Ngari: an indigenous fermented fish product from Manipur
- Part 2 -

Soibam Khogen Singh, Chabungbam Aken Singh, Yumlembam Jackie Singh and Pronob Das *

Preparation methodology

The preparation methods of Ngari differ among the various households who prepare these products. Thus the methodology of preparation can be grouped into two major types. One method that has been used since ages is known as the indigenous method and other one is the modified commercial preparation.

Indigenous method

This is very popular and more confined to the small-households in the villages. In their preparation process the fish are incurred directly from local fish ponds or wetlands (pats). It is more economical and climate friendly and practised more frequently in the fishing seasons where Puntius fish are available as by-catch in many village fish ponds.

The fish as a whole are used in Ngari preparation unlike the Seedal (indigenous fermented product from Tripura) preparation where fish are de-scaled and eviscerated. Fish are washed thoroughly and only intact fish are used for drying. During drying the fish are rubbed with a little amount of oil and they are dried for 3-4 days in sunlight.

The essential oils like mustard oil/fish oil are added when the fishes are semi-dried and the added salt helps in absorbing these oils deep into the fish body. The amount of oil added should be optimum as to give a good quality product. The amount of oil added decides the texture of the final product.

When the oil added is too low the texture of the product is too firm and not preferable. Finally the fish are put in the pre-processed chaphus previously maintained with oil smearing. The mouths of the chaphus are then filled with cover paste and finally overlaid with the cover leaf.

These packed chaphus are installed over previously prepared pits which are provided with moistened sacks. The chaphus are removed from these pits and are kept in a sheltered place for 3-5 days. A thick layer of mud is put on the paste after removing the cover leaf after which they are kept undisturbed for about a week.

The seals are observed carefully at the initial days and as soon as any crack appears they are filled with mud paste immediately. The chaphus are kept in this condition for 4-6 months at room temperature. After this period the chaphus are ready to be opened which is locally known as chaphu kaiba in Manipur.

During chaphu kaiba care should be taken in while handling the product besides choosing a dry day for the purpose as incidence of fungal infestation may arise in moist conditions. The final product is removed carefully layer by layer and then packed in smaller containers or pots.

Modified commercial production process

For commercial production of ngari, fish are made available from adjoining states like Assam and West Bengal as the locally available fishes are not sufficient for mass scale production. The oil used is mostly vegetable oil because of its low prices in the local market. The fish are dried in sun for 4-5 days.

This drying is to remove the available moisture in the fishes to its minimum and to chase out any maggot if present in them. After drying, the fish are soaked in water for a period of 10-15 minutes and the absorption of water becomes rapid because of previous drying. Water soaking process is usually carried out in the evening hours so that the next step of 8-10 hrs can be performed at night time in order to avoid birds attack.

The fish are now of soft texture with dry surface skin. In the next step, fish are smeared with vegetable oil and then another drying under the sun for an hour is done. The fish are now ready to be packed in the chaphus. The fish are then stamped or rolled by rollers to make the fish soft and tender.

The heap of fish is again put in a big tumbler and the air bubbles present are removed by continuous piercing of rod or bamboo stick into the heap of fish. Usually the processers use their legs to stamp on the product layer by layer in order to make it air tight.

Now the pre-processed chaphus are buried in the pits excavated earlier and layered with moist sacks with half or one-third of the belly underground. The chaphus should be fixed tightly in to the ground. This is done to make the chaphu withstand the packing pressure in the ensuing step. Initially, 5-6 kg of the fish is put in each jar.

Then, they are pressed under feet until wet liquid is released from the fish. The process is continued until the jars are fully filled with the fish. The jars are then sealed with wet mud and are kept for maturation for 3-6 months. After the maturation, the top layer of fish in the jars (locally called as Phumai) is removed and the rest are used for human consumption which we call as "Ngari".

Phumai are considered as low quality fermented fish products. However, many people consume Phumai after a mild heat treatment. Cost of production of one jar of Ngari ranges from Rs.1200 to Rs. 5000. However, the selling price of Ngari differs depending on the quality of the product which can range from Rs.100 to Rs.240 per kg. The shelf life of Ngari is about 12 months to 18 months.

Importance of Ngari to the people of Northeast

Ngari forms an intrinsic part of the diet of the people in Manipur. It is mainly used for preparing different traditional curries wherein Ngari is put as an ingredient. It is also consumed as a side dish by the Manipuris.

Ngari has much application in cooking various traditional dishes which are the favourites of the people of Manipur. Ngari's many fold popularity in the state has triggered an enthusiastic flavour to the people of the other neighbouring states in the North-East.

Endowed with its precious food value and medicinal qualities this fermented product is getting more popularised day by day. Most strains of LAB isolated from Ngari had a high degree of hydrophobicity, indicating their 'probiotic' characters (Thapa et al., 2004). This product is usually taken after frying or steaming as in the preparation of Iromba (a traditional dish in Manipur).

Besides its good taste, ngari also has got strong appetizing properties. In order to keep away from fungal attack the product is usually packed in tight containers or sometimes partially fried in oil. The microbial flora of the product was studied by some workers.

Bestowed with the versatile qualities in this indigenous product from Manipur, the processing technology for product enhancement and value addition using this product can be further initiated. The production of Ngari is confined to only some local fisher folks and few commercial processers, these needs serious attention from the State Fisheries Department and also Central Institutes in order to develop a more quality product and to bring about an increase production capacity.

The demand of Puntius sophore used in Ngari production is also a big question as far as the development of this industry is concerned. Efforts should be put towards successful farming and breeding of this species in the mainland Manipur to meet the increasing demand by the ngari producers.

Conclusion

Traditional fermented foods of Manipur are prepared at the household level through indigenous practices of food processing and preservation. Fish is widely consumed in the daily diets of Manipuris. Ngari, a fermented product widely used in every household of Manipur along with their food.

Due to its wider acceptance, there is a great market demand of the product. But the ngari is still prepared on traditional way. So, there is a great scope for scientific intervention in production of hygienic product, which will help provide a consumer friendly product.

There is an urgent need of intensive multi-institutional research collaboration and improvement effort to develop fermented food production technology by reducing the processing/fermentation duration and health- risk free product.

Development of value added product by selecting microorganisms, process improvement, raw material improvement etc. will lead to industrialization of the Ngari. This will provide a scope for exporting the product to the neighbouring states and will contributes for socio-economical development of the society.

Concluded

References

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