KINNAUR, the remote north-eastern corner of Himachal Pradesh, fringing the Tibetan Plateau, is not only a place of awesome grandeur, but homes a number of unique crops and edible produce that are grown by residents on the treacherous and hostile terrains of these mountains. The local produce includes the wheat, ogla, jafra and barley as the major, followed by kankini, cheena, maize, chollair and bathu as their staple food. The principle pulses consumed are rajma, peas, black peas and mash. To this adds the never ending list of fruits and vegetables, complementing the staple crops. The vegetable list goes with cabbage, turnips, peas, beans, pumpkin, potato, lady finger and tomatoes besides some locally available green vegetable leaves and the fruit list needs some special attention.
Now comes, the string of bulbs which is exclusive to the land of KINNAUR, opening a stream of light to the tourists and residents.
The Kinnauri Tea (also commonly known as the Butter Tea/Chaa Chah/Thang Chai/Namkeen Chai) is a specialty of Kinnaur. But, never go by its name, this beverage is not made from tea leaves. It is a concoction of milk, yak butter, dry walnut kernel, black pepper and salt with an infusion of Chathang leaves or Yamdal bark, which is the main ingredient of the tea & is limited to the Himalayan region.
Kinnaur is well known as the “Fruit Bowl of Himachal”. The striking thing you notice while passing through every valley is the fruit laden trees! While the apples rule over, it’s not difficult to trace out the plum, peaches, apricots and cherries that grace the orchards.
More over Washington apples and New Zealand kiwi, apples from Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir are on the rise; and specially the Kinnaur Apples, grown at an altitude above 10,000 feet. Kinnaur lies in the apple belt of the Himachal region and the apples are extremely juicy, succulent and sweet. They are one of the premium grade apples in India. A particular variety of Wild Apricot, primarily identified with Kinnaur, is famous not only for its taste, but for its kernel oil known as the Chuli Oil or otherwise locally known as “Gutti Ka Tel”. It is almost used in all the households for domestic consumption. Similarly, the Wild Peach and peach kernel oil, popularly known as the Behami Oil is also a native produce. With all the stone fruits in support, come into play the Cherries of Kinnaur, which has recently grown as a popular choice of crop among the farmers.
Dry fruits and hills & vallies go hand in hand. But, if you haven’t seen orchards full of dry fruits, you need to get to Kinnaur soon. Kinnaur owns baskets of dry fruits, including the Almonds (Kagzi Badam, try eating it when it’s green and still raw and not dried hard), Walnuts (looks like pretty round green balls hanging in bunch when raw, serves not only brain shaped nuts, but is a great wood for making furniture), Pine nuts (Chilgoza, is one of the most important cash crops of Kinnaur, also Kinnaur has the largest Chilgoza forests), Chestnuts (have a unique flavor and aroma & also have medicinal values due to the climatic condition & chemical free environment of Kinnaur), cashews, dates, raisins, pistachio, hazelnuts, etc. to name a few.
Adding on, there are a few star produce of Kinnaur, listing the
This unique tribal district of Himachal Pradesh, due to its geographical position and climatic perks, has the distinction of being pioneer district in the state having a rich natural resource of medicinal and aromatic plants. It is the largest producer of Atish, Salampania, Dhoop, Kutki, Bankakari, Talispatara, Chora, Revandchini and Somlata in the country. Kala zeera, which is known to have medicinal and herbal values are also grown in the region. The present paper highlights a total of around 103 species from 79 genera belonging to 39 families, having medicinal and aromatic values. The natural produce of Kinnaur holds a keen interest for the tourists, which is not only vast but peculiar to itself. If you still haven’t added it to your bucket list, then you are surely going to miss out a treasure!
Kamroo,
Sangla Valley,
Tehsil Sangla,
Distt: Kinnaur,
Himachal Pradesh (India).