Forgotten snacks- II

In my earlier post, I talked a bit about our indigenous snacks.  Here, in this update, I will describe more about the forgotten indigenous snacks of the Meiteis. 

Kabok, leibak-hawai heingaan, heimang heingaan, chana hawai manggal are the other indigenous snacks.  It is easily available in the market, but people hardly buy this. 
Kabok is made up of roasted and puffed uncooked rice with molasses.
Leibak-hawai heingaan (leibak-hawai means groundnut) is made up of groundnut and molasses.  Groundnut will be mixed with molasses and will be dried in the fire or sun.
Hawai manggal is dried peas roasted with sand.  In a concave griddle, dried peas with sand will be heated.
Heimang heingaan is another indigenous snacks made up of a typical fruit mixed with molasses.

All the indigenous snacks of Meiteis are mostly roasted.  It showed us the health benefits of all the snacks.  Meiteis hardly use oil in cooking and in snacks.  All these packaged food items are conquering the market.  It is making the people unhealthy.  We are neglecting our indigenous food items and adopting all those fast food items.

Forgotten snacks- I

In this post, I will talk about the forgotten snacks of the Meiteis.  In today's era, we are so much conquered by the taste of chowmein, momo, macaroni that we forget our indigenous snacks.  In olden days, the Meiteis used to have and used to buy all these items for their children.  Some of the items are: yubi laddoo, kangshubi, lalloo, leibak-hawai heingaan, kabok, hawai manggal, hawai chana, heimang heingaan etc.

Yubi laddoo is made up of grated coconut.
Kangshubi is made up of black sesame mixed in sugary syrup and made into different shapes, like round and square.
Lalloo is made up of powdery roasted uncooked rice.
Let's not forget our old gulla macha, which aunties used to sell from door to door carried in a stainless steel bucket covered with a white cloth.

When I was a kid, I used to buy all these items and used to eat it heartily, but, children of this generation will hardly know any of these items apart from kabok.  Our indigenous snacks are losing its identity in the market.  The market is now dominated by all those fast food items adopted from the West and from Southeast Asia.

Paknam, pafor, tosh...

Paknam, a delicacy of the Meitei is often found in shops which sells singzu..  Paknam is made by mixing all the vegetables, besan and ngari, salt to taste and pepper.  The mixture is then put on a banana leaf and then steamed.  Paknam is a healthy delicacy as it is made up of vegetables only.

Pafor makak:- pafor means papad in Hindi.  It is also available in singzu shops.  It is often mixed with singzu.  Apart from singzu shops, you'll get pafor makak in any small shops in any locality.  The packet is for 5 bucks only.

Tosh:- it is made up of maida and bread.  Tosh is available in any shops which sells tan, it is mostly prepared as requested by the customer.  I had the tosh at a cha-hotel in Khwairamband Bazar.  It is a long forgotten snacks of the Meiteis.

Ashakiran @MU campus

This shop is located inside the Manipur University campus near the IGNOU center  in the campus.  It is a place thronged by students of the university during weekdays, but in weekends it remains closed.  It is run by a Meitei family.  This is the only shop inside the campus which has got varied eatable items.

Here, in this shop you'll get tharoi thongba, bora, aloo-chop, soibum kanghou, singzu, macaroni and Maggi (by request), pakora, rice platter with fish/chicken curry etc.  During summer, you'll get faluda (cold sevayan) and other cold drinks to cool you down from that harsh sun.  Apart from these items, you'll get other packed foods also.

Tharoi thongba, tharoi means freshwater snails and thongba means to cook.  It is one of the delicacy that Meitei's love to have.  In order to prepare tharoi thongba, some extra efforts are needed.  You need to buy the tharoi one day beforehand, soak it overnight in salty water, cut the opening of tharoi, boil it and then cook it.  Tharoi is rich in calcium and we all know that calcium is good for bones especially for women.

Soibum kanghou (soibum-fermented bamboo shoots) is famous for its taste.  It is a delicacy widely found in roadside hotels in Kakching (a place in Thoubal District of Manipur).  To prepare this item, you need to wash soibum with fresh rice water and salty water to remove its smell.  If we do not wash it properly then it will give a sour taste.  We don't need to go to Kakching to savor this delicacy.  We can visit the Manipur University.

Aloo-chop, made up of mashed potatoes dipped in mixture of besan and fried deeply.

Do visit Ashakiran @Manipur University campus and savor the taste of all these items.

Abokki heikru ashuba & singzu

In this place, you'll get heikru ashuba, singzu, yerum bora and normal bora also.  In my earlier post, I have talked a lot about bora.  So, let me be a more specific of other items available here.  Before I go into details, let me tell you the location of this place.  It is located in the Manipur University campus.  You will find this shop in the parking area of SBI university campus.  There are two shops in the parking area and the one I am talking about is the second shop.

Here, in this shop you'll get singzu, yerum bora etc.  Yerum means egg.  So, it means bora made up of egg.
Singzu:- it is one of the simplest and popular Manipuri snacks.  It is made up of combination of vegetables like lotus stem, cabbage and other herbs; another core ingredient is chickpeas(grinded), thoiding(black sesame) roasted and grinded, mixed with ngari(fermented fish), salt and pepper for taste.

The speciality of this shop is heikru ashuba.  Heikru means gooseberry/amla.  It is made up of heikru cut into halves and mixed with condiments (made up of roasted besan, roasted and grinded black sesame, salt and pepper).  Heikru ashuba is the best thing to have when you are feeling sleepy and bored.  It will surely open up your senses.  You can buy this heikru ashuba for Rs.10/- or 20/-.

Echan's Hoten

It is located on the third floor of Gambhir Singh Shopping Arcade.  Girls, do pay a visit at Echsn's Hoten on the third floor when you visit Virgin's Island to check out those new arrivals.  You will get all eatable items here starting from bora, pakoras, aloo-shak, pullao, chowmein, tan rolled with cooked vegetables, tea and soft drinks.  For paan lovers, you will get paan at affordable prices.  You do not need huge amount of money to visit this place.  If you got 50 bucks in your pocket, then it is enough to satisfy your hunger.

Do visit this place when you are tired of going up and down, visiting each shop in the Arcade.  Relax your muscles with a platter of chowmein, pullao, aloo-shak with a cup of lemon tea.  The speciality of this place is, all the items available here is special. 

Ayukki Tan @ Kwakeithel Bazar

Roti (also known as tan in Manipuri) is an Indian subcontinent flat bread made from wholemeal flour (atta or moida), and is consumed largely in the country.  Roti is the staple food of mainland India, but in Manipur it is consumed mostly in breakfast.  Many different variations of flat breads are found in many cultures across the globe.

Tan is normally eaten with cooked vegetables or curries.  It is cooked on a flat or slightly/fully concave iron griddle called as tawa or khang respectively.  Like breads around the world, tan is a staple accompaniment of breakfast for Manipuri.  In every nook and corner of Manipur, we will find a small hut hotel which will sell tan in the morning.  Tan is mostly served with aloo-shaks, and of course, with a cup of hot tea.  It is the morning delight of the Manipuris.

Tan which we will find in the Kwakeithel Bazar is not different from tan which is available in other parts of Manipur.  The speciality of this tan is the aloo-shaks which is served with the tan.  The taste of  aloo-shaks is unique and it will keep on lingering in your mouth.

Momos @ Uripok Sorbon Thingel Leikai

Momo is a type of dumpling native to Tibet and Nepal.  It is similar to Chinese baozi and jiaozi, Mongolian buuz, Japanese gyoza, Afghan mantu and Korean Mandu.  Over the years, it has become very popular in the Northeastern states of India, especially Manipur.  There are three types of momo available in the market ie, steamed, fried and pan-fried.  Momo is usually served with a dipping sauce normally made with tomato as the base ingredients.

Momo is becoming very popular in Manipur.  Young and old people are consuming momo with much likeness.  We all have tried momo in different restaurants.  Each restaurant has its own unique taste.  The average price tag of momo is Rs. 50/- to 60/- per plate consisting of 4-6 pieces of momo per plate.

Uripok momo is run by a Nepali couple.  The momo which we get here is cheap and yummy.  If you have 100 bucks in your pocket then you'll get 5 plates of momo here.  Yes, Rs.20/- per plate is the price which you'll get here, and it will give you 4 pieces of momo per plate.  Talking about the taste, it is not less as compared to momos available in high-end restaurants in the town.  In each Rs.20/- plate momo, you will get 4 pieces of momo served with chutney made up of u-morok and tomato (mind you, it is not spicy at all, but the aroma of u-morok is incomparable), and with a small glass of soup.  It's not a watery soup with coriander leaves floating in it.  You'll find chunks of chicken in the soup.  There is one variety of momo available here ie, steamed chicken and veg-momo.  Apart from momo, you will also get aloo-chop and parathas.  So, what are you waiting for? Grab Rs.20/- and do pay a visit (trust me, you'll never regret).

Ene gi chowmein..

Located in the heart of the Khwairamband Bazar, this tiny eating out place is famous for its veg-chowmein and other items.  It is located in the temporary market shed of old Ema keithel.  You might have to ask people around and it might take you some time to figure out the exact location as this is not a big, easily noticeable eating-out place.

There are around 4-5 eating-out places in this area.  All the small joints offers varied items of eateries.  Most common eateries which you will find here are: bora (a particular type of pakoras), aloo-shak ( made up of mashed potatoes and fried chickpeas), chowmein, macaronis etc.

This particular joint which I am talking about is famous for its veg-chowmein cooked by an old lady.  If you happen to visit this place, you will see that this is the only eating joint flooded by customers.  You have to wait for your turn to get a seat and a plate of chowmein.  Rs.20/- plate chowmein is enough for two persons.  It is a small place and hardly noticeable, but once you try the 'chowmein', it will be hard to forget this place and its taste.

A little info about Manipuri's snacks..

Geographically, Manipur is partially plains and partially hills.  The State became a part of the Indian Union in 1949.  The capital of this beautiful State is Imphal.  The State has got its unique identity and its unique cuisine.  The idea of writing this blog "Unexplored eating places of Imphal" is to visit all those eating joints located in Imphal, which is less visited, and to bring out in limelight.

There are many eating joints located in every nook and corner of Imphal, or let's say in every locality of Imphal.  In every locality, you'll surely come across a tan hotel (opened in the morning), and bora hotel (opened mostly in late afternoons and evening).

Let's talk about the popular snacks which is available in Imphal and other parts of Manipur.

BORA:- a particular type of pakoras, made up of besan and seasonal vegetables mostly cauliflower, potato, brinjal, onion, pumpkin and maroi nakkupi (special herb grown in Manipur).

SINGJU:- one of the simplest and popular Manipuri snacks.  It is made up of a lovely combination of vegetables like lotus stem, cabbage and green leaves; another core ingredient is chickpeas (pounded) and finally no singju is complete without adding ngari (fermented fish).

ALOO-SHAK:- made up of mashed potatoes fried with little oil and sprinkled with crispy fried chickpeas.

PAKNAM:- all the required vegetables, besan and ngari, pinch of salt and pepper will be mixed together.  The mixture will then be put on a banana leaf, packed and then be steamed.

Most of the snacks of Manipur is healthy as it is made up of green vegetables.  We will learn more about the eating places which is cheap and affordable located in various parts of Imphal.