Northeast Indian
Nga Thongba (Manipuri Fish Curry)
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Nga Thongba (Manipuri Fish Curry) is Northeast Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
The quantities follow this count.
How to cook it
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Rub the fish with a little turmeric and salt, and shallow fry in half the mustard oil, 2 minutes a side, until lightly golden. Set aside.
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In the same oil, fry the sliced onion until soft and golden, about 8 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic for a minute.
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Add the chopped tomato and remaining turmeric and cook 5 minutes until it breaks down.
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Whisk the besan into a little water until smooth, then stir it into the pot; this is what gives nga thongba its light, slightly thickened gravy without any chili powder at all.
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Add the rest of the water and salt, bring to a simmer, and cook 6 minutes until the gravy thickens slightly.
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Slide the fried fish back in gently, cover and simmer 8 minutes without stirring hard, so the pieces stay whole.
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Serve hot with steamed rice.
Serve it with
A Northeast Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Nga Thongba (Manipuri Fish Curry), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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The protein alongside
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What it is eaten with
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Nga Thongba (Manipuri Fish Curry) carries fish. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | Yes | Akhuni Yam (Fermented Soybean with Yam and Mustard Greens) |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Estimated, per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 480 mg
- Saturated fat
- 2 g
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.
When to cook it
Nga Thongba (Manipuri Fish Curry) takes about 40 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
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Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.