Meghalaya Nakham Bitchi Smoked Fish Vegetable Soup Khasi

Smoked dried fish dissolved into a clear soup with seasonal vegetables and black pepper — the essential flavoured broth-stew of the Khasi kitchen eaten daily.

Ingredients

100g nakham (dried smoked fish — available at Northeast Indian stores; or use any dried smoked fish)
3 cups mixed seasonal vegetables — flat beans, pumpkin, potato, spinach, bitter gourd
1 tsp ginger — sliced
3 garlic cloves — crushed
1 tsp black pepper — coarsely crushed
2 green chillies — whole
3 cups water
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish

Method

Rinse the nakham (dried smoked fish) under cold water briefly to remove surface salt.
Break or cut into smaller pieces.
Cut all vegetables into roughly equal 3 cm pieces.
Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a pot. Add sliced ginger, crushed garlic, black pepper and whole green chillies.
Add the nakham pieces. The dried fish will begin dissolving into the broth as it cooks, releasing its smoky, savoury essence.
Add the harder vegetables first — potato, flat beans, bitter gourd. Cook 8 minutes.
Add pumpkin and remaining vegetables. Cook 8 to 10 more minutes until all vegetables are tender.
Add spinach in the last 2 minutes.
Taste before adding salt — the nakham is already quite salty.
Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve the clear smoky soup over steamed rice.