What is the Famous Food of Ladakh?

This indigenous brew of Ladakh, is prepared by fermenting miller with yeast in a cylindrical porcelain pot. The preparation is topped with warm water, till the miller looses its strength. The liquid thus obtained is called Chang.

Leh and Ladakh feature on the travel bucket list of people around the globe. With its snow-capped peaks and sprawling landscape, Ladakh has been an object of awe for years infinite.

You can find it in every small food join at Ladakh.

This signature tea of Ladakh is mainly prepared by adding and stirring butter and salt to boiling milk.

The local customs, traditions and rituals of Leh and Ladakh are greatly influenced from the Tibetian culture, making it distinct from the rest of the nation.

Well, surprised to see momos in this list? It is true that momos are now available everywhere. Any Chinese or Tibetan restaurant for that matter has Momos in their menu card.

It can be made with different fillings- Pork, chicken, mutton, beef or vegetables. Ladakhi momos are made with the spices from the Himalayas, along with white flour, and water dough, and is served with Thukpa more often.

Another major entity that makes Ladakh different from the rest is the local cuisine.

Thukpa

This lip-smacking delicacy mainly contains pieces of flour or noodles, in a soup which mostly contains vegetables, but may sometime also have pieces of chicken added to it

The traditional bread of Ladakh is known as Khambir. Shaped like a pan, this bread is served mostly with the traditional butter tea.

You can get two variants of moms- the steamed one and the fried one. The utensil in which momos are made is called a much too.

While traveling to parts of Ladakh, you will come across Yaks, you will click pictures and probably take rides on them.

But have you ever thought of trying cheese made of Yak milk?

Weird?

Well, probably for some people, but when in Leh please do not miss on trying out “Chhupri”.

Locals do not understand it when you say Yak cheese, they understand the local term for it “Chhupri”.

This piping hot soup is eaten by our Ladakhi folks mainly to cut out the extremely cold temperatures experienced in Leh and Ladakh.

The food in Ladakh is highly rich in organic flavours and is unique like its culture and people though, one may find a lot of similarity between Ladakhi food and Tibetan cuisine

Very similar to Thukpa, Thenktuk is a variant of it. Along with noodles here you get fragments of flour dough in the soup.

Ladakh’s cuisine basically reflects a unique agricultural economy and lifestyle. It is amazing to see that despite harsh climate and infertile soil, the people of Ladakh have managed to grow potatoes, pumpkins, beetroots, and even beans in large areas and quantity.

Chhupri is easily available in the main market area, where vendors even sell it on the roadside street shops. They are available in three flavors: Sweet, salty and plain. The cheese is pretty hard and looks like calcium deposits. It is difficult to bite down on bigger pieces of the cheese, so better buy a pack of smaller pieces.

Do note that some places feel that the cheese smells a bit Yak-ish, though I did not feel it. But when in Leh, you just cannot afford to miss this!

Chang
This indigenous brew of Ladakh, is prepared by fermenting miller with yeast in a cylindrical porcelain pot.

The soup also could be different as in it is less spicy compared to Thukpa. The veggies that go into the soup are onion, tomatoes, ginger garlic, radish potato spinach, and cilantro.

The preparation is topped with warm water, till the miller looses its strength. The liquid thus obtained is called Chang.

Though meat - mutton, chicken and yak remain an important part of the cuisine of Ladakh, these locally grown vegetables are also brought to use in different Ladakhi food recipes.

We did not go looking for this dish, unlike the Chhupri. We just went into a local restaurant in Leh main market, asked for a local dish and were offered the “Tigmo”. It is a form of fermented and steamed bread, served with a veg/non-veg stew.

Butter Tea
This signature tea of Ladakh is mainly prepared by adding and stirring butter and salt to boiling milk