Different valley regions of Himalaya vary in land and food by age-old traditions and beliefs. Agricultural practices change over the terrains and so does the cuisine. Drawn from the fresh farms and pastures, the natives grow a good collection of fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, milk and dairy products.
Now, let’s look into the meal plan of the local residents:
Ken or Tshema is eaten as the morning breakfast. This usually consists of flatbreads served with some accompaniments.
The breakfast is followed by Shod in lunch. Chicken forms an important part of the staple diet.
The dinner is Yangskin or Gongal. Different meats are served in different regions depending on preferences. For eg, in upper Kinnaur, quite a few communities consume yak meat.
Native Flatbreads
The special flatbreads of Kinnaur are now becoming famous all over India. Parathas (flatbreads) made of barley, buckwheat or amaranth are a staple diet. Tsampa is a baked cake made from the barley flour. Chilta is made from buckwheat flour. This is a bit bitter in taste and its sweeter version is known as Olga.
Phanting is a special gruel or porridge made of wild apricots which are later cooked in water and salt. There are various vegetable preparations made with the local produce and spices. The vegetables include cabbage, peas, pumpkin, turnips, and potatoes.
Non-vegetarians are really adventurous and enjoy a long list of delicious meats. The natives of Kinnaur are generally non-vegetarians relishing on goat meat cooked with Himachali spices. But, there’s also another group of residents who are religiously vegetarian.
In the locals, Tibetan lemon-ginger and honey tea is also famous.
The most common beverage drunk by the locals is Cha or Tea with barley sattu. It is sometimes also known as butter tea. The tea is made by boiling a large amount of water with tea leaves, salt, butter, milk almonds, walnuts, and other spices. This special slightly salty tea is fairly common all over the Himalayan regions and traces its origin back to Tibet’s famous buttered salty tea.
Home-brewed beers are a home way out in the Himachal regions. Kinnaur also has some fascinating local brewed drinks. A variety of different ingredients are used to make the delights like apples, apricots, grapes, barley, or any locally produced fruit.
Angoori is a brilliant supplement to red wine. Nesang, the brandy manufactured in Kinnaur is also very popular.
Thus, Kinnaur and its food provide you with some really adventurous ride on the taste buds. While you go trekking or skiing and enjoy some adrenaline, feed your body too with these heavenly and delicious local delights.
Cuisines are therefore more specialised in the Hilly regions and thus, Sangla offers a great variety of options for food.
Kamroo,
Sangla Valley,
Tehsil Sangla,
Distt: Kinnaur,
Himachal Pradesh (India).