International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development

Fermentation is as old as the origin of food processing. Fermentation is the breakdown of carbohydrates like sugar and starch by bacteria and yeast and is an ancient technique of preserving food. Meitei are the major inhabitants of Manipur, one of the hilly state of North-East India. The three most important things that require for living are the food, shelter and clothe. There are disastrous natural calamities that cause famine, drought and flood that man encounters. Moreover most of the foods are seasonal in production. The plentiful of harvest foods have to be preserved and stored for future use and some foods are processed to some other forms to ensure unlimited food supply. Different forms of fermented foods are traditionally available like fermented bamboo shoot (soibum), fermented fish (Utonga or Ngari and Hentak), fermented soybean (Hawaijar), brewing of local alcohol (Yungou), curd (Sangom afamba), fermented meat product of the Vaiphei tribe etc. The fermented soybean (Hawaijar) is one of the important item required for preparing different dishes of Meiteis such as hawaijar chagempomba (pudding made out of fermented soybean (hawaijar), rice and green vegetables like mustard leaf, delicate shoot of peas, Parkea roxburghii (Yongchak/ Tree bean)) and Anethum graveolens (Pakhon), Pan hawaijar thongba (cooked Colocasia esculenta and fermented soybean).