List of Tibetian-style cuisines in Spiti Valley

Well, Spiti Valley's average temperature ranges between 15 to 18 degrees Celsius even during the summer. So what if you can compensate for a hot cup of coffee with spicy meat/veggie soupy noodles? The dish is enriched with organically grown species and home-farmed goat (mutton) or yak so that the dish gives you a fulfilling taste without any preservatives. There is a choice of adding only vegetables but these are imported from different places, so you need to compromise on the freshness and the flavor of the soup. But it’s not gonna be that bad! Just give it a try!

Yup! This dish is available in all the looks and corners of my city! But it can’t beat the original! The restaurants serve freshly prepared dough with comparatively less quantity of ‘maida’ and finely chopped meat/veggies for stuffing inside the momos. Their chili sources are so authentic and spicy, allspice food lovers will surrender for it. Additionally, the mayonnaise (with egg & eggless) and the ginger sauce served is indeed a great deal. No compromise for vegetarians as the veg stuffing is so rich in flavor and nutrients. Absolutely No Compromise!

The pronunciation is the task! ‘Th-en-th-uk’ never mind! This dish is similar to ‘Thukpa’ the soupy noodles that we discussed earlier. But the specialty lies in the process of hand-pulled noodles. Usually, the dough hand-pulled to make noodles comprises of wheat flour, maida, and corn scratch giving us the fine texture and long-nonsticky noodles. There are more than 10 recipes to prepare this noodle, it can be served as Soupy noodles, Dry pan fried noodles, Veggie noodles, Spicy noodles, etc. This can bet Maggie and Yippie! Ensuring I’m safe around the Maggie lovers!

This is a popular Tibetan-style stir-fry dish, consisting of sliced meat usually beef, mutton, or yak, with sprinkles of onions, bell peppers, the secreted Tibetan species, and of course salt. The dish is accompanied by steamed rice or bread to enhance the flavor of ‘Shapta’. The dish comprises a little on nutrition but your taste buds will dance and roll over your tongue. I could recommend you to drink hot water and go for a long walk after eating as this might help you to compensate for the nutritional balance. Sorry to all the non-vegetarians! 

This is the traditional staple food prepared with barley flour mixed with butter tea to form a dough-like consistency and baked to munch on as breakfast or evening snacks. Everyone visiting Spiti must try this dish and pack home a few packets of Tsampa. This dish doesn’t compromise on nutrition and provides a good energy source for you to wander around and perform all the adventurous activities you have planned. Go Grab One!

A trip to Spiti Valley is incomplete if you miss tasting this beer. Chang is a traditional alcoholic beverage prepared through the fermentation process of barely seeds. This drink is served for free during festivals and celebrations, you’ll be lucky to get one if you visit during these seasons. The drink has around 5% alcohol so it is safe until you have more than 2 jugs of beer. This beer is available locally in every city but those canned and bolted drinks will not match the purity and concentration of the original ‘Chang’ from Spiti Valley. Cheers to all the beer lovers! 

So boring! Cheese is available in almost every part of the world what’ 's special; about  Yak cheese? Well, the answer is within the name ‘Yak Cheese’ usually this product is extracted from cow milk and proceeded sent to our table completely packed. With Plastic and foil! But the speciality of this cheese is the product is derived from Yak milk which is NO ORDINARY. These Yak are home-farmed for meat, milk, and tourism purposes, so people feed them with proper fodder and take good care of them. In return, the products  - meat & milk products don’t get compromised with their nutritional value. So Yah! No strings attached except the CHEEZEE!

This is another variant of noodles that is similar to ‘Thukpa’ and ‘Thenthuk’. Then what's the point of trying? The answer is too straight because you are the chief here! Isn’t that great? Yes, you are gonna prepare the food on the table with select ingredients of your choice. Here you go - the procedure -  Take a bowl of noodles, pour hot water, add the spice that you like, add meat or veggie, or both, and stir it well for 5 minutes. Wait! Isn’t this the instant cup noodles? Nope, this is NOT processed food, and no additional preservatives. Eat Healthy! Stay Healthy! 

For all those chai and coffee lovers ‘Khapse’ is a perfect dip! This is a deep-friend Tibetan biscuit usually prepared with flour (Wheat, rice, gram) eggs, butter, and sugar. This dish reminds me of ‘Khajoor’ since both share similar tastes, ingredients and looks. They are in different shapes and sizes and are often prepared during festive occasions in Spiti - like LOSAR - The Tibetan New Year. These biscuits are available in packets in supermarkets and stored in our sites but the authenticity can’t be matched. Dedicated to all sweet lovers!

You need not worry about eating Poha in Spiti Valley! Chura is as simple as Poha in Tibetian language, there are different recipes to prepare this flattened rice. It is either prepared as a sweet or spicy snack. But what’s unique about Chura-Poha in Spiti? The reply is simple a cup of coffee tastes different at home when compared to the coffee served in coffee shops on the streets with friends. Exactly this is the catch! Go and try!