R is for Recipes

by Noa Jones

Noa Jones says that Bhutanese home cooking will leave diners breathing hot balls of
fire.

The most pleasurable Bhutanese dining experiences are often out of doors.
Inventive, industrious and fun-loving, Bhutanese are master picnickers. It's
in their blood. Villagers and nomads often carry their lunches in
traditional woven baskets called bangchun but these days no family is
without a collection of "hot cases" and giant Chinese thermoses. Settled on
a carpet of fresh pine needles with the bright blue sky above and a crystal
white river gushing nearby, exchanging saucy jokes with your Bhutanese
friends and sampling from an overabundance of delicacies " this is to
experience the core of Bhutanese life.
Picnicking also affords the opportunity burn off some calories as one hikes
back to civilization. The fact that foot traffic is still the primary means
of travel in Bhutan might explain the generally slim population. For the
auto-bound, I developed something I call Bhutanese Belly Busters. While
traveling by car along the windy roads of the country, instead of letting
myself flop from side to side in the jeep like a rag doll, I attempted to
hold myself upright using my stomach muscles. It's harder than one might
think and gave me a (perhaps false) sense of countering the effects of
enjoying the recipes below.

Ema
Datshi
No meal, not even breakfast, truly satisfies the Bhutanese without a rip
roaring spicy hot oily pot of ema datshi. The recipe for ema
(chili) datshi (cheese) varies. Every region, even every household
within each region, has its own interpretation.
Ingredients:

Red Chilies (jalapenos are a good substitute if Bhutanese chilies aren't
available)
Butter Or Oil
Farmers Cheese
Salt

Preparation:
Place the chilies, butter and a little water in a pot. Keep seeds in if you
like it hot. Garlic is optional. Boil then simmer covered over a low heat
until softened. It's important not to overcook Add the cheese toward the
end. Chopped scallions are also often added at the end
Other ingredients such as boiled potatoes (kewa datshi), mushrooms,
tomatoes, green beans, spinach, wild asparagus, even orchid flowers are
commonly added to the basic ema datshi recipe depending on taste and
availability. You can play with the proportions to create more or less
"gravy." Thinner gravy is more popular in east Bhutan while a thicker sauce
is common in the west. Either way it is served with rice.

Riverweed Soup
We spent much of our time living in purpose-built camps around the country.
We were fortunate to have a skilled team of cooks whose inter-kitchen
competition pressed them to continually outdo themselves. One freezing cold
day I watched the head cook wade out into the rushing river beside our camp
to fetch dinner. A product of the Himalayan river system coursing through
Bhutan, riverweed is an abundant and nutritious option for villagers. It is
similar to seaweed but not salty. The weeds are available year round,
collected from riverbeds and rolled into flat patties (about the size of a
cow pie) then dried in the sun for four to five days. Dried riverweed can be
kept through a season and reconstituted whenever needed. The dried cake is
soaked in cold water for half an hour or until softened. It's important to
thoroughly remove all sand and sediment by placing in a sieve and rinsing
for a good long time. Otherwise, it can be a gritty experience.

Ingredients:
3
cakes of riverweed (approx 250 grams each)
1
tomato
Processed or fermented cheese
Salt
10 ml. vegetable oil or butter

Preparation:
Boil the whole tomato for ten minutes until the skin comes loose
Peel then chop the flesh
Put half a liter of water in a soup pot
Add salt, chopped tomato, and oil
Add half a liter of water and boil for 15 to 20 minutes

Add riverweed cakes and boil further for 10 minutes then simmer for 10
minutes. If using fermented cheese add with the riverweed. If using
processed cheese add at the end and simmer for 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy.


Agay's
Eggs

This recipe is easily prepared even in the west, there are no special
ingredients.

Ingredients:
8
eggs
2
T. chili powder
1
T. turmeric
2
T. garlic finely minced
1
T. onion finely minced
2
T. ground dhal powder or corn meal

Preparation:
Hard boil eggs and let cool. Mix chili powder, turmeric, onion and garlic.
Add dhal powder or corn meal. Roll cooled eggs in chili mixture. Heat
vegetable oil in a pan enough to cover the entire egg. Fry eggs until
golden brown. Serve with chili dipping sauce.
Zao

We first arrived in Bhutan overland by train to Phuntsholing then by car to
Paro. A reception was arranged at the impressive new hydropower plant about
midway. This was my first introduction to Bhutanese hospitality. Cups of
tea were served along with bowls of zao, a customary offering of toasted
rice. This is a mild and very satisfying snackfood (notice, no H in the
name) especially when spooned into cups of butter tea.


Ingredients:
3kgs
Jasmine Rice

50ml Cooking oil

Preparation:


Soak rice in warm water for two days. Drain water, add cooking oil and
mixed well. Put one cup of soaked rice in a heated frying pan and stir for
about 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted.Store in an air-tight container. Sugar and fresh butter can also be added.
with out melting.



Butter Egg Fried Ara (also known as "Chunky")
While this is an alcoholic beverage, it goes down like a meal. Traditional
Ara requires an elaborate fermenting and brewing process but the recipe
below works for the impatient.

Ingredients:
Rice
Yeast
Butter
Egg

Preparation:
To make the ara, the alcoholic element, cook up several cups of plain
white rice then place in a large jar while still hot. Stir in a tablespoon
of brewers yeast and let sit for two days. Melt half a cup of butter in a
pan. Add an egg or two and stir vigorously until cooked but not solid then
and add the fermented rice and water to cover. Serve when heated. It is
possible to replicate the traditional butter fried egg ara without
the rice by using sake. Melt the butter, lightly fry the egg, add a cup
of sake and let simmer for 3 minutes and add 4 more cups of sake and heat
but do not boil. Served in a wooden cup with dried yak meat snacks.

Kewa Phaksha Pa (Pork
& Potatoes)
Many of Bhutan's swine are fed on a healthy diet of hemp. The THC is stored
in the fatty tissue which can make dining on Bhutanese pork dishes an
especially pleasurable experience. This recipe comes from Dasho Kado of the
King's Royal Bodyguards.

Ingredients:
350 g of pork (shoulder or thigh) sliced with skin 1/4 inch thick, 2x3
inches round
2
potatoes peeled
3
large dry red chili peppers cut lengthwise with stalks left in
1/2 an onion
Garlic, salt and ginger as much as you like
teaspoon chili powder

1
piece of ginger (finely chopped) "finger-size length"
1/2 T. oil

Preparation:

Dasho Kado says, "Put everything in a pressure cooker with the chilies and
salt on top and cook for a good long time. Then eat." The translation of
"good long time" might be about 5 whistles on a pressure cooker. Keep
simmering until the gravy reduces. Serve with rice.

Noa Jones is a freelance writer. Some recipes excerpted from her book about the making of
the film Travellers & Magicians. Thanks to Phuntsho Wangmo and Karma Yangki
for their input.
R is for Recipes, Noa Jones, Shambhala Sun, May 2004.



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