Ezay

Ezay

Fig: Ezay

There’s no way I would compile a list of Bhutanese food without paying full respect to ezay, which refers to any kind of Bhutanese chili sauce.

Now you might be thinking, chili sauce is not really a food… but in Bhutan, ezay is so mandatory to eat with every meal that it can be considered a dish of its own. And sometimes it’s almost more like a salad than a chili sauce.

From my first meal to my last meal in Bhutan, I couldn’t get enough ezay. And I don’t care what I’m eating, ezay literally goes with and complements every Bhutanese food you can imagine.

Just like ema datshi, there are no two ezays that taste the same. Everyone in Bhutan has their own recipe and combination of ingredients. A couple of my favorites include dried chilies, Sichuan pepper, tree tomato (amazing ingredient), and a sprinkle of cheese for extra flavoring.

Chogo (chhurpi)

Chogo (chhurpi)

Fig: Chogo (Chhurpi)

Chogoo (or chhurpi) just might be the most rock hard, yet edible, cheese snack in the world.

This dried yak cheese, which is also common throughout Tibet and Nepal in the Himalayas, is the ultimate preservation of cheese, and it’s so hard you have to gnaw on it for hours before it starts to dissolve on your tongue.

It’s the type of snack you eat when you’re walking through the rugged mountains and you need to be chewing on something. You’ll see strands of chogoo hanging like necklaces around markets in Bhutan. Give it a try!

Zaow

Zaow

Fig: Zaow

At just about every local home I visited in Bhutan, they would offer milk tea (chai) or suja (butter tea) plus a communal basket of puffed rice known as zaow.

Zaow is not too puffy but more on the crunchy side rather than the puffy side — it has a texture almost like the crunchiness of un-popped popcorn. It’s a Bhutanese snack food that’s very common and it goes so well together with a cup of tea.

Sometimes zaow is eaten with chunks of butter mixed in. The most memorable version of zaow I was served in Bhutan was in Phobjikha Valley, and it came with a frighteningly large chunk of butter on top!

Khur-le

Khur-le

Fig: Khur-le

Especially common as a Bhutanese breakfast food and for on the go eating in Bhutan, khur-le is a Bhutanese pancake made from buckwheat, wheat, or barley flour.

You typically eat khur-le along with Bhutanese main dishes, like ema datshi or shakam datshi, or even just with eggs and ezay (chili sauce). When I was in Haa Valley, Bhutan, I ate khur-le just about every day at my home-stay for breakfast.

They have a spongy texture, but are a bit more hearty and filling than a white wheat flour pancake. They are the type of pancake you want to be eating in a cold climate.

Jaju

 Jaju

Fig: Jaju

Jaju is Bhutanese milk and vegetable soup. It’s often made with some type of local spinach or turnip leaves or any number of light leafy vegetables. The soup broth consists of milk and butter. Overall, the taste is usually quite mellow and plain, but it goes well together to supplement a full Bhutanese feast.

When I was in Bhutan I ate some versions of jaju that were very light while others included a bit of cheese to make them heartier and more rich.

Khatem

Khatem

I’ve been fascinated and loved eating bitter melon / gourd for many years now, which is called khtem in Bhutan. Something about eating something so bitter, which sometimes kind of throws off your taste buds, is exciting to me.

In Bhutan I noticed mostly Indian bitter melon as opposed to the longer Chinese biter melon. Bitter melon in Bhutanese cuisine is often sliced into thin chip like pieces and fried with butter and a little seasoning. I had it in Bhutan for breakfast a few times.

Hoentay

Hoentay

Fig: Hoentay

Known especially for originating from Haa Valley in Bhutan, hoentay are similar to momos, but they are made with a buckwheat dough wrapper. The dumplings are usually filled with a combination of a local spinach or turnip leaves and cheese, and again, they can either be steamed or fried.

When I was in Haa Valley for a few days, I enjoyed numerous plates of hoentay, which are hearty and filling, and are especially good when drowned in Bhutanese chili sauce (ezay).

Jasha maru

Jasha maru ( Chicken curry )

Fig: Fish Curry

Jasha maru is Bhutanese chicken stew, or sometimes called a chicken curry.

One of the tastes I love so much about Bhutanese jasha ( chicken ) maru is the noticeable ginger taste, that nearly every version of the dish had that I tried. The actual dry spice flavor is quite mild, but the ginger is what really gives this dish its essence.

Gondo datshi

Gondo Datshi
 

Butter egg fry, or gondo ( Egg) datshi (Cheese), is like the ultimate Bhutanese scrambled eggs you can imagine.Eggs, are scrambled up with datshi cheese, and a huge amount of butter, and in some cases small bits of dried chili. The result is a very condensed scrambled egg cheese mixture that is fragrant from butter and packed with heartiness.

If you have some Bhutanese butter egg fry, some chili sauce and a mound of Himalayan red rice, you’re in for a wonderful simple meal.

Red Rice

Bhutan Red Rice is a whole grain irrigated by glacial waters of Himalayas.
It has a low Glycaemic Index, enriched with essential minerals and dietary fiber. Bhutan Red rice is unhulled or partially hulled rice that includes a red husk. The germ of the red rice is left intact, it has a higher nutritional value, with a nutty flavor to boot. Bhutan milled red rice does not go through fumigation process. 

When cooked, the rice is pale pink, soft and slightly sticky.

Goen hogay (A salad from Bhutan)

Although many Bhutanese dishes can be pretty meat heavy, goen hogay is a traditional Bhutanese cucumber salad.

Cucumber is sliced up and mixed with red chilies, tomatoes, onion, coriander, spring onion and a crumble of datshi (cheese ) for extra flavor. Sometimes some extra oil is also added to the recipe to give it a dressing like sauce.

From the market:
1. 1 cucumber
2. 2 tomatoes
3. 1/2 an onion
4. 2 fresh red chillies
5. a handful of fresh coriander
6. 2 spring onions
7. cheese

PUTA

In Bhutan, buckwheat is grown in non-rice growing regions and highland areas where cultivating other cereals is limited due to agro-geo-climate variations. Buckwheat is used throughout Bhutan in myriad culinary preparations, and of these, puta, a buckwheat noodle from the Bumthang Dzongkhag (Bumthang District), is very popular.

 Bumthang is extremely cold, and in ancient times, without the aid of modern machinery, roads, and skilled human resources, cultivating the land was difficult. However, because buckwheat is resilient and can grow in colder climates, the Bumtaps (people of Bumthang) could easily cultivate buckwheat and were able to prepare various delicacies out of it, especially puta.

Served with added condiments, puta is unique in its simplicity yet remains well liked by many. Puta is often served as a special dish to guests. During festivals and rituals, it is served more as a food offering (tshok) to the gods being invoked and to the priest (lam) presiding over the ritual.

During local festivals and celebrations, puta is prepared as a special dish for village guests and among Bumtaps themselves as a celebration of their unique dish, a dish that they can proudly call their own. Preparing and serving puta as a delicacy for festivals and celebrations show that the dish occupies a significant part of the Bumtap community and culture. In this way, puta connects the people to their ancient land and traditions. After having toiled in the fields, the festivals and celebrations provide a chance to gather, socialize, and share joyful times.

Puta has been a part of the daily meals of the people of Bumthang for a very long time and has provided a distinct identity for the region. It isn’t surprising then that Bumthang is best known for its puta traditions.

BUCK WHEAT