Pork thongba 

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig(sus domesticus). Pork is one of the most widely eaten meats in the world. Pork can be cooked in many ways of your desire. It is one of my favorites even though many people think that its too oily to eat. Its taste is so good in momos, burger, macroni etc. Best time to eat pork is in winter even though too much consumption results in digestive problem. However eating pork in summer does not decrease the taste.

Now lets come to the cooking part of it. I have chosen the most easiest method: just by boiling. In this method we have to boil all the ingredients together in the cooking vessel. Here it goes....

 Ingredients:

 Pork

Onion

Ginger

Garlic

Awa fadigom

Green chilli
Tomato

Water 

Salt to taste

   Steps of preparation:

1.First clean the pork thoroughly and keep in a vessel.

2.Add some salt to it and leave it aside.
 

3.Take a cooker and put the meat in the pressure cooker and heat it.

4.After 3-4 whistle open the lid and add onion, garlic, ginger,green chilli, chilli powder and awa fadigom along with coriander powder.

 

5.Now add tomato and cover the pressure cooker and cook for another 3-5 whistle.

6.When the meat gets cooked completely and then you can serve with hot rice

 

Chengshu or Ahabi

Chengshu or ahabi is a popular evening snack for the Manipuris. It is prepared with the Meitei cheng. Chengshu is mostly liked by the women and teenagers. The most appropriate time to have this snack is after a short afternoon nap.
Today is Sunday. And to make this Sunday spicy and eventful I am going to write about chengshu as preparation of chengshu consumes more time then other popular snacks. And I really like this snack from the core of my heart. So here it is......



Ingredients:
 

• rice grain of your desired

• a few ngari

• dry red chillies

• a medium size onion

• nakupi

• corriander leaves

Steps of preparation:

1.On a pan,roast the rice grain until it turns light brown.

2.Transfer it on a plate.

3. And roast the ngari along with the dry red chillies.

4. Grind the roasted rice grain with the roasted ngari and chillies together.

5. After that add salt and mix properly.

6. Now add the sliced onion, corriander leaves and nakupi.

      Now the hot and spicy chengshu or ahabi is ready to serve.

Chakhao Kheer

Chakhao is a variety of rice grown in Manipur. It is somewhat black in color. It is an excellent source of fiber, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants and commonly served at celebratory feasts. It has aromatic  smell and sticky too. I really liked to eat Chakhao Kheer instead of the Kheer madewith normal rice. So I am trying out for my first time, here it goes.....

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of chakhao

• Milk 

• Cardamon powder/ raisin/ dry coconut

• 1-2 bay leaves

• Sugar to taste

Steps of preparation:

1.Soak the chakhao for about 3-5 hours.

2. drain of the water.

3. On a pot take water, add milk and bay leaves, let it boil and transfer the chakhao.

4.Cook on a low flame and stir well.

5.Add more milk if required and cook till the rice is done.

6.Add sugar as you desired. Add raisins, cardamon powder, dry coconut and stir until completely dissolved.

7.And the delicious chakhao kher is ready to serve.

 Tharoi thongba(water snail)

In Manipur, there are three types of tharoi- loubuk tharoi, tharoi ninggabi and lai tharoi. The best time to have tharoi is before the monsoon season. Tharoi is cooked usually with loklei, ngari and specially with mukthrubi mana (a well known Manipuri herb). Among the various tharoi found in Manipur, Lai  tharoi is more tasty than the other varieties found,so it is costlier. It is eaten before cheiraoba(new year of Meitei).So to prepare this tasty Manipuri cuisine you will need...

Ingredients:

Tharoi

Potato 3-5(medium sized)

5-7 loklei(galangal)

5-6 ngari
A piece of ginger

10-15 dried red chillies

A few maroi napakpi(chinese chives)

A few maroi nakupi( chives)

A few awa fadigom(culantro)

A few coriander leaves

A few mukthrubi mana (Sichuan pepper leaves)

2tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Steps of preparation:

 

    





 
 

     1. Soak the tharoi in water at least one day in advance and cut both the faces and add few rice grains to cleanse out all the nasty stuff from inside the shell.

     2.On the next day wash the tharoi properly in fresh water. And put the tharoi in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistle.

    3.And on another pressure cooker put the potatoes, loklei(galangal),chilli  and cook for1 whistle.

    4.Now pour out the potatoes, loklei(galangal),chilli on a vessel.

5  5. Roast the ngari on a pan and mash them together,add salt according to taste, add water till the desired consistency in the gravy.

    6.After that pour out the tharoi on another vessel and drain all the water.

    7.Next on another pan put the tharoi and fry it for 10 minutes by adding some salt.

    8. Heat oil on a pan and toss the napakpi, nakupi,samaroi, ginger, mukthrubi mana till it turn brown and add the previous mixture and stir them together now add the tharoi and let it boil for 5-7 minutes.

    9. Now add a few mukthrubi and coriander leaves and turn off the flame and its ready to serve.

Thumyakpi kanghou

Thumyakpi kanghou is a yummy side dish for the Meitei. Side dishes is an important part of the Meitei cuisine.We have many side dishes like morok metpa, shingju, kanghou etc. Among these side dishes thumyakpi kanghou with maroi nakuppi is one of my favorite. And this the way how I prepare.

Ingredients

1. 4-5 thumyakpi(medium size)
2. 10 green chillis
3. Some nakuppi (chinese chives)
4.a few turmeric powder
5. Oil
6.salt to taste

 Steps of preparation:

1.In warm water soak the thumyakpi for a few minutes and peel off the skin  and  cut it into pieces.
2. Chop the nakuppi and the green chillies.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the thumyakpi for about 10 minutes.
4.Add the green chills and fry for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the turmeric powder and fry for 2-3 minutes.
6. And at last add the chopped nakuppi and fry for another 10 minutes and add salt to taste.

              Now its ready to serve.

 

Chagem ooti or ooti asangba(green ooti)

Ooti is a typical Manipuri vegetarian dish usually made with rice and pangkhokla. You can add sponge gourd also. But it was not the season so I prepare it only with rice and pangkhokla. Ooti is a very well known cuisine of Manipur cooked and eaten in every house. Ooti is one of my favouriteamong the Manipuri dishes and I love to prepare it. So here it is....

  

Ingredients

• 20-30 pangkhokla leaves
• a handful of rice
• a few nakupi (Chinese chives)
• bay leaves(tespata mana)
• a piece of ginger
• Baking soda
• 1 tbsp of  mustard oil 
• salt to taste