NGARI-FERMENTED FISH

Fermented fish is a traditional preparation of fish. Before refrigeration, canning and other modern preservation techniques became available, fermenting was an important preservation method. Fish rapidly spoils, or goes rotten, unless some method is applied to stop the bacteria that produce the spoilage. Fermentation is a method which attacks the ability of microbials to spoil fish. It does this by making the fish muscle more acidic; bacteria usually cease multiplying when the pH drops below 4.5.

Fermented fish are highly popular in Northeast states of India and Bangladesh. Fish is fermented in earthen pots for about 6 months and the final product is solid with sticky surface and strong pungent smell. It is eaten after elaborate cooking and prepared dishes like vegetable mix curry or chutney, and eaten as condiment with rice. 

Ngari is the soul of Manipuri cuisine considering that almost all the signature dishes of Manipuri cuisine have ngari as the basic ingredient.For the uninitiated, ngari is nothing but fermented fish. Ngari is prepared from sun dried phabou nga (Puntius) by fermenting in specially made earthen pots called kharung using traditional techniques.Ngari is steamed or roasted and used in the preparation of Manipuri delicacies like eromba, singju, kangsoi, kaangsu to name a few. The smell of ngari is, to put it mildly, pungent (though most Manipuris would swear there is something comforting about the smell of roasted ngari).