Singju ( mni, ꯁꯤꯡꯁꯨ; ''pronounced sing-zoo'') is a dish from

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

. It originated with the Meitei-culture but has been widely adopted by most of the ethnic communities of the state and in some neighbouring states of

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. Often served as a spicy side dish, it is also a popular as an afternoon or evening snack. Given that its main ingredient are seasonal vegetables, Singju has many variations. However, there are two main types: Ngari-based and Thoiding-Besan based. Ngari is a kind of fermented fish, the flavor of which forms the backbone Manipuri cuisine. Roasted Ngari-based Singju is more popular in all homes, however it is not usually sold by local Singju vendors due high cost of Ngari. The Thoiding-Besan version therefore is more widely available from Singju vendors. Thoiding is an oily seed obtained from the plant

Perilla frutescens ''Perilla frutescens'', commonly called deulkkae, perilla or Korean perilla, is a species of ''Perilla'' in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean ...

which when roasted gives a nutty flavor. A mixture of roasted thoiding and roasted besan give a delicious flavor that is distinctive to Singju. This latter non-Ngari version is also served in religious feasts where fish is prohibited.

History

, being one of the most ancient independent kingdoms of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, before becoming a part of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1949, has many distinctive local customs and traditions, owing to various influences throughout time. The word "Singju" comes from two words - "''Manaa-Masing''" and "''Suba''". "''Manaa-Masing''" means green vegetables and "''Suba''" means combining. Therefore, in rapid pronunciation the word "''Manaa-Masing''" drops to "''Sing''" and the word "''Suba''" transform to "''Ju''" for the better pronouncement. As a result, the word, "Singju" was born.

Preparation

Singju is a versatile dish that may be made vegetarian or non-vegetarian. There are two distinct ways to prepare singju.

Veggie Singju

A veggie singju is mainly served in ritual feasts of the

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

which are observed at home courtyards or shrine yards, or community complexes. It can be eaten at family homes too, but typically people prefer the non-veg versions in a non-ritual context. In this form of the dish, the main ingredients are

perilla ''Perilla'' is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species ''Perilla frutescens'' and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and veget ...

seeds (''thoiding'' in Meitei), chanaa powder, salt, chillies and various green leafy vegetables (compatible vegetables are listed below).

Non-veg Singju

A non-veg version of singju is mainly eaten at home, and widely sold in restaurants all over Manipur, and in some other areas of India as well. The tag "non-veg" is because of the use of the fermented fish ingredient Ngari. Because of this, it can not be served at ritual feasts of the community, which must be vegetarian. In this type, the main ingredients are Ngari (a Manipuri form of fermented fish), salt, chillies and green leafy vegetables (compatible vegetables' list are listed below).

Common Singju Vegetable Ingredients

Any vegetable can be used to make singju, but some are more popular than others. Popular additions include: # Lotus stem (Thambou in Meitei) # Stink Bean (Yongchaak) # Cabbage (Kobiful) # Cauliflower (Kobi-Lei) # Hawai Debi or Tebi # Hawai Maton # Unripe Papaya (Awaa Thabi) # Banana Flower (Laphu Tharo) # Rice Bean (Chakhawai) # Onion (Tilhou)

Morok Metpa or Ametpa

Morok Metpa or Ametpa is another singju like dish. ''Morok'' means chilli and ''Metpa/Ametpa'' meaning crush. It is traditionally eaten along with daily meals at home but are not served at rituals. Like singju, it can be prepared in two ways, veg and non-veg, the former is usually eaten during the mourning period until the shraddha ceremony (for Meiteis) or the janazah ceremony (for Pangals) or after the burial ceremony (for Meitei Christians) or on days when people skip any type of fish/meat due to religious beliefs. It is usually made by frying red chillies, chives and onions as opposed to the usual steamed or roasted fermented fish and chillies eaten every day.

References

{{Salads Indian cuisine Salads Manipuri cuisine