the above pictures also shows the peeling, cutting and also the process involved before sun drying it. People around the world eat yongchaak in different way like in Tripura, the local communities eat it by  roasting it over fire. South-East Asian people have the green seed inside...but I guess its only the Manipuri's who peel the cover/skin and then prepare various items.

Peeling yongchaak for sun drying is sure a time consuming and not a very pleasant task but am I complaining...no. Khane ke liyeh kuch bhi karega :).

Nongmangkha Mapaan Kanghou

Nongmangkha Mapan

Ingredients for Nongmangkha Mapan Kanghou

Nongmangkha Mapan Kanghou

Nongmangkha in bloom

Nongmangkha (pronounced Nong-mang-kha) is another vegetable which I believe is grown and had only in my native state Manipur, its very...veryyyyy bitter in taste and its supposed to have medicinal qualities (I sometimes wonder why all bitter things to eat have medicinal qualities).  I remember being forced to drink the water boiled with Nongmangkha leaves when we had fever or cold. 

The leaves and flower (mapaan) are eaten in Manipur, during Ushop its made into a dish called "Suktani" which is not in my list of fav. Manipuri dish but I like Kanghou or Nongmangkha Mapaan or the leaves. The ingredients are simple and preparation even simpler.

Ingredients: 

• 2 Potatos.
• 4-5 greens chillies.
• 1 Bowl of Nongmangkha Mapaan/leaves.
• 1 onion.
• 2-3 Garlic cloves.
• 2 tbsp oil.
• Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste

Method

• In  a non stick frying pan add 2 tbsp oil and once its smoking hot add the chopped garlic and onion, fry for 2-3 mins.
• Add the Green Chillies and small cubes of potatos, cover the pan and fry for 10 mins or till the potato's are almost done.
• Add turmeric powder and salt, stir it well and add the nongmangkha mapaan/leaves. (Remember that if you are using Nongmangkha leaves chop it into medium size.)
• Cover the pan and fry for atleast 10 mins in low flame.
• Serve hot with rice and Yongchaak ka Hawaimubi ga Eromba.

Serves: 3-4

Cooking Time: 25-30 Mins

Meikthrubi Manna

Meikthrubi Manna- Picture

Meikthrubi Manna is one of the important ingredients used in making "Tharoi- Thongba", the leaves gives a distinct smell when crushed or fried and it is also used in making bora. It can be dried and stored for later use,.The Meikthrubi tree is not very  big, it also has small thorns and one needs to be careful while plucking the leaves, its sold in bunch in local markets. I've not seen it being sold or grown anywhere else other then Manipur.

Interesting Video Clip- Manipuri Veggies

One Chillie....many names

Oo- Morok or Raja Mirchi or Bhut Jalokia or Capsicum chinense

Worlds Hottest Chillie (ex now)

Chilles are a very integral part of Manipuri Cuisine, Eromba will not be the same without chillies and if its prepared with Oo-Morok phir toh khane ka mazza kuch aur he hai. Imagine Kangsoi without chillies or Lafuu Tharo Paknam without any chillie...oh I can't even imagine that for it will not taste like Kangsoi or my fav. Paknam. Oo- Morok no doubt is or now was worlds hottest chillie it measures 1,041,427 on the Scoville Scale ( Scoville units are the measures that grade the hotness of a Chilli.) our fav. Ou-Morok is dethroned by the Infinity Chilli recently and it measures 1,067,286 on the Scoville Scale. 

Manipuri's love Oo-Morok, it adds flavor to any dish esp. Eromba and I feel it tastes best with Oo-Morok. Yongchak- Aloo Eromba with Oo-Morok...yummyyyyy....or Yongchak Singju with Oo-Morok ahhhhh. In Manipur Oo-Morok is mostly grown in Hilly Districts, when my dad was posted at Tameilong I remember dad getting fresh Oo-Morok during the season and the dried one during off season. Recently one of my frens in-laws sent her a Kilo of dried  Oo-Morok and I was just thinking the damage it'll do to the poor stomachs but also the mouth watering dish she and her husband will be having everyday.

Recipe-Cha wai and hawai maton singju

Sinju is another manipuri mei world famous item, its a snack for us. Sinju is more like a vegetable salad made from mixing of various vegetables indigenious to Manipur like tumnikhok, compret,haibi mana and other vegetables. The pic. above is another type of sinju made from hawai maton (pea leaves), cha wai (a typr of rajma), tumnikhok, spring onion, green chillies, ngari (fermented fish) and salt of course. Aisa hai ke yeh sinju jo khayega woh eek baar khaoge toh khate reh jaoge wali baat toh jaruur hogi...here's the recipe

Ingredients:

-200 gms Hawai maton

-200 gms cha wai.

-Four to five Spring onion

-One medium size onion

-Five to six Tumnikhok

-12-15 green chilies

-Ngari

-Salt to taste

Method

-Wash the cha wai and pressure cook it with the chillies(if the cha wai is fresh only 2 whistle and if its the dried and socked one then 4-5 whistle).

-Chop the spring onion, tumnikhok and onion.

-Steam the ngari and mix it with the green chillies and salt. Make a fine paste.

-Mix the paste with the chopped spring onion, tumnikhok, onion and hawai maton.

-Add the cha wai at the end and mix it together. Bingo the mouth watering sinju is ready...enjoy.

Recipe-Nga thumyakpi and maroi nakuppi kanghou

In Meitei cusine side dishes plays an important part, every main course is has a side dish like a morok-metpa (chilli chutney) with vegetable kangsoi (a type of vegetable stew), kanghou, bora (pakora), singju (a type of vegetable salad). Maroi nakuppi and nga thumyakppi kanghou is a a yummy side dish and the two items makes it a lethal combo, I don't know how meitei's acquired the taste of nga thum yakpi (sun dried salted sea fish) and we do have some really yummy items made using nga thumyakpi and here's one of the yummiest.

Ingredients:

1. Three medium size nga thumyakpi.

2. Abt 8-10 Green chillies.

3.250 gms maroi nakuppi.

4.1/2 tbsp turmeric.

Method:

-Sock the nga thumyakpi in water for 30 mins, take the skin out ,clean it and cut into medium size.

-Slit and chop the green chillies.

-Chop the maroi nakuppi.

-On a non stick frying pan add 1 tbsp refined oil and fry the nga thumyakpi for abt 10 mins on medium flame.

-Add the green chillies and fry for 2-3 mins.

-Add lil turmeric and fry for 1-2 mins.

-Add the chopped maroi nakuppi and fry for another8-10 mins.(Maroi nakuppi takes very little time to get cooked) add salt to taste....the yummy kanghou is ready.

Fresh Piruk