Yen Kangsoi

There are recipes where flavour begins with oil and a crowded spice box. Yen Kangsoi manages perfectly well without either.

Kangsoi is a brothy, everyday preparation from Manipur’s Meitei kitchens, built around vegetables simmered in water with ginger, chilli and ngari, the deeply funky fermented fish that does an extraordinary amount of heavy lifting. Add yen, or chicken, and the broth becomes richer while still remaining remarkably light.

This version uses country chicken, mustard greens, potato and fresh ginger flowers, which are treated almost like a vegetable rather than simply an aromatic. A whole bhut jolokia quietly infuses the pot and can be broken open at the end if you feel the afternoon has been going suspiciously well.

No oil. No powdered masala. Just chicken, greens, fermentation and one chilli with an extremely well-documented attitude problem.