Boiled vegetables mashed with roasted fermented fish (ngari), green chilli and mustard oil — the most essential and frequently eaten preparation of the Meitei people of Manipur.
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes — boiled in salted water until completely soft
1 cup seasonal vegetables — any of: yardlong beans, taro stem, moringa pods, banana flower — boiled separately until tender
2 to 3 pieces ngari (fermented fish — the dried fermented fish of Manipur; roast each piece in a dry pan 2 minutes before use; available at Northeast Indian stores)
3 to 4 fresh green chillies — roasted over a flame until slightly blistered
4 garlic cloves — roasted briefly until golden
1 tbsp mustard oil
Salt to taste
2 tbsp fresh coriander
Method
Boil potatoes in salted water until completely soft.
Boil other vegetables separately until tender. Drain all and cool slightly.
Roast ngari pieces in a dry pan 2 minutes per side until they sizzle and the aroma intensifies.
Roast green chillies until slightly blistered. Roast garlic until golden. Cool briefly.
Pound the roasted ngari, green chillies and garlic together in a mortar to a coarse paste.
In a large bowl combine the boiled potatoes and boiled vegetables. Add the pounded ngari paste.
Mash everything together coarsely with a fork or by hand — the texture should be rough and textured, not smooth.
Eromba is always a chunky mash, never a smooth puree.
Add mustard oil. Mix well.
Taste before adding salt — the ngari is very salty and salt may not be needed.