Famous Street Food of Manipur [Popular Manipur Dishes]

How You Can Start its Business Anywhere

Surrounded by seven hills, Manipur is known as the jewel of Northeastern India. Its neighbouring states are Assam, Mizoram and Nagaland, and it also shares its border with Myanmar. As a result, the state displays a diversity of traditions and rituals. Manipur is home to many tribes and communities that have considerably influenced its culture, rituals, and cuisine. Being a predominantly agrarian state, blessed by the Rain gods, Manipur has an abundance of diverse vegetable produce, making Manipuri Cuisine interesting.

Unique Features of Manipuri Food:

• Rice, fish and green leafy vegetables are the favourite food of the Manipuris. Since the state gets abundant rainfall, a variety of rice is grown here. The state is also blessed with natural water sources, the reason behind the availability of a plethora of fish in Manipur.
• Manipur also is known for a variety of fresh vegetables, many of which are found only in this region. Some of the unique vegetables grown here are kolamni, yendem, koukhaa and sougri.
• The addition of exquisite herbs and spices to the Manipuri food lends it a unique taste and flavour. These herbs also add some medicinal properties to the dishes.
• One more predominant aspect of Manipuri food is the use of fermented food, like fish, soybean and bamboo shoots. Manipuri Cuisine is known for its fermentation process so that they are accessible throughout the year irrespective of a particular season.
• Manipuri Cuisine is very nutritious as it has a platter of fresh and green vegetables to offer. Besides, the ingredients taken are organic, and they use little quantity of oils for food preparation.
• Manipur is renowned for its amazing street food delicacies. Some of the dishes like singju—a salad made from green leafy vegetables—and other vegetables like green peas, banana leaves, cabbage and spinosa leaves.
• One more street food which is found in many eateries across the state is paaknam. It is made from a mixture of gram flour, vegetables and other spices.
• Besides, people can also savour their taste buds with some amazing fish delicacies like eromba, which is made from ngari or fermented fish.

Street food of Manipur

1. Chamthong or Kangshoi

Chamthong is a famous Manipuri dish, a boiled dish made from various vegetables and garlic, onion, salt, ginger, and other spices. This dish is served either with rice or rotis.

2. Eromba

Eromba is one of the favourite dishes of the locals here. It is prepared from fermented fish or Ngari. Vegetables, along with fermented fish, are boiled together with some spices and salt. The dish is then served after garnishing it with coriander leaves and spring onions.

3. Ootti Thongba​ or Utti Thongba

Ootti thongba or utti thongba is made from lentils and green peas. It is one of the most loved foods of the state.

4. Nga Thongba

Nga thongba is also one of the most popular dishes in the state. This is nothing but the conventional form of preparing fish curry.

5. Chagempompa

Another essential dish of the state is Chagempompa. In this dish, hawajir or fermented soya bean and chagem are used.

6. Champhut

Champhut is a dish prepared with a blend of boiled vegetables along with mild spices, salt and a pinch of sugar.

7. Singju

Singju is the name of the dish, which is a salad laden with many green leafy vegetables. The dish is made from vegetables like peas, cabbage leaves, beans, banana and spinosa leaves. Food enthusiasts consider the salad to be very spicy.

8. Paaknam

Coming to desserts, Manipuri Cuisine offers paaknam or a sweet dish made from gram flour along with vegetables and mild herbs.

9. Chak-hao kheer

Manipuris make a different version of the regular kheer popular in the rest of the country. The Chak-hao kheer is purple and is prepared with milk, rice and cardamom powder. It is then laden with a mix of dry fruits.

How to Start a Business in Manipuri Street food?

Street food business is a trending option for entrepreneurs who wish to join the food industry. Nowadays, there are many ways of starting a street food business.

• Food Truck - Food trucks are becoming popular in India, and they are the best for serving snacks and munchies.
• Fine Dine - Fine dining is just regular restaurants that serve food.
• QSR or Quick service restaurants are small restaurants generally for takeaways or minimum dining space.
• Cloud kitchens mostly depend on takeaways only.
• Fast casuals are the eateries which have small dining space usually for small families.

Before thinking of starting the street food business of Manipuri Cuisine, one can think of any of the above modes of starting the eatery venture. Moreover, the following aspects are to be taken into consideration before embarking on the business.

• The infrastructure of the business- An essential part of a street food business is to provide the infrastructure facilities like deciding the place, rent, technology costs etc.
• Budget and financial planning -  Deciding the budget of the street food business is also important. The budget is the deciding factor for every activity carried out in the course of starting the venture.
• Planning and coordination: Another important step in opening an eatery business would be planning and coordinating the related activities.
• Choosing the place: One should be clear in mind as to where one will commence the business. The place must be densely populated to attract more and more customers.
• Investment: To start an eatery business, proper investment is required. Nowadays, government aid is also granted for starting these ventures.
• Resources: Getting the proper resources like workforce and raw materials is yet another important step to be kept in mind.
• Supply chain/logistics: Since we are starting the business of Manipuri food, we have to get authentic vegetables and certain non-vegetarian items available in Manipur only, so we have to ensure that we get an adequate supply of it.
• Marketing and advertising - Marketing and related promotional activities are also required in order to promote the business.
• Taste: The eatery business thrives on one fundamental principle—taste. If the dishes’ taste is authentic, it will strike a chord with people instantly.
• Social media: Our business will surely achieve success if we have a strong social media presence.

Also Read: Best Business In Manipur

Thus, the above factors should be kept in mind before starting a street food business of Manipuri food.

Prospects of Manipuri Food Business

• People would relish the Manipuri Cuisine, as it is mostly unexplored.
• Since the state has a variety of food to offer, it will be a hit with the masses.
• Other parameters like cleanliness, authentic taste of the food would guarantee the success of the eatery business.
• Manipuri Cuisine is full of aromatic flavours added through many authentic spices used in making the dishes. These spices have a different flavour and will surely catch the attention of people.
• The taste of fermented food is diverse, and Manipur offers a variety of fermented food.

Also Read:

1) Famous Street Food Of Goa
2) Famous Street Food of Pondicherry
3) Famous Street Food of Andaman
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FAQs on street food of Manipur

Q. What is the unique feature of Manipuri dishes?

Ans. Manipuri dishes have a unique style of cooking with aromatic spices and fermented ingredients.

Q. What is unique about the vegetable curry made in the state?

Ans. The vegetable curry prepared here is made with freshly grown vegetables in the state. Some of these vegetables are exclusively produced in Manipur.

Q. Does Manipuri food bear a resemblance to other Northeast state’s cuisine?

Ans. Yes, there is a bit of similarity in the food culture of various Northeastern states. Fermented fish and other items are common in the cuisine of Manipur and adjacent states.

Q. Will the eatery business of Manipur food be successful with the masses?

Ans. The state has a lot of food to offer, which is still unexplored by Indian food lovers. Because of its novelty and uniqueness, Manipuri food can surely be a success as a street food business.