SIKKIM – Poshan Maah – 28 Days, 28 States
Sikkim, located in northeastern India is home to glimmering glaciers, beautiful meadows, and thousands of varieties of flowers. This Indian state is famous not only for its beauty but also for its culinary delights. Sikkim is largely an agrarian community. Despite the state’s mountainous terrain with much of its land being unsuitable for farming, the people here have adopted practices like terrace farming.
Sikkim is the first state in India to become an ‘organic state’ after fully converting its agricultural land to sustainable farming practices.
Sikkim is the second-largest producer of cardamom in India. In addition, it also produces rice, and other cereal crops including wheat, maize, barley, and millets. Potatoes, ginger, oranges, and tea are also cultivated. Vegetables commonly grown include tomatoes, broccoli, and iskus.
Sikkimese cuisine uses mainly onions, cumin, garlic, chillies, and turmeric; the flavours are basic and subtle. Due to the chilly climate and high altitude of this region, fermented foods and drinks are popular in Sikkim. Vegetables are fermented to preserve in order to use them later.
The traditional food of Sikkim gains its influence from the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan.
Here are a few incredible local Sikkim food options:
MOMO:
Sikkim is the place where you can eat one of the best momos. Momos are considered of Tibetan origin and customized by Nepalese cuisine, which undoubtedly is the lifeline of Sikkim. Momo is a steamed bun with some filling inside. Momo is made up of a covering with some filling inside it. Usually covering is made up of dough of white flour and the filling is made up of various things such as veggies, chicken chunks, Tofu, and cheese, etc.
THUKPA:
Thukpa is a very famous Tibetan dish. It is an amazing amalgamation of soup with noodles that has emerged as one of the most loved foods in Sikkim. Thukpa is a dish that is very tasty and nutritious at the same time as it contains chicken and various vegetables grown here in Sikkim like carrots, bell peppers, spinach, cauliflower, and celery. Thukpa is rich in spices too and has an enriching taste. One serving is enough for an individual, but no one can stop at one because why not.
PHAGSHAPA:
Phagshapa is a strip of pork fat that is stewed with dry chillies and radish. A spicy and tangy endeavour this Sikkimese dish is rich in proteins and is made of no oil. Well for vegetarians, there is no substitute for pork in this dish so there is nothing much you can do.
GUNDRUK SOUP:
Gundruk Soup is a popular vegetarian soup made in Sikkimese households but is also found in restaurants. It’s often served during the winter season. It’s made with fermented vegetables, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. It is prepared in an earthen pot traditionally, however, people have started using other ways of making it. The dish is very rich in nutrition and also helps in maintaining metabolism.
DHINDO:
Dhindo is a vegetarian dish that is consumed on a daily basis by the people of Sikkim and Nepal. It is made out of buckwheat, ground millet, and cornflour. It is prepared by boiling water and slowly pouring in buckwheat, ground millet, or cornflour. The mixture is then continuously stirred until a sticky paste is formed. The paste is rolled into balls, dipped into lentil soup or chutney, and swallowed since the millets stick between the teeth.
DAL BHAT:
Dal Bhat is a staple food in Sikkim which is served with tarkari (vegetable curry) or meat and chutney. Many parts of India call this dish Dal Chaawal. The Sikkimese population love their share of Dal Bhaat as their everyday meal. The lentil soup can differentiate in flavours from place to place with certain ingredients remaining static everywhere, like salt, turmeric, and a little spice. The mixture of boiled rice and lentil soup is a comfort meal for many and is considered to satiate their taste palette to the core. If you want to keep things simple and have light meals, Daal Bhaat could be your ultimate choice of food item to relish.
CHANG
Chang is the fermented form of millet and yeast which helps in the fermentation process. Its other name is Thomba. Chang is a locally brewed alcoholic beverage served in and sipped with the help of a bamboo pipe. Sikkim has many local distilleries and these locally made alcohol is really cheap.
GYA KHO:
Gya Kho is one of the lips-smacking local dishes in Sikkim. It is the Chimney soup served in the bowl and since the bowl resembles the shape of a chimney, it got its name Chimney soup. This Tibetan dish is adopted by Sikkim because of its great taste. The extraordinary taste comes because of its cooking process. It gets cooked under the coal with a lot of other ingredients in it.
Apart from these, there are quite a few varieties to the cuisine of Sikkim like Sha Phaley, Sinki, Sael roti, Thenthuk, Chhurpi soup, bamboo shoot curry and drinks like Jaanr and the delicious Sikkim tea.
Sikkim’s wonderful cuisine teaches us the proper mixture of taste and health. From momos to thukpa everything here is simple and yet elegant in its way. One can not deny the fact that these people have made vegetables sound tasty. The flavours that one experiences here will forever remind them of how wonderful this state is.
