Tungtap is a

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

fish paste found in

Meghalayan cuisine Meghalayan cuisine is the local cuisine of the Indian state of Meghalaya. Meghalaya is home to three tribes; it has a unique cuisine, different from the other Seven Sister States of northeast India. The staple food of the people is rice with s ...

, consumed by the

Khasi Khasi may refer to: * Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India * Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India * Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India See also * Khasi Hills * Gh ...

and

Garo Garo may refer to: People and languages * Garo people, a tribal people in India ** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe Places * Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia * Garo, Colorado * Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...

people. Like ''

hentak Hentak is a thick fermented paste in Manipuri cuisine made with sun-dried fish powder and the petioles of aroid plants. The small Indian flying barb fish are sun dried on bamboo trays and crushed to powder. The aroid petioles are cut into pieces ...

'', it is made with

Indian flying barb The Indian flying barb (''Esomus danrica''), historically flying barb, is one of the species known in the group flying barbs owing to their extremely long barbels. It was discovered as long ago as 1822 by Hamilton. However, it is rarely seen in ...

pool barb The pool barb, spotfin swamp barb, or stigma barb (''Puntius sophore'') is a tropical freshwater and brackish fish belonging to the Puntius genus in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to inland waters in Asia and is found in India, Nepal, Bangla ...

fish that are sun-dried, salted and fermented in a sealed earthenware vessel. The vessel is covered with pandan and tied with threads. It can be used in

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

or eaten with rice, mixed with onion, garlic, chillis and ''

Zanthoxylum nitidum ''Zanthoxylum nitidum'', commonly known as shiny-leaf prickly-ash, tez-mui (in Assamese) or liang mian zhen (in China), is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is a woody climber with prickles on the branchlets, thick, cone- ...

'' and eaten as a pickle or

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce. ...

. ''Tungtap'' has a spongy, soft texture.

References

Fermented fish Fermented foods Northeast Indian cuisine Fish sauces {{Condiment-stub