Manipur is a gem of a state and is literally called as ‘the Jewelled Land’. The land of Manipur is blessed with lush green dense forests, rugged mountains, beautiful waterfalls and exotic tea estates.

Apart from this beauty Manipuri food is also something great to indulge in. what is best about the food here is it is loaded with vegetables and have almost no oil. The delicacies here are very authentic, without the use of any preservatives and include lots and lots of herbs like mint, Chinese chives, Mexican coriander and hooker chives.

Here are some of the best foods of Manipur that you must not miss when you visit this lovely state

 

• Chamthong

This dish consists of a load of seasonal vegetables like French beans, carrots, cherry tomatoes and peas that are flavored with onions, garlic and ginger. This healthy vegetable stew and is eaten along with rice or else fish. One must definitely enjoy this simple yet flavorful dish in Manipur.

 

• Paaknam

Paaknam is a cake prepared from a thick batter of Bengal gram flour. It is further flavored with vegetables, herbs, chillies and ngari. The main ingredients of the dish are Kanglayen and naapakpi which have immense health benefits. What makes the dish more authentic is the fact that the mixture is wrapped into a banana leaf and steamed.

 

• Nga Thongba

Nga Thongba is one of the main delicacies of the meitai community. The word nga means fish and Thongba means disintegrated. Thus you must have got an idea of how this dish is cooked, you are right; the fish is disintegrated completely to make the Nga Thongba. Enjoy this dish with rice for a fulfilling experience.

 

• Eromba

This is the most common and famous dish amongst the Manipuris. A nice bowl of eromba includes lots of vegetables and fermented fish. Mostly Ngari fish is used for the preparation and stink bean is one of the main ingredients of the dish. Apart from that chillies, buckwheat, arbi, lady’s finger, potatoes and bamboo shoots are also added to make it more wholesome. The word eromba means mixing and stirring, hence all the ingredients are mixed till it is converted into a paste.

• Singju

The Singju salad is the perfect combination of healthy and tasty. It includes vegetables like cabbage, coriander, tomatoes, onions, ginger, lotus stems, raw papaya, cabbage and banana flower. Yes, you are right; tons of vegetables are a part of this dish. A small quantity of besan and chilli powder is then added and topped with some delicious herbs.

• Chak-hao Kheer

This attractive dessert is purple in colour and made of rice, milk and cardamom powder. This traditional kheer is made using black rice and is thus very healthy. The aroma of the kheer is heavenly.

 

• Madhurjan Thongba

This is a simple yet fmous dessert of Manipur. Gramflour dumplings are deeply fried and served along with sweetened milk. The milk is sweetened with cardamom and nuts, this enhances its flavor. This is quite an interesting dessert that you must try on our trip to Manipur.