500 Years Old Asia's Largest ALL-WOMEN Mother’s Market & Tangkhul Naga Food in Imphal, Manipur I

One of the key places in Imphal, Manipur is IMA Keithel or mother's market. This 500 years old iconic market and is Asia's boasts of being Asia's largest all women market.

During our Manipur Food Tour, we visited this landmark along with our gracious host Shangreiwon Multhou who is a famous chef, entrepreneur cum author from the state who runs a popular bakery cum restaurant named Popa Cakes & Bakes. The episode captures this fascinating experience of decoding some more culinary secrets of the local cuisine. This was followed by a scrumptious Tangkhul Naga cuisine experience at Popa.

Ima market came into existence after the ancient bonded labour system was imposed in the kingdom of Manipur. The system compelled the male members of the Meitei ethnic community to work in far-off places or enlist in the military and other projects. As a result womenfolk were left behind to cultivate their farms or weave textiles, then sell the finished goods, in order to support their families. Ima Keithel was established as a result of the improvised markets. Women of all age groups can be found running small and big businesses.

The market complex consists of three large buildings. One of them is fully dedicated to vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and other food items. The second two are for jewelry, clothing and things of everyday needs. Inside it is a stretch of open space where each women vendor has spread out their fares on raised platforms. First we tried a betel leaf with areca nuts and moved on to a bora or fritters shop. Here one can get freshly made bora at any point of the day and there was a large variety of it. From there we visited a sweet snack shop where we found some popular treats, most of which were handmade. Next we stopped by a vegetable counter where Shangreiwon introduced us to some widely used things which were quite new for us.

After we tried some chuhi with curd and then strolled across the fish and rice section. It was so inspiring to see the hardworking ladies carrying out their day to day business with a spirit. On exiting from the building we had some singju and paknam at a 50 year old stall. Shangreiwon then led us to a section selling ngari. There we got to know more about this indispensable I ingredient of Manipuri cuisine. The market tour was truly enriching as we get to know so many things about the local culinary culture.

In the evening we joined Shangreiwon at her restaurant Popa for a Tangkhul meal. The delicious spread consisted of unique dishes like khai akahur, hoksa ann, yongchak khanai, yongchak khangui, harsanai, maimu hansi haan, champut etc. which we were tried for the first time. The highlight of these dishes were the use of minimal ingredients.

A luscious chakhao rice cake and chakhao tea served as the perfect end to this soulful meal. Both the experiences left us with such huge knowledge about the marvelous food culture of Manipur.


**Despite the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur, we made a conscious yet hard decision to proceed with our food video series from the state which was filmed between 30th Jan and 3rd feb 2023.

Our intention was to showcase the incredible warmth, love, kindness, camaraderie and enthusiasm we encountered during this immersive visit.

It's essential to acknowledge the complexities the state is going through, but we firmly believe in highlighting the genuine goodness of the people whom we met during this wonderful journey.

Throughout the five-day tour, we encountered a heartwarming display of hospitality, generosity and harmony. We want to reassure that our approach remains sensitive and respectful towards the ordeal being faced by the people of Manipur.**


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  / northeastcuisines  

About the host:
https://anubhavsapra.com/

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Design and filmed by Rahul Singh
  / iamrahulsingh.2  

Text by Swetaleena Nayak