SIKKIM

On A Platter

Food Items
of
SIKKIM
By : YUVVAL BHASIN VII-C
Sikkimese Cuisine Inspired heavily by Nepali and Tibetan flavors, Sikkimese
cuisine offers delicious dishes of meats and vegetables.
Sikkimese cuisine is the cuisine
of the state of Sikkim, located in
northeastern India.
Rice is a staple food, and
fermented foods traditionally
constitute a significant portion of
the cuisine.
Nepalese cuisine is popular, as
Sikkim is the only state of India
with an ethnic Nepali majority.
Many restaurants in Sikkim
serve various types of Nepalese
cuisine, such as the Newa and
Thakali cuisines.
Tibetan cuisine has also
influenced Sikkimese cuisine.
 Momos
A steamed dumpling popular throughout the Himalayas and
the Indian subcontinent. This food is usually associated with
Tibetan and Nepalese people.
It is stuffed with minced meat or vegetable like Chayote or
Cabbage in a roll of dough and then steamed.

Thupka
A Tibetan noodle soup with vegetables or meat.
 Phagshapa
Generally a dish for the summers, phagshapa is a pork based
dish served with rice. Food from Sikkim is generally regarded to
be very spicy and even though this dish contains its fair share
of heat, it is still easier on the palate than the rest.
The star of the dish is the pork, cooked with subtle spices, chili
and radish in oil.
The pork fat is left on the meat to give it the dish’s primary
flavor.

Chaang
In the bitter-cold winters of Sikkim, it is ideal to try out an alcoholic beverage to keep
you warm.
A Tibetan drink later adopted by the state, chaang is a must-try drink in the state of
Sikkim. It is produced with fermented cereals and sipped through a bamboo vessel
with a bamboo straw.
The vessels with the millets are topped with warm water to extract the flavor.
 Kinema Curry
A unique dish, the star ingredient of this dish is fermented soya
bean. It is one of the most popular dishes of the state for its
taste as well as its high protein value.
A tadka of turmeric powder, onion, red chili and tomatoes is
added to the gravy to further enhance the taste. The dish is
served with rice.
This is a great food for the vegetarians. It is a Nepalese
fermented soybean food, traditionally combined in a soup with
rice, but sometimes served as a side dish with rice or bread.

Kodo Ko Roti
A Nepali dish, kodo ko roti has been adopted through Sikkim as a dish of
its own.
The dish is a simple bread meal, typically served with pickle. With kodo
flour or finger millet flour, the batter is kneaded and spread across a
banana leaf.
The leaf is then covered and baked on a tawa. The dish is known to taste
best when a tomato pickle is served as an accompaniment.
 Sael Roti
Reminiscent of a soft pretzel because of its ring shape, a sael
roti is a bread prepared during festivals in Nepal.
This has been roped in Sikkimese cuisine. The dish is made
from a batter of fermented rice and then deep-fried.
The dish is perfect for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike,
since it can be eaten with a potato curry or even a meat
accompaniment.

Gundruk and Sinki

Another one for the vegetarians, gundruk and sinki are fermented
vegetable dishes.
Green vegetables are packed into air-tight containers to make
gundruk. Various other vegetables including turnip, radish and
mustard are cut and fermented to make the sinki. They can be
eaten or even added into soups, pickles and curries.
It is a Nepalese fermented leafy green vegetable. Surplus
mustard, radish, and cauliflower leaves are gathered, shredded,
then sealed in an earthenware pot and stored in a warm place.
 Chhurpi
Cheese is loved by almost all, this is a delicious cheese in Sikkim.
It is a traditional Nepalese cheese made from buttermilk.
Two varieties of chhurpi exist, one being a soft variety that is usually
eaten as a side dish, and a hard variety that is chewed. Chhurpi is
manufactured in both hardened and softened versions.
The harder cheese is made from Yak’s milk and is either brown or white
in colour. It is typically slightly sweet in taste.
The softer one can be made from the milk of yak, goat or cow. This kind
is slightly tangy in taste.

Dal-Bhat
A boiled rice and lentil soup containing spices such as
coriander, turmeric, cumin, and garam masala.
It is often cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, chili, tomatoes, or
tamarind and served with a vegetable tarkari.
 Dhindo
A Nepalese meal prepared by gradual addition of flour to
boiling water.

Shabhaley
A Tibetan bread stuffed with seasoned beef and cabbage

Inspired heavily by Nepali and Tibetan flavors, Sikkimese cuisine offers delicious dishes of meats and vegetables. ENJOY !!