Thanks to our cook, Mari, and assistant cook, Gyapol, we’ve been very well fed in Yuksam! All meals were sumptuously prepared. It’s impossible to go on a diet there! The meals are very high in carbs but simply too irresistible (or at least for me, cos I really love Indian food!) Obviously I was one happy girl during meal times! =D
I love Momo the most!! All the better if there’s nice chilli sauce to go along with it! Since I love Momo so much, I jumped at the chance to learn how to make them during homestay! Well, Momos are rather similar to the Chinese dumplings we have. They are prepared by stuffing mincemeat, vegetable or cheese in flour dough and then moulding them in the form of a dumpling. The folding requires very delicate fingers and skills. My momos were obviously not as pretty as the experienced host’s. Oh well, as long as they are edible! It’s good enough!
Another popular dish is Pakora! They are Alvin’s all-time favourite! You should see how his eyes light up whenever he sees Pakoras being served! Pakoras are made from mixing ingredients such as onion, spinach, chilli or tomato in a batter of flour and then deep frying them. We also tried making them during the homestay! They were yummy!
Meals are occasionally accompanied with Chang, the traditional Sikkimese warm beer. Chang is made by fermenting millet using yeast and is sipped from a bamboo or wooden container using a bamboo pipe. It’s pretty cool! Apparently, almost every household here ferment their own Chang at home and keep them in the storeroom, only taking it out on special occasions or to entertain guests.
Here are some pictures:
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- a typical meal
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- Momo!!
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- a common scene every meal time
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- Pakoras (Alvin, stop smiling to yourself!)
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- chang beer!
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- learning to cook local dishes during homestay
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- indian maggie mee in the bowl
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- chicken briyani served at a restaurant
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- choc-cake, a common indian dessert
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- chowmien – indian fried noodles
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- eating with hands for fun!
