Nga Atoiba Thongba (Manipuri Broken Fish Curry)

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Nga Atoiba Thongba (Manipuri Broken Fish Curry)

Nga Atoiba Thongba (Manipuri Broken Fish Curry) is a traditional Indian recipe (from Manipur) for a classic curry of fish pieces in a spiced base of onion, Hooker chives and chillies with potatoes and tomatoes. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Manipuri Broken Fish Curry (Nga Atoiba Thongba).

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Curry Spice Recipes Herb Recipes Vegetable Recipes Indian Recipes

Traditionally this is made with local rohu fish. But it can be made with any freshwater fish and I've substituted tilapia here as it's much easier to source. The name of the dish, Nga Atoiba Thongba literally translates to 'broken fish curry' as small pieces of fish rather than whole fish or steaks are used.

Allium hookeri is a plant species native to India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Bhutan, and southwestern China (Sichuan, Tibet and Yunnan). Common names include Hooker chives and garlic chives. The roots are thick, fleshy and edible and are a key ingredient in this curry.

Ingredients:

400g Tilapia, cleaned, scaled and with flesh diced
10-15 pieces pearl onions (or shallots), chopped
2 medium sized Potatoes, washed and cubed (no need to peel)
2 medium sized Tomatoes, cubed
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2-3 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
4-5 red Chillies
2 fresh bay leaves, shredded
1 tbsp Mustard Oil
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp hot Chilli powder
1 tbsp Maru Marang (a blend of toasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds)
1 pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
1 bunch Hooker Chives (Allium hookeri), leaves chopped
a small bunch of Coriander leaves
salt, to taste
a small bunch of Hooker Chives roots, washed and coarsely chopped
85g (1/2 cup) of Peas

Method:

Coarsely chop the ginger, garlic and Hooker chives roots. Combine in a mortar and pound to a paste.

Place a pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the mustard oil and fry the asafoetida for a few seconds. Add the bay leaf and fry it for another few seconds. Add the onions and fry them until softened. Now add the pounded garlic, ginger and hooker chives leaves and roots, Stir and fry them for a few seconds until softened. Add Machal, stirring for a few seconds then toss in the chopped potatoes and cook everything together until the onions start to brown.

Scatter over the turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir well to combine, adding 1 tbsp of water if the mixture is too sticky.

Now add the chopped tomatoes, green peas, fresh chillies (you can add other vegetable if you like). Fry them for 1 minute.

At this point, add the fish pieces. Make sure that the ingredients are mixed really well before you add the fish. You can also add a little salt and turmeric powder to coat the fresh fish before putting into the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring well so that the fish will not stick to the pan and it’s coated with the spices and ingredients.

Stir in 375ml (1½ cups) of water so that you obtain a gravy after the water evaporates. Bring everything to a boilthen cover with a lid and let it cook on high heat for 10 minutes.

Open the lid and add season to taste with salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the gravy has thickened to your liking.

Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with rice.