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Indian

Singju

Non-vegetarian

ꯁꯤꯡꯖꯨ · singju

Manipur's hand-mixed salad of shredded cabbage, lotus stem, onion, herbs and chilli, bound with roasted chickpea flour, toasted perilla seeds and roasted fermented fish.

Singju is an Indian salad, ready in about 28 minutes and made with cabbage, lotus root (lotus stem) and ngari (manipuri fermented fish). It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
8 min
Total
28 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
67

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Slice the lotus stem (opens in a new tab) paper-thin and drop it into water so it doesn't brown. Shred the cabbage (opens in a new tab) as finely as possible.

    • 10 min

  2. Step 2

    In a dry pan, roast the chickpea flour (opens in a new tab), stirring, until it smells nutty and turns a shade darker; tip out. Toast the perilla seeds (opens in a new tab) until they crackle and pound them coarsely.

  3. Step 3

    Roast the ngari (opens in a new tab) and dried chillies in the pan (or over a flame) until fragrant, then pound them together with the salt to a coarse paste.

    Food safety: Roast ngari in a well-ventilated room — it is pungent — and roast it thoroughly, as it is not otherwise cooked.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Drain the lotus stem (opens in a new tab). In a big bowl, mix the cabbage (opens in a new tab), lotus stem, onion, herbs and the ngari (opens in a new tab)-chilli paste with your hands, squeezing gently so the flavours coat everything.

    • 3 min

  5. Step 5

    Sprinkle over the roasted chickpea flour (opens in a new tab) and perilla, mix once more and serve straight away.

    • 1 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Manipur, India · Well documentedA Meitei everyday and street dish; ingredients change with the season.More food from India
Dish
Snack · Lunch · Salads · Street food
Cooking method
Raw, Toasted, No-cook
Taste
umami, spicy (chilli heat), herby, fresh, nutty
Diet
Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Cabbage · Lotus root (lotus stem) · Ngari (Manipuri fermented fish) · Red onion · Coriander leaves · Spring onion
Techniques
Toasting · Tadka (tempering) · Spice roasting (dry-roasting)

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom ngari (manipuri fermented fish)

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

67 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 119 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 27%
  • Carbohydrate 67%
  • Fat 6%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy67 kcal57 kcal
Protein4.9 g4.1 g
Carbohydrate12 g10.1 g
Net carbohydrate8.2 g6.9 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.8 g3.2 g
Fat0.5 g0.4 g
Saturated fat——
Trans fat0 g0 g
Cholesterol6 mg5 mg
Sodium727 mg611 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g1.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
403 mg
Calcium
54 mg
Iron
1.2 mg
Magnesium
28 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
27 µg
Vitamin C
36 mg
Vitamin D
0.2 µg
Vitamin B12
—
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: mint, perilla seeds.
  • Ngari (Manipuri fermented fish): Dried salted cod (FDC 174190) used as a stand-in for ngari, a dried, fermented small-fish product used in small amounts.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Add the roasted flour at the very end so it clings to the vegetables rather than turning pasty.

Common mistakes

  • Making it ahead — singju is best eaten minutes after mixing.

Serve with

  • Eat as an afternoon snack, or alongside rice and eromba.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Variations

  • Yongchak singju: Made with thinly sliced tree bean (Parkia) in winter.
  • Banana-flower singju: Uses finely chopped banana blossom.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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