Imagine, someone asking you, "Have you had your meal?" and that too at the very first meeting. Of course, the question isn't as shallow as just about eating. It has a deeper implication. It is reflective of people's hospitable nature where they rarely allow anyone to go hungry, especially guests. If a guest lands up during meal time, it is expected that he or she will partake in the meal.

At the many poky pokphoms (make-shift shacks) - scattered in every nook and corner of Manipur, local ladies are busy preparing knick-knacks all through the day. What you see into their frying pan is snacks like Bora (pakodas), Aloo Saak (fried aloo), and Kanghou (fried chick pea with thyme and chillies) with black sugared tea, and there are people who can sit all day long and munch and munch and still go home to eat their meal. Yes, one never tires of eating.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

Flavour Rules

So, in Manipur, food on the table must be delicious, no matter the economic status. A tired farmer heading home must have his fish or meat. An office goer must rush home at the end of a long day to enjoy his or her fish curry with rice. And if not meat or fish, at least the greens must be cooked well to impart enough flavour. Yes, flavour is extremely important and this flavour by and large comes from local ingredients used. For instance, it could be ginger, garlic, a pinch of dry fermented fish or even dried meat.

Rice, the Centerpiece

With rice as a staple food, the cuisine of the people of Manipur differs from community to community. There are about 33 different tribes and each has its own distinct cuisine. The ethnic, religious and cultural background of the people influence what they eat. For instance, the Meiteis who practice Hinduism or Vaisnavism, stand out for various reasons as compared to that of the hill tribes.

The Meitei food is influenced by their faith or religion. They are by and large vegetarians who restrict their diet to healthy greens that are locally grown. Their consumption of non-vegetarian food is restricted only to fish and chicken. In all religious festivals and feasts, non-vegetarian is shunned and not even fish is served on such occasions. And of course, every dish is paired with boiled or steamed rice.

What's remarkable about the Meitei food is the precision it maintains. Usually in the Meitei society, professional cooks are engaged to preside over the kitchen affairs. Called bamons (Manipuri Brahmins), this particular sect are believed to be one of the higher ranking castes in Manipur. And it is their elevated status that qualifies them to be designated in the kitchen, which is the most sacred place in the house. And there are rituals that are followed while cooking and serving.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

For the Love of Pork and Fish

The tribes on the other hand are hardcore non-vegetarians and do not have any religious restrictions in their diet. The hill tribes love their pork curry with rice. The cooking style of one tribe differs from another tribe although they commonly rely on common ingredients. For instance to flavour their meat, they will use either mustard leaves, passion fruit leaves, bamboo shoot fresh or dry. To make sure they never run out of meat, every kitchen of the hill tribes would invariably stock dry meat that are smoked in the sun. During every cooking, a piece or two is added into the dish to enhance the flavour.

While for the Meiteis, you will find a huge stock of sun-dried fish that are preserved in one shelf of their kitchen. The fish is added in almost every dish cooked. But a common ingredient that is used by all Manipuris regardless of their faith and language is bamboo shoot and dry or fermented fish called ngari.

Fermented fish and soya beans are popular favouring ingredients used when preparing certain dishes like chutney, Morok Metpa or Malta Meh. This is usually a side dish prepared by roasting ripe tomatoes, green/red chillies over a tawa. Once they are done, gently peel and put aside. A flake or two of fresh garlic is mixed into the mixture to make a coarse paste. A dish of fermented fish or soya bean with salt to taste can complete a meal.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

Sweet Savories

What rounds off a meal are often some sweet savories. On special occasions, they indulge and make a number of sweet dishes like Sana Thonba (sweetened cottage cheese cooked in milk and sugar), Kheer, Sweet Pakora, Hei Thongba (cooked seasonal fruits) and more. For the hill people, nothing beats their sugarless milky tea at the end of a good meal.

Recipes to Try

1. Chi al Meh

A wholesome vegetable stew, the strong note of ginger lends in some heat. It is perfect for a chilly evening.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

3 medium-sized potatoes, finely sliced
1 cup shelled green peas
10 French beans, trim and break into two with your hands
1 large tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp salt
Garnish: 1 Tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Place 21/2 cups water in a pan, add the potatoes and bring to boil over high heat. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook till tender.
2. Mash potatoes with a spoon to thicken gravy and stir in ginger and salt.
3. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

2. Sana Thongba

A simple yet immensely satisfying curry, fresh cottage cheese is cooked in milk in this recipe. It is served with a steaming bowl of rice.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp oil
2 bay leaves/ tej patta
2 medium-sized potatoes, cut into 2" cubes
3 cups shelled green peas
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 litre milk
1 kg cottage cheese (paneer), cut into 1" cubes

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add bay leaves and fry till golden brown.
2. Add potatoes, green peas and turmeric, and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Pour in milk and simmer till it thickens.
4. Add paneer, mix well and serve with steamed rice.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

3. Mangal Kangtak

This is a delicious green pea curry, which is flavoured with a handful of spices and fresh onion leaves or chives.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups shelled green peas
2 dry red chillies
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger, chopped
5 flat onion leaves or chives, chopped
2 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek /methi powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Place green peas in a pressure cooker with 2 1/2 cups water and cook under pressure for 5 minutes.
2. Open cooker and mix in red chillies, turmeric and salt. Cover lightly and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a pan, and add ginger, onion leaves or chives, tomatoes and spice powders.
4. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly till tomatoes have disintegrated.
5. Add green peas with any liquid remaining in the cooker and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Manipur Food: A Beginner's Guide and 3 Delicious Recipes to Try

Today, there are food entrepreneurs who prepare momos in bulk and supply them to vendors and kiosks whose only job is to steam and sell them piping hot with hot sauce to hungry customers who never seem to get enough of them. There was a time, not too long ago, when people associated momos with food from the Northeast. Far from it, it’s not really a part of their traditional cuisine. For instance, in Manipur's capital Imphal, restaurants may now be awaking up to the popularity of this food and including them in their menu with passion, but they can never get it right simply because it is not a traditional dish like fish and rice is, as in the case in Tripura or other states in the region, with of course a few exceptions.

The Story of Momos: What Makes This Tibetan Dumpling So Popular?

Momos from the Northeast

Shillong is one place where it’s easy to get some of the most delicious dumplings as compared to the other states. Expect meaty fillings in creamy, light shells with spicy chutney to go with it. No, it is not at all part of the local Khasi cuisine. Rather credit must be given to the Chinese community who have made Shillong their home and introduced Chinese food, including momos (traditionally Tibetan). Perhaps it is only among Arunachal Pradesh's Monpa and Sherdukpa tribes, who live in the West Kameng and Tawang districts and share a border with Tibet, where momos are a part of their diets. Their version is usually stuffed with minced pork and mustard leaves or other green vegetables, and served with chilli paste.

How momos are received in Sikkim is quite another story. Across the communities: Bhutias, Lepchas and Nepalis, it is a comfort food which is very much a part of their diet. Their aluminium momo steamer is always in use. The dumpling you get in Sikkim is a close cousin of the Tibetan momo. The great exodus from their homeland in the 1960s scattered Tibetans and their cuisine across India — several settled in Sikkim, Meghalaya, the hill towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in Bengal, and Delhi.

In Sikkim, the momo has pushed the state's traditional dish, hyontoen, off the plate. Hyontoen is made of millet flour, rolled like momos, stuffed with cheese and steamed. Today, few Sikkimese people remember it but they take pride in their ability to prepare batches of delicious momos. At home and in some restaurants, it is served with radish or cucumber salad. Beef and pork are traditional fillings; but chicken and vegetable momos and cottage cheese of late, are gaining ground.

The Story of Momos: What Makes This Tibetan Dumpling So Popular?

Momo or Dim Sum?

But the provenance of the Indian dumpling is a complicated one. Where and how did it feature into our menu is interesting. Even though momo traces its roots to Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, it is similar to what the Chinese call baozi and jiaoz. Both are dumplings that are stuffed with pork, beef, shrimp, vegetables or even tofu. Though these are integral to the Chinese, it is commonly found in most parts of Asia. For the Chinese, special occasions like their Lunar New Year means getting their kitchen stuffed with ingredients for jiaozi, which is lovingly prepared in every home.

In Tibet, where it is considered an unofficial national dish, momos come with various fillings. They are also steamed and fried and savoured with accompaniments like  hot sauce that’s made with tomatoes, garlic, ginger, dried chillies, oil and tossed and blended together. So what the Tibetans called momos is nothing but dim sum for the Chinese.

Momos have also made passionate inroads in Bhutan believed to be popularised by the Tibetan communities. So, it’s interesting how my Bhutanese friends interpret their version. They use all kinds of meat, mostly yak meat or beef, for the stuffing. As for the vegetarian option, they stick to cabbage, mushroom,paneer, potatoes and spinach with loads of onions, cheese, butter or oil and of course, salt to taste. For the sauce, it has to be that deadly dalley chilles, locally called dalley khorsani. ‘Dalley’ in Nepali means round, and ‘khorsani’ is chilli. They would grind this chilli with sliced onion and tomatoes, mash it to make a course paste, and finally garnish with minced onions and black pepper. Sometimes, they also add in Bhutanese pepper, which tickles the tongue. The bones of any meat they use are dunked in a pot and kept to boil for a clear soup.

The Story of Momos: What Makes This Tibetan Dumpling So Popular?

What Makes a Delicious Momo?

So, what makes a delicious momo really depends on how it is prepared and what ingredients are used. If the dough, for instance, is fresh and of fine quality, be sure that you will get a good momo. Some people even use warm water when kneading the dough. The stuffing, be it meat or vegetables, should be minced well and flavoured with ginger or garlic.

One of the most delicious momos I have ever had was at the now-closed-for-renovation The Oberoi Delhi’s iconic Taipan. The juicy stuffing of shrimps, fish, chicken and vegetables come wrapped in a flimsy exterior of finest imported flour, in a bamboo basket. A mere bite and the juice just oozes out and what accentuates the flavour are the many accompanying sauces. And many chefs often say the real trick of a momo or a dim sum is the dough – it must be so fine that when steamed, it gets only finer and not thicker. From glass noodle turnip dumpling to spinach, water chestnut and black bean dumpling, the variations were like art.

The Story of Momos: What Makes This Tibetan Dumpling So Popular?

Another time, it was at a Ladakhi friend, Angmo’s home in Delhi. Straight out from a boarding school, she led a group of hungry hostellers into her kitchen. Painstakingly, she kneaded the dough and prepared mutton momos in her aluminium vessel. She deboned the meat and dunked them into a pressure cooker. After a couple of whistles, added sliced coriander and garlic. The aroma wafting all over her house was enough to rev our appetite. Those juicy momos with a home-made sauce of tomato, green chillies and garlic, along with a bowl of soup was soulful. To this day, I long for that. Momos, no matter where they come from, they will always be my soul food.

What's also common between momo and thukpa is their arduous journey from the mountainous Tibet, whereon they travelled widely and influenced other cultures to embrace them along the way. I do not know of more popular immigrant food than thukpa and momo. Credit must go to the immigrants from Tibet who carried their cuisine along and popularised it so much so that it is today a comfort food loved and relished by every palate across the country.

If there is one thing that the Tibetans in India hold close to their hearts, it is this food that reminds them of their roots. In icy Tibet, what keeps them warm and cosy is a bowl of thukpa prepared with hand-made noodle of flour, which they relish either for lunch or dinner. What's special about their thukpa is the yak meat they add in it. They also use minced mutton for flavouring along with an assortment of greens. It is said that their New Year is incomplete without thukpa.

Even though many call thukpa a soup, I refuse to call it so. It is not a soup but a watery noodle dish, which comes with assorted vegetables and derives its main flavour from the minced meat that's added into it along with ginger and garlic. Perhaps it is because of its sheer simplicity and nutritious value that it has become one of the most popular dishes in today's gastronomic landscape.

The Tale of Thukpa: What Lends Flavour to this Comforting Noodle Soup?

Thukpa and Its Variations

The proximity with Tibet has ensured that thukpa is equally at home in Bhutan and Nepal, where it has become an integral part of the people's diets. Of course, the preparation differs slightly from one another. My Nepali friends are never tired of feasting on their thukpa. Even their favourite Wai Wai is many times prepared like thukpa. They make it watery and add vegetables and it becomes a meal in itself. Their version of thukpa is somewhat spicy. Nepalese people anyway love spicy food. In their version, expect some chilli powder that adds not just to the fieriness but to the colour as well, while some even venture to add garam masala.

Little shacks and restaurants in the city are dotted with servings of thukpa. It is the most sought-after meal that hungry and tired travellers back from their expeditions look forward to slurping to their hearts contend. Every Nepali kitchen will dish this out when they want a quick meal. Even then, locals too head out to eat this in restaurants.

It is with equal passion that Bhutanese people accept and embrace this dish. So, through the length and breadth of Thimpu and beyond, there are vendors and restaurants serving thukpa. And it is the perfect meal for locals to fight cold. They love what they call dehthuk, which is thukpa or rice porridge. They pressure cook the rice and when it is done, grind and add condiments like ginger, garlic, cottage cheese and pepper to it. Finally, it is topped with a little butter and salt to go according to one's taste. The other version is thenthuk, which is made of flat noodles; and bakhthu that's like cowrie thukpa. Cowrie thukpa is shaped like macaroni but made from maida.

The Bhutanese version also uses beef wherein they first cook the bony portion of beef in a big pot. They allow the water to boil on slow fire to thicken it. Some even add a handful of rice but that needs constant stirring so that it does not thicken. Freshly-pounded ginger gives it that sharp flavour. Then depending on their taste, sauces and vegetables are added.

The Tale of Thukpa: What Lends Flavour to this Comforting Noodle Soup?

The Bowl of Comfort

So, wherever the Tibetans went thukpa followed. In the Northeast, particularly in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, and Darjeeling in West Bengal, thukpa is hugely popular. Arunachal Pradesh's proximity with Bhutan, Tibet and China is perhaps one of the main reasons why this noodle soup has made such a deep inroad into the food habits of the community. Among the Monpa community that lives mostly in the West Kameng district of the state, thukpa is a staple diet. But that is only expected as Monpa shares a close cultural affinity with what's loosely termed as "Sharchops", Indo-Mongoloid people who mostly live in the eastern districts of Bhutan.

The Monpas usually have it for lunch and dinner, but would also venture to have it even in the late afternoon when hunger pangs seize them. One of the most popular varieties is called Putang Thukpa, meaning noodles made of buckwheat which is made into a curry and flavoured with yak meat or dry fish. Into the boiling broth they are likely to add seasonal greens and lots of herbs.

In Sikkim, thukpa is something that cuts across all communities. And interestingly, some people love to pair it with momos, where they like to eat the dumplings and wash them down with thukpa. It is a combination that has worked really well in most homes and even in restaurants. Of course, with chillies, garlic and coriander for flavouring.

My Ladakhi friend once told me how thukpa is such an integral part of their diet.  Be it thenthuk (noodle soup), gyathuk (dry noodles topped with meat curry) or simply ngamthuk (soup of barley flour made in veg/meat stock), it is a staple for every household in Ladakh.

The Tale of Thukpa: What Lends Flavour to this Comforting Noodle Soup?

People in Darjeeling simply cannot do without their bowl of thukpa. It is available in every nook and corner of the city. It is especially sought after in winter. This is how they prepare it: a big pot is filled with water and kept over a slow fire. They throw in lots of mutton bones that gradually release flavour as they get cooked. Strangely, although they eat pork, pork thukpa is quite uncommon.

When the water boils, they take out the stock in a bowl and add cooked noodles into it along with shredded greens, including smoked chilli chutney for some pungency. Spring onions are a must, without which the locals would reject it as incomplete. The flavour also gets enhanced when they mix good portion of cooked minced meat. In Darjeeling, they say, what's common between the rich and the poor is thukpa. It's amazing how food always builds bridges everywhere.

If you are now tempted to try making this dish at home, here's a simple recipe to help you get started:

Ladakhi Chicken Thukpa
Recipe by Chef Aditya Bal

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
5 gm ginger, julienned
7 spring onions, chopped
3 green chillies, slit
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lemon
Few springs of coriander leaves
1 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
A handful of egg noodles (you can use regular noodles also)

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and fry the chicken untill it turns light brown.
2. Now add the chopped onion and carrots and saute for 1-2 minutes.
3. Then add ginger, garlic, spring onions and green chilies, and saute for another minute.
4. Sprinkle salt, pepper and some fresh coriander leaves and saute for 1 more minute.
5. Add 200 ml of water and let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Then squeeze in the lemon juice.
6. Add soya sauce and honey, and stir the broth gently. Then cover it with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken from the broth and shred it.
8. Add handful of egg noodles in the broth and cook for 5 minutes.
9. Now add the shredded chicken back into the broth and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
10. Garnish with some spring onions, green chillies and fresh coriander.

However, this does not mean in any way they do not like sweets. Sweets are rather reserved for special occasions and hardly an everyday affair. The sweet savouries from the region are quite different from those found in other parts of the country. Interestingly, sweet savouries are keepers of tradition as they are prepared during festivals. In Assam for instance, most of the sweet savouries that one could think of are prepared during Bihu. In Nagaland, there are no known sweet dishes that people would hanker for especially after a fiery pork curry peppered with bamboo shoot. At the most, they would bit into gur. In Sikkim, my friends are quite hung up on their chhurpi, a fermented traditional cheese with a hard texture that oozes out its real flavour as you slowly bite into the hard lump. So, they do not have too many sweet dishes to offer.

Gur or jaggery

Sweet Treats from Assam

Guwahati-based Chef Atul Lakhar, who is known for his culinary art, says he is not fond of sweet as such, but does not mind the occasional indulgence during festivals. Assamese kitchens around Bihu, which is the biggest festival of the state, gear up with their local ingredients; they stock up items and go shopping as the preparation can last for about a week or so depending on the item and quantity of what is prepared.

Jaggery and coconut are locally available so they form an important part of the dishes. Rice is the main base for most of the sweet dishes. Hurum, for instance, is essentially puffed rice mixed with jaggery and curd. It can also be eaten with milk. Once the puffed rice is ready, it is a rather easily consumed as it can be mixed with curd, or milk. But preparing the puffed rice is quite a task which involves a tedious process. First and foremost, rice is soaked for three to four days and then drained and allowed to dry. It is then fried and pounded, et al. It is filling and perfect for breakfast or even when hunger pangs hits one in the afternoon.

Ladoosare a delight in many homes too. The ones made of finely grated coconut mixed with sugar and hot ghee are as popular as Til Ladoos, sesame balls made again with jaggery. Even students who live far away from home tuck a stock of ladoos into their suitcases that last for weeks. How discreetly, Nayana Das, my senior in college, would pull out a box from heaps of her clothes in the hostel cupboard and offer me those delicious ladoos prepared by her mother, which actually marked the beginning our friendship. Perhaps, it was the sweet ladoo that did the trick. Yes, people exchange sweets and thus cement ties with their neighbours, relatives and friends.

Coconut ladoos

As for other type of sweets, Assamese people turn to rice as an important ingredient. One such rice is called kumol saul, an unique rice grown locally. Some even call it the magic rice as it becomes soft when soaked in hot water. It is said the generals of the Ahom king would carry this rice as it was the easiest to cook and savour whenever they were on the move. It is common to find a stock of this rice in most homes. It is usually relished with hot or luke warm milk and jaggery. In summer, yoghurt is perfect with this puffed rice.

However, the king of all sweets is the pitha. It resembles a pancake or crepe in some ways. It is prepared with a rice batter. The flimsy batter is carefully cooked over a low flame, roasted or even baked over a hot plate. The stuffing is what defines it. Sesame and grated coconut are integral when preparing pitha as they give that extra edge.

There is also what locals call the Hutuli Pitha. The name ‘hutuli’ is derived from a musical instrument which resembles a whistle. It is made of fine rice powder, and due to its bi-conical shape that resembles hutuli, it earns its name. Pithaguri is another variety which is made of rice flour, fried and served in hot milk. Some people try this pithaguri with jaggery, ripe banana and ripe jack fruit.

Rice powder

Manipur’s Desserts

Of all the sweet dishes in Manipur, the one that stands out is what is loosely called the Sorat Tann or Tann Angangba, literally translated to ‘red bread’. It is served during funerals and the irony is, people love it. At least, I look forward to having it but not necessarily during funerals. These days, most homes engage special cooks to prepare this and relish it even during happy occasions. It is a thick paratha-like sweet made of flour that is mixed with jaggery and saunf, and then deep-fried in oil.

Black rice kheer is again, like any other kheer, cooked with milk and sugar and garnished with dry fruits. With rice, the people of Manipur experiment many items. Apart from kheer, with flattened or puffed rice, they make ladoos which is also called kabok. The flattened rice is mounded together in jaggery and stored in small packets and are available in every nook and corner shop. Sesame is another ingredient used for making ladoos. First it is roasted and then made into a rounded shape with jaggery.

Image credit: Hoihnu Hauzel

The sight at Imma Bazaar, which is a market run only by women will have some corners with women manning heaps of home-made til and puffed rice ladoos. These are everyday eats.
Of late, my visit to Manipur was sweetened by the many new sweets that I got to sample in the market. People are getting innovative even as they try new items, such as the black cake which can pass off as chocolate muffins. They move faster than any other local sweets as they have a sweet scented aroma from the rice and taste just perfect.

The hill communities resort to their sticky rice cake that is sweated and savoured with tea. Called tanghou, this is made of pounded sticky rice powder mixed with sugar or salt, wrapped in plantain leaves and steamed. Leisurely, over tea and gossip, people relish this traditional sweet snack which to this day has no alternative. It used to be prepared only on special occasions. But today, as there are many enterprising women who prepare this in bulk and go from home to home, one no longer needs to wait for an occasion to sample it.

Sticky Rice Sweets

In fact, this sweetened sticky rice is common to the people of Mizoram, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. The Khasis and Jaintias of Meghalaya turn to pukhlein whenever they want something sweet. It is made of rice power mixed with jaggery, which is then rolled into a dough and deep friend in batches. It reminds me of the Bihari’s version of thekua which my Bihari friends got me hooked on to in school. But the difference is in the usage of rice and wheat, though the process remains by and large the same. Earlier people would prepare pukhlein at home whenever they wanted to have it with tea, but today it is available in the market so the stress of preparing at home is no longer there.

My Naga friends are full of tales of how folks in the village would take molasses made locally in villages. This is taken with red tea anytime in the evening after a meal. Also, what they have emulated from the Assamese is what the Aos called Amzu, which is a sweet dish made of rice which is first soaked in water, grounded and made into a paste and then rolled with til or sesame seeds. They say this was inspired by the Assamese pitha.

Sticky rice

Indulging in Sikkim

In Sikkin, during Dusherra or Diwali, the Nepalese kitchen is cramped with ingredients, using which many treats are prepared. Sel Roti is a rice-based savoury which is sweetened rice bread that looks like uneven doughnuts. It is made of powered rice made into a batter and added with different condiments including sugar, and then deep fried in oil. The process of frying is somewhat similar to preparing jalebis as it needs a swift hand to ensure the batter takes shape. When there are heaps of Sel Roti in their homes, know it’s to herald a festival.

Lopchu is another Sikkimese sweet dish that I can think of as it reminds me of custard. It is made of milk and sugar. A thick consistency that needs no occasion or excuse, so people dig on this whenever they want something sweet!