A beautiful afternoon and our first day in Leh is spent sipping a cup of Kahwah tea at Yarab Tso hotel with Stanzin, our host.
Imagine being hungry at an altitude of 11,562 ft and at the same time mildly gasping for air due to the high altitude … All I could think of was food & all sort of exotic Ladhakhi delicacies.
The original plan was to dine like royalty, but it all got mishandled. To cut long story short, we were fortunately directed to one of the best culinary destinations in all of Ladakh and were very glad that our plan got a little haywire.
Jullay! Meet Kunzes & Tsezin Angmo of The Artisanal Alchemy, the amazing sister duo taking you to the world of Ladakhi gastronomy at The Jade House, through firsthand dining experiences, food & culture stories, a boutique homestay & many more… You will be surprised by their rich local & culinary traditions, and the sisters will happily share all the stories. Mind you, Ladakhi food is more than just momos & thukpas.
Perched on India’s northern border with Pakistan and China, situated at the western edge of the Tibetan Plateau, Ladakh was a cultural crossroads in Asia, a conduit for trade and interaction for thousands of years. As a result, the whole fusion of Tibet, Central Asia & Dardistan gave this UT one of the most unique cultures, traditions & food habits.
As we arrive, we were greeted with a big smile 😄 by Tsezin and then joined by Kunzes, who was occupied with her kitchen witchery 🧙♀️. Imagine cooking up a magical meal in the mystical land of Leh… YEAH! that’s them.
Our Ladakhi dinner menu was elaborate: a good 2.5hr ritual of eating and chatting.
The starters were a platter of Tsong Thaltak (wholewheat onion biscuit) & Zathuk (traditional Ladakhi sourdough) served with Zathuk (wild stinging nettle soup), Tangthur (local yogurt dip) & Ladakhi pickles.
We were offered a glass of Chhaang – local barley beer, quite tasty – a bit sour & sweet, just like wine but with much less alcohol content. It constitutes an important part of socio-cultural life, and no social activity is complete without this beverage.
The mains were a double delight. We were served Lama Pakthuk, which literally translates to ‘monks thukpa’, and is traditionally made in monasteries or for monks visiting a household for ritual prayers. One thing that we learnt was that Thukpa basically is a generic term for a variety of soups (using wheat, buckwheat, barley, etc.) which may (more often than not) have noodles.
Then came the Yarkhandi Pulao, which is made with a mix of carrots and mutton & other common spices. A blessing from the silk route traders of Yarkand in China who took refuge with the locals in Leh. They brought their version of a pulao and blended it with Ladakhi cuisine. The grated carrots make the rice turns a pale orange. The lamb chosen is usually of the Dumba variety (which have a large layer of fat). Only the fatty pieces are used for the pulao, which makes sense as the winter is extreme in Ladakh.
The pulao was accompanied by O-chutagi, a local bow-tie pasta cooked in milk with swede (a root vegetable).
To spice it up a little ‘Thangnyer Chutney’, made with yellow Manali Chilli, was added, to the delight spicy taste lovers like me.
We ended up with a bowl of two very interesting desserts – organic dried apricots (steeped in water overnight) and Paktsu Marku, wholewheat dumplings cooked in butter & sugar with dousing of chur-phey (ground dried cheese).
All in all, in addition to the otherworldly beauty and mystical nature of the landscape, the Ladakhi cuisine takes you to another whole level of gastronomy.
Paraphrasing Anthony Bourdain to close the whole Unexpected Ladakh Dairies:
“Nothing unexpected or wonderful is likely to happen if you have an itinerary in Ladakh filled only with Pangong Tso Lake and Khardung La Pass.” – 𝑅𝑜𝒷𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝒮𝒶𝒾𝓀𝒽𝑜𝓂
This blog is our unsolicited personal opinion. By no means, a requested review from the owners.
Robindro Saikhom
robin@serenejourneys.co
www.serenejourneys.co
Robin is the founder of Serene Journeys, an LGBTQ+ owned & operated travel company based in Delhi & Bangkok, a travel curator, a travel photographer and a FOODie, exploring the beauty of South and Southeast Asia.
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