Ngari earthen jar
A chaphou is an old, narrow-necked earthen jar used to ferment ngari, the Manipuri fish product. A 2020 study documents tightly packed dry fish sealed with mud; it gives no standard jar size or age.
Ngari
Ngari fish
Ngari is a Manipuri fermented fish condiment made from small sun-dried fish, usually Puntius sophore, packed for fermentation. A biochemical study describes a salt-free method; it works as a condiment and ingredient rather than as a filtered sauce.
What it is
Ngari is a fermented fish condiment from Manipur in north-east India. It is made from small fish, most often Puntius sophore, which are sun-dried and then packed to ferment. Unlike many fish sauces, it is not primarily a filtered liquid. It is used as an ingredient and a condiment in its own right.
Sources for this section
Method in the source
The biochemical study describes a salt-free method: the fish are sun-dried and packed for fermentation. The sources supplied here do not give a salt ratio, a fermentation temperature or a duration, so none is set out on this page.
A salt-free fish ferment is not, by itself, a controlled process. Without measured end points, home production cannot be treated as safe, and the page does not supply a safety limit.
Sources for this section
Relation to related products
Ngari sits in the same north-eastern Indian family as shidal and hentak. Those products differ in fish species, the presence of plant material such as aroid, and timescale, so they should not be treated as one preparation.
Sources for this section
History
The study documents ngari in Manipur as a fermented fish preparation. It does not date its origin.
Ingredients
Small fish, Puntius sophoreSun-dried before packing.
Amount not stated
The study names the species but gives no batch mass.Method
- Small fish, particularly Puntius sophore, are sun-dried.
- The dried fish is packed for fermentation.
- The study describes the salt-free method biochemically. It gives no salt level, temperature or duration that can be applied at home.
Places
Manipur
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceRegional documentation; the source does not give an origin date or a single village.
Related
Equipment
Same method
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Sources
PubMed CentralMethod · History
Biochemical study of salt-free fermented fish from Manipur (PMC4648893)Small fish, particularly Puntius sophore, sun-dried and packed for fermentation
Salt-free method described
Ingredient and condiment rather than principally a filtered sauce
Cited in: What it is; Method in the source; Relation to related products