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

Steps of preparation:

1. Take a pot with some water and add the rice.
2. When the rice starts to boil, add the pangkhokla leaves.
   (note that the pangkhokla leaves shoud not be chop put them as a   whole).
3. Let it boil for 15-20 minutes and add water if required.
4. Make sure not to stir it to avoid that sting (what we call lengba in Manupuri).
5. Now add some sliced ginger, bay leaves and baking soda.
6. When all the pangkhokla leaves are disintegrated into a paste turn off the burner and keep aside.
7. On another pan heat the oil and fry the chopped nakupi(chinese chives), fry them till it turn brown.
8.Then add the fried nakupi into the ooti and add salt and stir it repeatedly and cook them for about a minute.

              And the  green ooti is ready to serve.