The food Mary Kom grew up on
Live MintI was born in Kangathei, a tiny village around 60 km from Imphal. This was made of fresh mustard leaves and potatoes from our garden or the nearby fields, stewed with fish that came from the local Loktak lake, all boiled together and flavoured with sliced onions, cloves, salt, garlic, maroi and a bit of ginger. Like other village homes, we too had a patch of garden where my parents grew an array of vegetables—mustard, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, peas, beans, brinjal, ladies’ finger, coriander, and a variety of indigenous herbs such as maroi napaakpi, maroi naakuppi. After a week of relentless hard work in the fields, my parents and the four of us would sit down to enjoy a humble but delicious fare: steamed rice, which was a must, along with boot—a steaming hot stew bursting with the flavours of fresh vegetables, dried fish and meat. My mother also made spicy chutneys using indigenous greens and herbs, some of them tart and tangy, to which she added fermented fish and served with our meals.
Discover Related
)
