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A Bishnupriya Manipuri Cuisine: Chinchu

By Ranita Sinha, Kolkata

A Bishnupriya Manipuri cuisine is not complete without a serving of Chinchu - the mouth watering Bishnupriya Manipuri salad. It is an essential serving in most of the Bishnupriya Manipuri households.

Though chinchu require much effort to prepare, yet it is popular as it is very healthy and because of its awesome taste compared to other ordinary salad. It is also full of nutrition.

Chinchu requires lots of herbs to be added to it. The main ingredients used for preparing this particular salad are – cabbage(banda kobi), papaya(khobol), budding mustard leaves(leur dem), green chilli and chana. But all these are not enough.

Lots of herbs are added to it. They are- phakpoi, tokpaningkong, pirihou, leihapor pata, telikodomor pata and telikodom seed, owar phakeitom, phakeitom etc.

For the preparation, first the vegetables and the herbs are properly cleaned and excess water is drained out properly. Then, the vegetables and herbs except, the papaya are finely chopped. After that the papaya is grated and mixed with the chopped herbs and vegetables. Also finely chopped green chillies are put into it.

After the chopping and grating part is over, the mixture is spread on a kula(used to clean rice) and put in the sunshine for sometime. A handful of chana is roasted on a tava and grinded. Just before serving the grinded chana and salt is mixed with the chopped ingredients and chinchu is ready to be served.

When the chinchu is put in the mouth one will find it aromatic and crispy and the taste is simply wowwwww! It tastes better when served with steamed rice and dal.

Update: By Rebati Mohan Sinha

The next early morning, on reaching home at my native place, from Mumbai,I saw a full grown ‘leur-gach-jar’ at the road side of our kichen garden. While looking at that, I suddenly remembered the article ‘Chinchoo’ written by Mrs Ranita Sinha. Immediately I went back home and picked up my camera to take the photograph of the shrub. As I was narrating the story, my aunt suddenly stood up and said that she would be preparing a chinchoo out of ‘leur- pata’ not with ‘leur-dem’. Really it was quite a delicious Bishnupriy Manipuri salad served on that day. Photographs of the shrub (leur gach)taken on that day has been sent for those, who never saw it earlier.


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Comments

  1. Hi, Mam Ranita

    Whosoever will read this article is surely going to be mouth watered.Believe me i felt so.I heard many times when i used to attend a typical BM feast like " sakeir dibas" etc people often shouts" Eigaa egode chinchu nahese, chinchu aano chinchu aano". It's a truly delicious article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow.. this is indeed mouth watering... reminds me my sisters one, she used to add "chuchor jit pura alo" in cinchu...

    ReplyDelete
  3. dear ranita
    I enjoy reading ur articles like "Hotpotatoes"nd "Chinchu",really u deserve standing ovation.I would like to add two more ingredients:'eechaar 'hukon(duhia)nd'heedol'(chuchor jeet puria)to ur Chinchu reciepe,to make it non veg.dish.One of these inredients can be used as substitute for Chaanar- gura(grouded gram).Let me explain little more for the benefit of readers:The cabbage is the seasonal one nd the Papaya is available through out the year.And these veg. are the base of Chinchu.One can make the reciepe with one of these ingredients as base.Villagers while having food,often asked--KEETAAR CHINCHU?
    The Ausralians are very fond of non-grating Chinchu.Some ingredients r similar to that of our Chinchu,even our B.M residing in Sydney nd Adelaide are serving this type of Chinchu on the dining table.These are not grown in Astralia;but imported from China nd Itally.One more thing I would like to inform to the readers;Rahu nd Hilsa fish are imported from India nd Bangladesh respectively.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hi, ranita gidai,

    add some finely chopped tender lebur patta (lemon\citrus\orange leaf) and experiment the flavour of chinchu.

    prodip

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Prodip Girok,

    I tried ur suggestion in the recipe and it really changed the taste of chinchu and i would suggest everyone to try out chinchu by adding some tender finely chopped lebur pata..thanks for ur tasty suggestion..

    ReplyDelete

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