October 24, 2007

THUKPA ~ A SPICY TIBETAN SOUP

The first time I had this soup was in Darjeeling, out of sheer curiousity-the name itself got me interested as to what it might be,and I haven't forgotten the taste ever since....

All of you who have ever been to this part of India would totally agree-the place is breathtakingly beautiful, I had gone there on a school trip - my first ever experience of staying away from home for  10 days! Can you imagine the sense of freedom :) only any of you who have studied in a Convent will be able to understand what I am talking about!!!

Anyway's apart from eyeing all the guys around (haha the good ol' days) ,we learnt a lot too- mainly about Buddhists(the place is dotted with beautiful monastries)we also saw Sikkim, Gangtok and all the neighbouring areas.Darjeeling has loads of Tea-gardens as all of you know, we bought several tins of this prized tea back with us.

Sikkim has Tiger Hill close by ,which is supposedly the closest you can get to seeing the Sun rise anywhere on Earth,we had to get up at 4 in the morning and jeep's take you up a very steep hill, almost vertical -then all you got to do is wait with chattering teeth and bitter winds -for the Sun to rise,but it's totally worth it,the Sun as it rises seems HUGE right in front of you,if you can imagine in your head what I am talking about,the Sun is so close you will feel direct heat on your face-Memorable sight!

Last but not the least the huge variety of Orchids and the Cuisine you get there, makes you want to go there again and again and again...

Now let's make the Thukpa first !

Ingredients-

  • Tomatoes- 5 large and ripe
  • Ginger & Garlic paste-1 tsp
  • Carrots-1/2 cup sliced
  • French beans- 1/2 cup chopped
  • Cabbage- few leaves (tear into bite-sized pieces)
  • Cauliflower- separate into small florets
  • Aji-no-moto- a pinch
  • Green chillies- 2 sliced
  • Noodles/pasta- 1/2 cup raw
  • Lemon juice- 1 tbsp.
  • Chopped coriander/cilantro-a handful
  • Sugar- 1/2 tsp
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method-

Chop tomatoes roughly add ginger and garlic and give several whistles in the pressure cooker, cool, blend and strain.

Put on heat again ,add the rest of the ingredients except for salt, lemon juice ,cabbage, coriander and ajinomoto and cook till veggies are done but still crunchy, add the seasonings and cabbage, cook for few seconds, garnish with cilantro and serve- SLURP! SLURP!

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                         Thukpa- a spicy Tibetan soup

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28 comments:

  1. Unfamiliar name but looks delicious! Got to explore more of Tibetan cuisine.It's fun to learn!:))

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  2. Loved the name Bindiya, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving your sweet trials.... All the ingredients of this soup are so handy, can make them anytime. Tx for sharing!

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  3. Wow Delicious soup.Would love to have a huge bowl in this cold weather here.

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  4. I am gonna try this soon. Will let you know.

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  5. sounds like minestrone. i love tibetan food and their culture. gotta try this.

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  6. Sounds like a wonderful place to visit.

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  7. Wow, Tibetan recipe (hurray, clapping my hands happily). Thank you for sharing, Will definitely try this one :-)

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  8. spicy and healthy soup, that's one delicious combination! bookmarked :)

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  9. healthy recipe. will try it soon.

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  10. Yummy looking soup Bindiya...Its pretty new to me...Looks good :-)

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  11. Hey that sounds delicious...I am surely going to try this asap..
    Your write up about darjeeling trip and the beauty you have described...I like the way you hav told..:))

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  12. Lovely spicy soup recipe it looks yummy. :)

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  13. Looks good, but...where's the beef?

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  14. About Thukpa recipe - I rather think that the noodles have to be first boiled and rinsed to remove all excess starch before adding them to the soup. At least that is what the taste indicated when I had it in Bhutan.

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  15. Hey Bindiya
    How are you.Nice receipe its really good and one thing is missing it is black crushed pepper,as i am from Nepal we generally prefer to add pepper in it ,rest all the thing is good.
    I love chinese food as well as Tibetan.It seem you are in passion of food ,as that's my hobby as well as passion to.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Hey Bindiya
    How are you.Good to see your tibetan receipe in blog yaar.I am from Nepal and i love to eat all chinese and tibetan food especially Thukpa ,Momo and Noodles.We preper to have black crushed pepper in it.Rest all the thing is good and i have tasted it it was good .\
    It seem you are in passion of cooking me to ,its my hobby and passion .
    Thanku for posting it.
    utsav

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  17. Hi,

    I tasted Thupka during my first ever visit to Manali. I stayed and worked in Manali approx. for 2 year and i enjoyed Thupka regularity. I am not sure about todays, but at that time the Manu market (in Manali) used to produces the best mutton Thupka i have ever tested. I had almost got addicted to it at least during my stay there.

    Someone who plans to visit Manali must not miss the chance to taste Manali Thupka (Vegetarian version is equally tasteful) and Momos. A aged couple family staying in a wooden/earthen hut near Hotel Kanishka produced the best Momos in Manali. I pray and hope i find both of them cooking momos and thupka (they cook only vegetable version) when i visit Manali next time.

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  18. It looks good.. I will give a try and let you know. Tukpa is a Tibetan cuisine (I think Thukpa stands for noodles in Tibetan language), and I love Tibetan food.

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  19. Its good to know that you liked the place and the food.. its nice to read the blog,just wanted to let you know that you have a slight mistake with the info. Tiger Hill is located in Darjeeling,just a few minutes drive uphill on the outskirts of Darjeeling town Cheers..!!

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  20. Hi , first of all I must say I absolutely love your pic , smiling vibrantly.

    Second , this dish is lovely. I was searching for the Nepalise recipes, came across this one..


    Very tempting dish, you could link to my event :

    Flavours of Nepal

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  21. Well I grew up on that, but what we had was made from beef stock those days. For the best momos and Thukpa in the world you got to visit Penangs Restaurant in Darjeeling.
    Tapan Chatawala Paulite

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  22. Thanks for the recipe. It would be nice if one could have a printer friendly version of the recipes.
    regards,
    Anoop

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  23. Awesome turned out so good! Was just going through to find panjeeri recipe and got your page good work bindiya keep it up! Cheers, do you have a facebook page?

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  24. Hi, is der anything called laphens? its tibetian heard it when i was in Mcleodganj do u have its recipe?

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Hi, This is Bindiya and I would love to hear your views on this post. Feel free to ask any questions or share your views with me.